Thursday, April 20, 2017
Freeform 2017 Upfront; Netflix Will Arnett Comedy Returns June 2
At Freeform's upfront presentation opened by Iliza Shlesinger (Truth & Iliza) held in New York yesterday, The Walt Disney Company's millennial-focused television network announced a bold and robust programming lineup built around top talent, premium original content and prominent Disney properties including Marvel, ABC Studios and Disney theme parks. Coming in early 2018 is Alone Together, a half-hour, single-camera comedy starring Esther Povitsky (Lady Dynamite) and Benji Aflalo (Not Safe with Nikki Glaser). Esther and Benji are platonic best friends who want nothing more than to be accepted by the vain and status-obsessed culture of Los Angeles. Next up, Marvel's Cloak & Dagger is the story of Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) – two teenagers from very different backgrounds, who find themselves burdened and awakened to newly acquired superpowers which are mysteriously linked to one another. Tandy can emit light daggers and Tyrone has the ability to engulf others in darkness. They quickly learn they are better together than apart, but their feelings for each other make their already complicated world even more challenging. The network has ordered 10 one-hour episodes slated to debut early 2018.
Coming in summer 2018 is new drama Siren takes us inside Bristol Cove--a coastal town known for its legend of once being home to mermaids. When the arrival of a mysterious girl proves this folklore all too true, the battle between man and sea takes a very vicious turn as these predatory beings return to reclaim their right to the ocean. The series stars Alex Roe (The 5th Wave) as Ben, a bright marine biologist who finds himself drawn to Ryn, a mysterious new girl in town played by Eline Powell (Game of Thrones), who is a strange young woman with a deep dark secret. Fola Evans-Akingbola (An American Exorcism) stars as Maddie, also a marine biologist who works with Ben, and is highly suspicious of Ryn. Ian Verdun (Life's a Drag) stars as Xander, a deep sea fisherman on a quest to uncover the truth; and Rena Owen (Star Wars Episodes II and III) as Helen, the town eccentric who seems to know more about the mermaids than she lets on. Moving on, Marvel's New Warriors is a new comedic live-action adaptation of the popular Marvel comic featuring young adult heroes. This marks Marvel's first foray into comedy for a television series. The comedy is about six young people with powers living and working together. With powers and abilities on the opposite end of the spectrum of The Avengers, the New Warriors want to make a difference in the world ... even if the world isn't ready. Not quite super, not yet heroes, the series is about that time in your life when you first enter adulthood and feel like you can do everything and nothing at once – except in this world, bad guys can be as terrifying as bad dates. The network has ordered ten 30-minute episodes slated to debut in 2018.
Among the other items of note is a Christmas movie starring Tyra Banks called Life-Size 2 and new drama The Bold Type will have a special two-hour premiere on Tuesday, July 11, at 9:00 p.m. EDT. The series stars Katie Stevens, Aisha Dee, Meghann Fahy, Sam Page, Matt Ward and Melora Hardin.
Backpedaling just got harder...Flaked is back! In this season of Flaked, Chip can't get out of his own way. Find out how his love interest, bromance, recovery and lies come to fruition on June 2 only on Netflix. In the new season of Flaked, Chip returns to Venice after a short exile and finds that he is no longer welcome. People have not forgotten that he sold out the local community. And for what... ? Chip's lost everything: his store, his friends, his reputation, his bicycle... he doesn't even have a guest house to live in. All he's got left is London, and she's beginning to look elsewhere - spiritually, if not physically.
Chip starts to claw his way back into the affections of the community, first asking Dennis to be his sponsor, then helping his friend in a new business venture, and even doing an honest day's work... But the lies are never too far behind, and just when it looks as though he's won back his friend and stabilized his relationship, everything splinters again and he slips back into the bottle... It becomes clear that he needs to make a choice: his best friend or the love of his life. Lies or sobriety. Flaked is created by Will Arnett and Mark Chappell and executive produced by Arnett, Chappell, Ben Silverman, Peter Principato, and Mitch Hurwitz. The series stars Will Arnett ("Chip"), David Sullivan ("Dennis"), Ruth Kearney ("London"), George Basil ("Cooler") and Lenora Crichlow ("Rosa").
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, May 21
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "The Talk" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
House of Payne is the hilarious comedy about Retired fire chief Curtis Payne and his lovely wife Ella.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Dyna Woman" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Anastasia relives her childhood and springs into action to combat criminal activity; the family must prepare for the increase in crime.
The Ms. Pat Show - "The Guilt Trip" (BET, 10:30PM ET/PT)
When the family gets derailed on their way to Atlanta for Pat's big show, they wind up at an unusual resort where they all learn a powerful lesson about listening and learning from the past.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 19)
Wednesday, May 21
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Watch Henry on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Tina Fey (The Four Seasons/Only Murders in the Building/30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- John Krasinski (The Office) - E! News has an interview with John at 11pm on E!.
- Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - Kristin talks about And Just Like That... on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - NBC's Today catches up with Howie in the 10am hour. He also talks about NBC's America's Got Talent on Access Hollywood with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - It's Drew's big 50th birthday show an entire show filled with surprises as Drew celebrates this big milestone on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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