Friday, August 04, 2017

Fri-Yay: Insecure; BET Fall 2017 Lineup Has New Comedies

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!

Insecure

by Vincent

It's been a bit of a slow summer for sitcoms, even going by typical summer standards. So if you're feeling like you're missing your weekly dose of sitcom fun, I'd highly recommend checking out HBO's sophomore comedy Insecure. Insecure may not be your "typical" sitcom - it's more of a half-hour dramady, true - but it's a genuinely hilarious show that's also capable of some truly moving moments and intricate character work that cuts deep for anyone in their 20s or 30s who's not quite sure about the direction their life seems to be taking them in. Plus, if this season's strong season premiere was any indication, Insecure has only gotten better in its second season, with a more careful blend of both its comedic chops and its lofty dramatic ambitions.

Insecure was created and stars Issa Rae as the titular "Issa," a woman who finds herself at a bit of a crossroads as she enters her 30s. The first season of Insecure dealt heavily with Issa's uncertainty about her career as well as her long-term but stagnant relationship with her boyfriend Lawrence, who (spoiler alert for Season 1) she winds up cheating on towards the end of the season, which ends their relationship. Season 2 picks up in the aftermath of Issa and Lawerence's break-up, and also finds Issa continuing to struggle to make an impact in her career. Issa Rae formerly produced the hit YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl, which was a seriously hilarious and painfully relatable series that showed all of Issa's strengths as a writer and performer. Insecure takes well-crafted "true to life" vibe and mixes it with the glossy and addicting narrative stylings of an HBO series, which creates something that's both relatable but feels thoughtful and high-brow, all of which pays very well to Issa's strengths.

While Issa is certainly the biggest driving force of the series, Insecure is populated with lots of incredibly entertaining supporting characters, the most notable being Issa's best friend Molly. Molly and Issa's friendship serves as the anchor of the series, and their ability to be brutally honest with each other allows us to peer into what's really going on in each other's minds, even when they don't want to admit to themselves what's going on in their minds. Meanwhile, arguably the funniest character on the series is played by Natasha Rothwell's Kelli, who feels like she has the potential to be HBO's beloved breakout character. Rothwell is a comedic mastermind who plays the unpredictable and wild Kelli with just the right balance of comedy and heart to make her a truly memorable comic character. There's a lot to like in Insecure, so if you're feeling the effects of the summer TV drought, I'd highly recommend giving it a chance - it has just the right amount of sitcom and HBO prestige to make it a perfect blend of the two types of shows.


BET

Get ready to clutch your pearls and laugh 'til it hurts as BET Networks unveils its new Fall 2017 lineup! BET is pushing the comedy limits as it debuts series from some of the biggest names in the game including new showcase 50 Central starring the legendary Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson; new boundary-pushing game show Face Value from executive producer Wanda Sykes and starring Deon Cole and Tiffany Haddish; and new weekly satire series The Rundown with Robin Thede from executive producer Chris Rock.

On the scripted side, The Comedy Get Down goes behind the scenes of a mega standup comedy tour with George Lopez, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin and the late, much-beloved Charlie Murphy. Viewers will also get an all-access pass to the hip-hop wedding of the year as rapper Gucci Mane and Keyshia Ka'oir become one in Gucci Mane & Keyshia Ka'Oir: The Mane Event. Irv Gotti's Tales also returns with new episodes, including "song stories" from Jay-Z's "99 Problems" and Fetty Wap's "Trap Queen". And fan favorite tentpole specials return including the biggest night in hip-hop with the Hip Hop Awards and smoothest sounds in R&B with the Soul Train Awards. New programming kicks off Wednesday, September 27, with brand new episodes premiering every week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, June 5

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A House Divided" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Audrey and Mary go to war over CeeCee and Georgie, and Mandy can’t help but take sides.

Ghosts - "Thorapy 2: Abandonment Issues" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Thor returns to therapy to work through his angst over being abandoned by his Viking shipmates. Also, Jay’s sister, Bela (Punam Patel), attempts to help him with the restaurant.

Bob's Burgers - "Snackface" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Tina, Gene and Louise strike it rich in the illegal snack business at school, but the addition of a new member to their "cartel" threatens to destroy it.

Grimsburg - "The Undies" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
In order to win this year's Undies Award for best undercover operation, Flute infiltrates the Preggo crime family.

Family Guy - "Martian Meg" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Fed up with feeling like she doesn't belong, Meg enlists in a training program for a mission to Mars.

The Great North - "Reservoir Dad Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Beef discovers the thrills of stunt fishing.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 1)

Thursday, June 5

  • Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy/American Dad!/The Cleveland Show) - Catch Seth on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) and Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Nick and Andrew are guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) - Dakota stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
  • Nicole Ari Parker (And Just Like That.../Second Time Around) - Nicole talks about And Just Like That... on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie talks about The White Lotus on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Brianne Howey (Dollface) - Brianne talks about Ginny & Georgia on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Drew-crewer Valerie is joining Drew with chef Bobby Flay to whip up something amazing in the kitchen on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Kerri Kenney (The Four Seasons/Maggie/Superstore/Reno 911!/The Ellen Show) - Kerri is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.


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

06/04 - 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)
05/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Zach Braff Joins Scrubs Reboot; 7th Heaven Reboot in the Works
05/23 - Discovery Channel's Shark Week with Tom Bergeron; Apple TV+ Season 2 of Hit Series
05/22 - TV Legend Henry Winkler's New HISTORY Series; The CW Renews Family Law
05/21 - Remembering George Wendt of Cheers; Platonic Season 2 First Look
05/20 - The CW Renews Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble; Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life on Netflix May 26
05/19 - North to Shore Festival Returns This June in NJ; S.W.A.T. Sets Spinoff Series
05/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 19, 2025)
05/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Picks Up New Dan Levy Comedy; First Look at King of the Hill Reboot Artwork
05/16 - Michael J. Fox to Guest Star on Shrinking; The CW Picks Up Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
05/15 - 2025 Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront; 2025 Netflix Upfront
05/14 - Chad Powers Premieres September 30 on Hulu; Upfront Premiere Dates for FX on Hulu
05/13 - ABC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Ted: The Animated Series Coming to Peacock
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Fox Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule
05/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 12, 2025)
05/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Cancels Night Court and Lopez vs. Lopez; ABC Renews Duo of Game Shows
05/09 - Peacock Orders Dig from Amy Poehler; Apple TV+ Comedy Stick Premieres June 4; Remembering Ruth Buzzi
05/08 - CBS 2025-26 Schedule; Animal Control and Going Dutch Renewed by Fox
05/07 - Netflix's A Man on the Inside Bulks Up Cast for Season 2; The Studio Renewed by Apple TV+
05/06 - Netflix's Long Story Short Announces Cast; NBC Renews All Chicago Series for 2025-26
05/05 - Antenna TV's The Partridge Family Mother's Day Marathon; Rewind TV's 227 40th Anniversary Marathon
05/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 5, 2025)