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

Wednesday, November 20

The Goldbergs - "Angst-Giving" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Even though Beverly’s patience with Pop Pop is put to the test due to his endless Thanksgiving demands, she is able to put aside her own feelings to help heal the longstanding rift between Murray and Pop Pop. Meanwhile, Barry and Erica are ready to return home for the holiday, but Uncle Marvin accidentally drives them to Pittsburgh. Marvin attempts to make it right not knowing if they will make it to Jenkintown in time to celebrate the holiday. Judd Hirsch and Dan Fogler return to guest star as Pop Pop and Uncle Marvin.

Schooled - "Friendsgiving" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
CB celebrates Thanksgiving by having all of William Penn rally around him after a cooking incident at his house, while the alumni faculty football game brings out the competitive sides of Wilma and Coach Mellor.

Modern Family - "The Last Thanksgiving" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Cameron and Mitchell’s friends mistakenly assume they have split up and have definitely chosen a side; and Haley attempts to cook Thanksgiving dinner as a thank you for Claire and Phil’s support with the twins. Meanwhile, Jay invites Phil and Dylan out to fly his model plane, and Phil thinks this is his chance to reclaim his dignity after their first outing 10 years ago went so wrong.

Single Parents - "Every Thursday Should Be Like This" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Will gets busy cooking Thanksgiving dinner at Douglas’ home, he asks Angie to hang out with Tracy Freeze (guest star Jama Williamson). Angie reluctantly does so, only to realize that Tracy is actually wonderful, except for a secret she’s keeping from Will. Meanwhile, Miggy shows up to Thanksgiving dinner with the kids’ teacher, Ms. Pronstroller (Sarah Yarkin), as his date, and he enlists Douglas’ assistance in helping them form an in-person connection, given all of their previous communication has been via texts, DMs and memes.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "A Woman's Right to Chop" / "Waiting for Big Mo" (FXX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Trapped inside Paddy's with a suicidal jumper on the roof, the gang wonders if it should bother intervening; Dennis ponders the reasons of playing laser tag and if the pursuit of a victory is worth the effort.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Wednesday, November 20

Adam Driver (Girls) - Watch Adam on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Julie Andrews (Julie) - Julie stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. She will also be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Michael Rapaport (Awkward/The War at Home) and Tony Rock (Living Biblically/All of Us) - Michael and Tony are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Craig Ferguson (The Drew Carey Show) - Craig appears on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory/Roseanne) - Johnny is a guest on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Brie Larson (United States of Tara/Raising Dad) - Brie appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Lena Waithe (Master of None) - Lena is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Ed Quinn (One Day at a Time/2 Broke Girls) - Ed visits The Real, do check your local listings.
Tisha Campbell (Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings.
Maura Tierney (NewsRadio) - Maura talks about The Report on People Now at 12pm.
Robin Givens (Head of the Class) - Robin talks about OWN's Ambition on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Jamie Lee Curtis (Scream Queens/Anything But Love) - Jamie Lee talks about Knives Out on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Ashley Williams (The Jim Gaffigan Show/Good Morning, Miami) - Ashley talks about Holiday Hearts on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.