Fri-Yay: Working Class Sitcoms; Fox Fall 2017 Premiere Dates

Friday, June 23, 2017

Fri-Yay: Working Class Sitcoms; Fox Fall 2017 Premiere Dates

It's time for another edition of Fri-Yay! That means we will take a look back on some sitcom happenings in recent days or weeks or other fun sitcomy stuff. It's a sitcom lover's paradise! Happy Fri-Yay!

by Vincent

One of the major trends in television comedy lately has been to depict the lives of people who are generally rich, famous and much more privileged than the average viewer of said comedies. This dates back all the way back to the likes of Friends and Seinfeld, sitcoms about people who held down respectable jobs and managed to live in impressive sized apartments in the most expensive and desirable city in the world. This continued into the 2000s, with nearly every major sitcom representing people in high-class jobs living lavish lifestyles - 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and even cable comedies such as Girls, Entourage, and Louie.

I don't mean to knock these shows - I love most of them! But it's an interesting trend, especially considering it wasn't always the case. Older sitcoms had no problems depicting rural lifestyles (Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show, etc), or working class families (All in the Family, Roseanne) or low-wage workers (Taxi, Cheers). And there's something about sitcoms that are able to depict the lives of ordinary, everyday people and highlight how the challenges and complexities of everyday, middle class life in America. Shows like Roseanne and All in the Family were able to capture the zeitgeist by reflecting what Americans were going through every day back at them on their TV screens. And there's nothing like an ensemble show about working class misfits like Taxi or Cheers that helps you feel just a little bit more at home at your own less-than-enthralling job.

Luckily, there are signs the times are changing. There are a handful of sitcoms on the air right now that channel some of these older, working class sitcoms - The Middle does an excellent job of portraying working class family life, while Superstore has echoed Taxi or Cheers in the way it creates a makeshift family of people in a down-on-their-luck position. ABC has also officially announced a Roseanne reboot that should certainly prove interesting in our current era. It's been fun hanging with high society, but I'm ready for sitcoms to get a little more down to Earth.

Fox

Fox has set the fall 2017 premiere dates for its new and returning series. Most will launch during premiere week (Sept 25-Oct. 1), but there are a few exceptions. The Gifted, the new family adventure series, produced in association with Marvel Television, launches Monday, Oct. 2 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following the return of Lucifer at 8:00 PM ET/PT. No word yet what will air on Monday, Sept. 25, the first night of the new TV season. New comedic drama The Orville, from creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane and director Jon Favreau, debuts with a special two-night series premiere on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 8:00 PM ET/PT and Sunday, Sept. 17 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, immediately following NFL On Fox doubleheaders. The Orville will then make its time period premiere on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following Gotham's Season Four return on a new night at 8:00 PM ET/PT. The new buddy comedy Ghosted, starring Craig Robinson and Adam Scott, premieres Oct. 1 at 8:30 PM ET/PT, during a Sunday night of premieres, including Bob's Burgers (7:30PM ET/PT), The Simpsons (8:00 PM ET/PT), Family Guy (9:00PM ET/PT and The Last Man on Earth (9:30PM ET/PT).

Lethal Weapon Season Two now leads off Tuesdays, beginning Sept. 26 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, followed by the season premieres of The Mick at 9:00 PM ET/PT and Brooklyn Nine-Nine at 9:30 PM ET/PT. Empire (8:00PM ET/PT) and Star (9:00 PM ET/PT) join forces on an epic night of music and drama, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 27. Friday, Sept. 29 sees the returns of Hell's Kitchen (8:00PM ET/PT) and The Exorcist (9:00 PM ET/PT).

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, November 12

The Conners - "Tempest in a Stew Pot" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Jackie and Becky pitch their business plan to Darlene in hopes of getting the Lunch Box back, but Darlene’s decision leads to hostility among the three. Meanwhile, Dan bans Odessa from the house, causing a rift with Harris; and Mark makes extensive Thanksgiving plans that may inevitably fall apart.

Bless This Mess - "The Visit" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Donna springs a last-minute trip to Nebraska on Mike and Rio, which she claims is to relax, but Mike and Rio soon find out she has other plans in mind when she steps into competitive mode to get them to participate in the harvest. Meanwhile, Constance’s son Brandon is driving her crazy working at the store, so she pawns him off on Rudy.

mixed-ish - "Puttin' on the Ritz" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The kids are excited to learn more about their grandad after Harrison invites the crew to family day at his country club. Although Paul thinks it’s a bad idea, he is eventually overruled. Meanwhile, Alicia attempts to fit in at the country club but ends up fighting with Denise about keeping it real.

black-ish - "Daughters for Dummies" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Dre realizes that his relationship with Diane has been distant, he plans some daddy-daughter bonding sessions, but the plans backfire when he realizes the interest is one-sided. Meanwhile, Bow covers for Junior at his ChoreBoar gig.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 11)

Tuesday, November 12

Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Catch Patrick on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (People of Earth) - Da'Vine appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen visits The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Frozen 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/Getting On/The Norm Show) - Laurie stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Jenny Slate (Married/Parks and Recreation/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Rob Schneider (Real Rob/Rob) and Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) - Rob and Esther are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class) - Lizzy drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Robin Givens (Head of the Class) - Robin visits The Real, so check your local listings.
Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs/Clueless) - Donald appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
Nicole Byer (Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Tim Robbins (The Brink) - Tim talks about Dark Waters on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Kristin Davis (Sex and the City/Bad Teacher) - Kristin talks about Holiday in the Wild on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.