Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Pop Mid-Season Pilot Review: Hollywood Darlings - Premieres Wednesday (April 12); CMT Renews Nashville for Season 6


Hollywood Darlings

Hollywood Darlings - Tuesdays at 8:00PM ET/PT on Pop
Premieres Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 8:00PM ET/PT


by Pavan

Hollywood Darlings stars three fan favorite child stars of the '90s – Jodie Sweetin (Full House, Fuller House), Christine Lakin (Step By Step) and Beverley Mitchell (7th Heaven). The series follows three lifelong friends who grew up together in "the business," became household names, and now take on even bigger roles as moms, wives and businesswomen. Their social circles include other celebrities, who will make special appearances throughout the series.

Cast Details:

Jodie Sweetin as Jodie Sweetin
Christine Lakin as Christine Lakin
Beverley Mitchell as Beverley Mitchell

Jodie Sweetin (Jodie) is of course best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner on the hit ABC sitcom Full House from 1987-1995. She has reprised the role in the Netflix comedy Fuller House. Other appearances include a guest stint on Party of Five and appearing on the sitcom Valerie.

Christine Lakin (Christine) is of course best known for her role as Alicia "Al" Lambert on the 1990s ABC situation comedy Step by Step. She has appeared on many TV series such as a recurring role on Family Guy, Rita Rocks, Valentine, and guest shots on series like Melissa & Joey, Modern Family, Sons & Daughters, Rodney and more. Movie wise she has appeared in Mother's Day, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, You Again, Veronica Mars, Georgia Rule, The Game Plan and The Hottie and the Nottie. She had her own comedic webseries Lovin' Lakin, along with judging the internet series Internet Icon and developing her own stage show Worst Audition Ever.

Beverley Mitchell (Beverley) is best known for her role as Lucy Camden-Kinkirk on the television series 7th Heaven. The series lasted a long eleven seasons from 1996-2007. After that series she was a regular on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She has also guest starred on series such as Melrose Place, Baywatch, and Quantum Leap.


Pilot Plot:

"How Christine Got Her Groove Back" (airs Wednesday, April 12 at 8:00PM ET/PT)

Undersexed, new mom Christine takes an over-scheduled Beverley to Andrew Keegan's Full Circle spiritual church for a day of unconventional relaxation with mixed results. Jodie substitute teaches Andrea Barber’s acting class for kids but quickly learns the kids are interested in a lot more than simple improv games. Guest Stars: Andrew Keegan, Andrea Barber

Analysis:

The '90s are back! Pop has struck gold with this comedy throwing it back to stars of the '90s, but in a new twist. We got to watch five hilarious episodes (of the eight produced) of this comedy that is like Curb Your Enthusiasm with our fave family series stars: Christine Lakin, Jodie Sweetin and Beverley Mitchell. Obviously the three stars are friends in real life and grew up in the business and this series is a satirical look at their lives. Famous faces from their lives make appearances, including cast members from their past shows like Andrea Barber, Patrick Duffy, Staci Keanan and Andrew Keegan. Did you know Andrew Keegan appeared on ALL three of their shows (Step by Step, Full House and 7th Heaven)? Is he the six degrees of separation for these girls? Possibly, as he was hilarious in the premiere episode.

Of the episodes we got to watch, there are lot of funny moments. Christine Lakin shines as the funniest of the three with hilarious one-liners and facial expressions. Beverley Mitchell usually plays with Christine in a tag team comedy show in the episodes we have seen, while Jodie Sweetin gets to showcase her broad range with other players, like Andrea Barber's improv class kids and...Mr. Bear! Darlings takes a general storyline and improvs the heck out of it. If you are a fan of Curb, then this is going to be fun for you. Besides the great guests from their past shows, you will also see their other friends from the business (more '90s stars, too) like: Tamera Mowry, Wanya Morris, Jaleel White, Heather & Nicholle Tom, Lance Bass, Lori Beth Denberg and Soleil Moon Frye.

