Tuesday, October 18, 2016
TBS Orders Tracy Morgan Sitcom; CBS Orders Full Seasons for 3 Shows, Including Kevin Can Wait
TBS's stable of original comedies continues to grow with the straight-to-series pick-up of a new series from comedy superstar and multiple Emmy® nominee Tracy Morgan (30 Rock). The untitled series is being created and executive-produced by Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) and John Carcieri (Vice Principals). Morgan will also serve as executive producer, along with Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men) and Joel Zadak of Principato Young (Key & Peele). The series is produced by Studio T, TBS & TNT's in-house production studio. After being released on good behavior from a 15-year prison stint, Tracy is shocked to see just how much the world has changed in his absence. Returning to his newly gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood, Tracy discovers that his former girlfriend has married an affable, successful white man, who is helping raise his twin sons he never knew existed. Wanting nothing more than to connect with his kids, but having neither the money to support them nor himself, Tracy falls back on the skills he learned in prison to make ends meet while treading on unfamiliar territory. TBS has ordered 10 episodes of this single-camera comedy series, which looks to capture the rawness of Tracy's stand up persona while also commenting on race relations, the Gen X/Millennial gap and the American penal system.
This announcements mark the latest phase in TBS's programming and brand evolution, which began in January with the premiere of Angie Tribeca and continued with the debuts of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee in February, The Detour in April and Wrecked in June. All four shows are certified hits, ranking among cable's Top 10 new comedies of 2016. They will soon be joined by the other-worldly comedy People of Earth, starring Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show) and premiering on Halloween, and Search Party, a dark comedy starring Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) and premiering Nov. 21. In 2017, The Guest Book, a new comedy from Greg Garcia (The Millers), will make its debut.
CBS has given full season orders to three new series, including the #1 and #2 new series in total viewers, drama Bull and sitcom Kevin Can Wait, and Friday's new series, MacGyver. The three shows, along with the Network's returning hit programs, have helped CBS win the first three weeks of the season for the eighth consecutive year. In addition, all three have improved their time period, compared to a year ago. Bull stars Michael Weatherly, Freddy Rodriguez, Geneva Carr, Jaime Lee Kirschner, Annabelle Attanasio and Chris Jackson. Kevin Can Wait stars Kevin James, Erinn Hayes, Taylor Spreitler, Mary-Charles Jones, James DiGiacomo, Ryan Cartwright, Lenny Venito, Gary Valentine and Leonard Earl Howze. On Oct. 24, Kevin Can Wait moves to its new regular time period on Mondays at 8:00PM ET/PT, leading into the series premiere of Man with a Plan at 8:30PM ET/PT. MacGyver stars Lucas Till, George Eads, Sandrine Holt, Justin Hires and Tristan Mays.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Sunday, April 18
The Simpsons - "Diary Queen" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bart finds his old teacher's diary and learns a surprising secret; Lisa discovers an even bigger surprise.
Bless the Harts - "Hoot 'N Haw" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT)
When Wayne finds out he owns extra land, his family unexpectedly moves in on his property; Violet searches for Wayne's "Uncle Tommy" after he goes missing.
The Simpsons - "Panic on the Streets of Springfield" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Lisa gets a new imaginary friend -- a depressed British singer from the 1980s; Homer becomes a truck guy.
The Great North - "Tusk in the Wind Adventure" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Beef and Wolf meet their hero, legendary mountain man Tusk Johnson; Judy and the rest of the Tobin clan become addicted to '80s prime-time soap "Dynasty."
Bob's Burgers - "Some Kind of Fender Benderful" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When Bob gets into a four-car fender bender right outside the restaurant, he realizes finding out who is at fault will not be as simple as he had thought.
Family Guy - "Young Parent Trap" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Lois and Peter are mistaken for young parents by another couple at Stewie's school and are invited to live in a millennial apartment complex, leaving Meg and Chris home alone.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 12)
Friday, April 16
- Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Yvette Nicole Brown (The Mayor/The Odd Couple/Community) - Yvette chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Lorraine Toussaint (Where I Love) - Lorraine appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about The Resident on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Lil Rel Howery (Rel/The Carmichael Show) - Lil Rel will be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany guest hosts The Real, so check your loca listings.
- Maya Rudolph (Forever/Up All Night) - Maya talks about Netflix's The Mitchells vs. The Machines and hosting Saturday Night Live on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-April)
01/22 - Corporate - Season 2
01/22 - Corporate - Season 3
02/02 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - The Complete Series (2021 Retail Release)
02/16 - Fam - The Complete Series
02/23 - Betty White's Pet Set - The Complete Series
03/02 - Blue Mountain State - The Complete Series
03/02 - Happy Together - The Complete Series
03/02 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-4 (DVD) (Blu-ray)
04/20 - 'Til Death - The Complete Series
More TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts
