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

Monday, December 8

DMV - "The Next Window" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
At the Big Sac holiday party, Colette tries to impress Noa before his single “window” closes. Meanwhile, Barb’s effort to save the East Hollywood DMV backfires when she accidentally tackles the director, but assistant Sally (Leslie Jones) steps in to help.

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Secrets and Santas" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Butlers’ anniversary plans take an unexpected turn when a blast from the past, Calvin’s ex-girlfriend, resurfaces. Meanwhile, Malcolm’s meeting gets hijacked, Marty makes a big move toward commitment and Gemma finds herself caught in a holiday misunderstanding.

St. Denis Medical - "No Wonder His Kidney Wants Out" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron and Alex react very differently to a seemingly selfless patient; Joyce runs into an old flame; Matt helps Bruce find a new best friend.

The Paper - "Scam Alert" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ned chases a story about a local scammer operating through a dating app and realizes he may already have the scoop when he learns Esmeralda was one of his victims; Nicole is full of vengeful glee.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 8)

Monday, December 8

Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Watch Quinta on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Mila Kunis (Family Guy/That '70s Show) - Mila appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Zooey Deschanel (Physical/New Girl) - Zooey is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Sabrina Carpenter (Girl Meets World) - Sabrina appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ashley Park (Emily in Paris/Only Murders in the Building/Girls5eva/Nightcap) - Ashley talks about Emily in Paris on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - Ana chats about Sugar & Booze: A Holiday Spectacular with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - All Access with Linsey Davis sits down with Henry to talk about his life, career and new children's book Detective Duck: The Mystery at Emerald Pond on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Mark Hamill (The Texas Wheelers) - Mark talks about The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie tells Sherri about starring in The Family McMullen, the sequel to The Brothers McMullen, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Reba McEntire (Happy's Place/Malibu Country/Reba) - Reba talks about season two of her hit sitcom Happy's Place on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela) - Justine talks about Netflix's Nobody Wants This on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.