Conclusion:

This comedy really shows us the range of these three former child stars. The '90s are certainly back in style with these three. It's just fun, exciting and even surprising to see what will happen on these episodes. Pop has had some comedy success already with series like Schitt's Creek and Nightcap, and now Hollywood Darlings will fit in perfectly on this network. Jodie and Christine were in family sitcoms with a studio audience, while Beverley was in a family drama...now they all come together in a new style of comedy that they are not known for and they totally hit a homerun here. They're the center of attention now and we are so glad. Watch out Larry David, there is a new throwback style Curb in town..and it is funny!

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 8:00PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

  • Pop Official Site
  • TV.com
  • Internet Movie Database
  • Hollywood Darlings Photo Gallery

    Preview:






  • Nashville

    CMT announced Nashville will return for a new season with 16 episodes premiering early next year. In addition, the network revealed a midseason premiere date of Thursday, June 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT for the back half of season five. Charles Esten (Deacon) first announced the renewal on Facebook Live on behalf of the entire cast. In the coming weeks, CMT will announce its complete 2017-2018 slate. Long-time SVOD partner Hulu will continue to stream episodes the day after they premiere on CMT.

    The devoted "Nashie" fan base has generated record-breaking numbers for CMT. Nashville ranks as the network's highest-rated and most-watched show in the network's history, averaging 2.1M weekly viewers (L+7). Over the course of the first-half of the season, the series notched nearly 16 million total viewers on CMT alone, and nearly 23 million on CMT and Nick at Nite. The news comes on the heels of strong growth for CMT. Original premieres are pacing up 51% among A 18-49 and 79% among W18-49 versus year ago. Total day ratings are up 19% with A 18-49 and 25% with W 18-49. As a result, CMT garnered the biggest year-over-year growth this quarter than any other top 50 channel on cable (excluding news nets).
    Rachel Bilson (The OC, Hart of Dixie) and Kaitlin Doubleday (Empire) will join the series in the second half of season five. In addition, fresh off the success of Big Little Lies, Jeff Nordling will recur in the role of Brad Maitland, an extremely successful, charming, egotistical, narcissistic owner of the most successful record label in Nashville. The midseason premiere picks up 10 weeks after the events that unfolded in the midseason finale. Deacon helps Daphne with a school project, but Daphne feels unmotivated. Juliette gives Maddie unsolicited advice about a song. Scarlett and Gunnar receive news about the baby. The series stars Hayden Panettiere as Juliette Barnes, Clare Bowen as Scarlett O'Connor, Chris Carmack as Will Lexington, Charles Esten as Deacon Claybourne, Jonathan Jackson as Avery Barkley, Sam Palladio as Gunnar Scott, Maisy Stella as Daphne Conrad and Lennon Stella as Maddie Conrad. In addition, this season features Joseph David-Jones as Clay, Rhiannon Giddens as Hallie Jordan and Cameron Scoggins as Zach Welles in recurring roles.


    Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Thursday, June 26

    Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "McAllister Auto Loves the Ladies" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    Jim feels ganged up on when Georgie and Audrey make changes to the tire store, and Mandy helps Georgie navigate a fight between her parents.

    Ghosts - "The Bachelorette Party" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    When Alberta’s descendant hosts a bachelorette party at Woodstone Mansion, Alberta becomes suspicious of her fiancĂ©. Also, Jay is excited about a positive review on his restaurant.

    Bob's Burgers - "Hope N' Mic Night" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    The kids want to host an open mic night at the restaurant, but the hidden costs keep mounting and Bob worries that the night will ruin them.

    Grimsburg - "Haunted Housewife" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    Annoyed by Flute ruining her dates, Harmony pushes him to move out, resulting in him moving into a house haunted by a doting housewife who does all his chores, transforming him into a real adult.

