Modern Family Renewed for 2 More Seasons; More Pre-Upfront News

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Modern Family Renewed for 2 More Seasons; More Pre-Upfront News

We're jumping for joy because Modern Family has been picked up for TWO more amazing seasons, its 9th and 10th seasons. The 8th season wraps up next week, and in the season finale, Manny's father, Javier (guest star Benjamin Bratt), shows up for his graduation and takes him out on a wild night of celebration, and then Jay steps in to pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is getting ready for Luke and Manny's big day and dealing with the emotions that come with seeing your kids grow up and leave the nest. Modern Family anchors ABC Wednesdays at 9pm and will likely stay in that slot next season (and probably the year after, too).

Time for a speed round of pre-upfront news. ABC has canceled Last Man Standing after six seasons, in somewhat of a surprise. The series was pretty expensive, as ABC did not own it and Tim Allen's salary is steep. ABC also has announced that next season will be the last for Scandal, its seventh season. NBC has canceled freshman drama Timeless. In good news, Fox has ordered new seasons of Gotham and sitcom The Last Man on Earth, while NBC has renewed Blindspot and the three veteran Chicago series (Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med). And finally, The CW has renewed iZombie and The Originals.

Black Lightning

Moving onto new series, The CW has picked up a few new dramas, including Black Lightning. The first African-American DC Super Hero to have his own stand-alone comic title, the series is based on the character created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden in 1977 and stars China Anne McClain. The CW has also ordered Life Sentence, a dramedy about a young woman diagnosed with terminal cancer and when she finds out that she's not dying after all, she has to learn to live with the choices she made when she decided to live like she was dying. Lucy Hale stars. The biggest new CW series will probably be Dynasty, a reboot of Esther Shapiro and Richard Shapiro's famed 1981-1989 series about two of America's wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, as they feud for control over their fortune and their children, among the stars are Alan Dale, Brianna Brown, Elizabeth Gillies and Grant Show. And finally, The CW has picked up Valor, a drama about a U.S. Army base that houses an elite unit of helicopter pilots trained to perform clandestine international and domestic missions.

The Resident

Fox has picked up new drama The Resident. A tough, brilliant senior resident guides an idealistic young doctor through his first day, pulling back the curtain on what really happens, both good and bad, in modern-day medicine. The series stars Matt Czuchry, Bruce Greenwood and Emily VanCamp. Comedy wise, Fox has ordered two series: Ghosted and LA to Vegas. In Ghosted, a cynical skeptic (Craig Robinson), and a genius "true believer" in the paranormal (Adam Scott), are recruited by a secret government agency to look into the rampant "unexplained" activity in Los Angeles -- all while uncovering a larger mystery that could threaten the existence of the human race. And in LA to Vegas, it is an ensemble workplace comedy about an airline crew and the eccentric passengers who, every weekend, take the roundtrip flight from Burbank to Las Vegas with one goal in mind - to come back a winner. Dylan McDermott stars.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, April 9

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Stuffed Monkey and an Ex-Girlfriend" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When CeeCee loses her favorite toy, Mandy and Meemaw (Annie Potts) take it as an opportunity to make some money. Meanwhile, Connor contemplates revisiting an old relationship.

Ghosts - "Michael Jackson Goes to HR" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor lands himself in trouble when an inappropriate gift to a co‑worker forces him into an HR meeting only Jay can handle. Meanwhile, Pete unintentionally sparks drama with Alberta after casually mentioning a surprise visit to his ex.

Animal Control - "Scaredy Cats and Card Sharks" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT)
When Frank and Daisy lose $5,000 in union funds, they try to win the money back by gambling; Shred and Patel cover the late-night shift at the precinct.

Going Dutch - "The Heart Locker" (Fox, 9:32PM ET/PT)
After throwing out his back, the Colonel is ordered to bed rest; the base is sent to sweep for landmines at a local farm, where Major Shah suddenly finds himself in serious danger when he steps on one.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Catch Kerry on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy talks about Scrubs and High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Dany Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) - Dan talks about Big Mistakes on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity dishes on Doc on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/Help Me Help You) - Bryan, Frankie and Jane talk about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8) - NBC's Today has "Head or Tails" with John in the 9am hour.
Billy Magnussen (The Franchise/Made for Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Billy in the 9am hour.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Terry and Rebecca King-Crews revealing for the first time Rebecca's health battle, so check your local listings.
Kenya Barris (blackAF) - Kenya talks about Prime's Jerry West: The Logo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette tells Drew about her current run in Broadway show The Rocky Horror Show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.