    Family Guy - "Lois C.K." (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    Lois becomes a stand-up comic, using real life stories about Peter as content; Peter tries his best to straighten his life out to avoid being ridiculed by Lois's act.

    The Great North - "Bots on the Side Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    Ham gets a singing job at a local pizza place; the rest of the family decide on a name for the new boat.

    Complete TV Listings


    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 23)

    Thursday, June 26

    • Emma Stone (The Curse) - Catch Emma on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) - Jeremy is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • Mariska Hargitay (Can't Hurry Love) - Mariska appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about My Mom Jayne on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
    • Lennon Parham (Minx/Bless This Mess/Schooled/Playing House/Best Friends Forever) and Tim Baltz (The Righteous Gemstones) - Lennon and Tim are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
    • Jameela Jamil (Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/The Good Place) - Jameela talks about Elio on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
    • Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) - Lisa appears on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


    New on DVD and Blu-ray

    The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (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)

    More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


    Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

    06/25 - Netflix Renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2; My Life with the Walter Boys First Look for Season 2
    06/24 - Marc Maron Gets Second HBO Comedy Special; Outlander Prequel Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
    06/23 - MeTV Summer Changes, Adds Adventures of Superman; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
    06/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 23, 2025)
    06/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Officially Dead After Not Finding New Home; Weigel Announces New WEST Network
    06/20 - Great American Media Announces New Danica McKellar Movie; Jennifer Love Hewitt ID True Crime Series
    06/19 - Bad Thoughts Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix; Zarna Garg Gets Hulu Special This July
    06/18 - Weigel Broadcasting Announces WEST Network with Classic TV Westerns; Hulu's Season 2 of Such Brave Girls
    06/17 - Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife on A&E Series; Digman! Returns July 9 on Comedy Central
    06/16 - Hulu's Chad Powers Teaser; Prime Video's Jesse Williams Series
    06/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 16, 2025)
    06/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Mulls Airing The Paper on Primetime Lineup; Fox Revives Baywatch Reboot Talk
    06/13 - My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Renewed for 2 More Seasons; Hanna-Barbera Developing Adult Animated Series
    06/12 - Comedy Superstar Jack Black Is the King of Comedy at Nickelodeon; Doc Adds Felicity Huffman
    06/11 - Celebrities for Celebrity Family Feud Season 11; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Starts Production
    06/10 - Warner Bros. Discovery Separates Company; Peacock's Jennifer Garner Series Adds to Cast
    06/09 - Comedian Ms. Pat Gets Season 3 of Courtroom Series; Disney Branded Television Animated Slate
    06/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 9, 2025)
    06/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Cancels Alert: Missing Persons Unit and The Cleaning Lady; Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune Headed to Streaming
    06/06 - Hulu's First Look at Amanda Knox Drama; Prime Video Lands Spy Thriller
    06/05 - Disney's Electric Bloom Gets Premiere Date; Conan to Guest on NBC's Late Night
    06/04 - Netflix Announces Haunted Hotel with Comedic Voices; Prime Video Unveils Trailer for Thriller
    06/03 - Netflix's Nobody Wants This Returns October 23; The CW Renews All American for Final Season
    06/02 - Remembering Loretta Swit of M*A*S*H, Valerie Mahaffey of Young Sheldon, and The Simpsons Composer Alf Clausen
    06/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 2, 2025)
    05/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New King of the Hill Reboot Details; CBS Makes Late Night Changes
    05/30 - FX's Adults Pilot Available on Social Platforms; BET and BET+ Premiere New Tyler Perry Series in June
    05/29 - Netflix's New Chuck Lorre Sitcom Leanne; Apple TV+ Season 4 Premiere of The Morning Show
    05/28 - Max Renews Hacks for Season 5; Byron Allen Coming Back to CBS Late Night
    05/27 - Antenna TV Summer 2025 Schedule; Rewind TV Summer 2025 Schedule
    05/26 - Memorial Day 2025 TV Sitcom Marathons
    05/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 26, 2025)