Freeform Announces Comedy Block for Wednesdays; The Simpsons Documentary Airs on Fox Sunday

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Freeform Announces Comedy Block for Wednesdays; The Simpsons Documentary Airs on Fox Sunday

Freeform, Disney's young adult television and streaming network, announced the premiere dates for its highly anticipated comedies grown-ish and Alone Together. Starting Wednesday, January 3 at 8:00pm EST, catch the one-hour debut of grown-ish from executive producer Kenya Barris and starring black-ish actress Yara Shahidi reprising her role as Zoey. The following week on Wednesday, January 10 at 8:30 p.m. EST, catch the premiere of Alone Together, the irreverent buddy comedy from executive producers Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, starring comedians Esther Povitsky and Benji Aflalo. The network announced an expanded lineup with four branded nights of original series. In addition to Freeform's Wednesday night comedy block, the network will roll out various programming blocks over the next few months as outlined below:

• Monday nights will consist of unscripted originals kicking off with the series premiere of Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings in the spring.
• Tuesday nights will be dedicated to original dramas beginning Q1 with The Fosters, leading into Shadowhunters on April 3. The Bold Type and Famous in Love will carry out the drama block for the remainder of the year.
• Thursday nights will exclusively consist of genre programming beginning January 18 with the two-hour season premiere of Beyond, leading into the March 29 premiere of Siren. Thursday nights will also be home to Marvel's Cloak & Dagger later in the year.

Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson

Twenty-five years after The Simpsons' "Homer at the Bat" originally aired, America's favorite family once again forays into America's favorite pastime. In advance of the network's 20th year broadcasting the World Series, Fox Sports announced that a comedic "Simpsonized" documentary, Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson, will air adjacent to regional NFL broadcasts on Sunday, Oct. 22 on Fox. The World Series, presented by YouTube TV, begins Tuesday, Oct. 24 on Fox. The one-hour special celebrates the legendary episode "Homer at the Bat," in addition to Homer Simpson's induction into The National Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year. A satire of Ken Burns' epic documentary, Baseball, the special features interviews with eight Major League Baseball players appearing in the original episode, along with baseball historians, sportscasters, and iconic personalities, such as Fox Sports' Joe Buck, sports announcer Bob Costas, author George Will, Dr. Oz, fashion consultant and television personality Tim Gunn and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio. Current Yankee slugger and Major League Baseball AL MVP candidate Aaron Judge also appears in the special.

Additionally, the feature contains six minutes of never-before-seen original animation from The Simpsons, including character "interviews" with Homer, Moe, Chief Wiggum and Apu, voiced by Dan Castellaneta and Hank Azaria. Fox Sports features live regionalized NFL coverage at 1:00 PM ET and 4:05 PM ET with NFL broadcasts available in both competing teams' home markets, as well as select additional cities around the country. Viewers with an NFL matchup airing at 1:00 PM ET get to watch the documentary at 4:30 PM ET; viewers with an NFL matchup airing at 4:05 PM ET get to watch the documentary at 3:00 PM ET. Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson also airs on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6:00 PM ET on FS1.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, October 23

The Goldbergs - "Parents Thursday" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
While at school, Erica attempts to fool Beverly into thinking Parents Weekend has been rescheduled to Parents Thursday so the family won’t attend … but the smother knows better! Meanwhile, William Penn is doing “Romeo & Juliet,” the perfect play for Adam to romance Dana until someone else gets the leading lady.

Schooled - "Outbreak" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When a bad flu epidemic hits William Penn, Coach Mellor is sent to his sick bed and Principal Glascott must step it up as the wrestling coach with the Jenkintown Cup on the line. Meanwhile, Lainey thinks she can easily pass a class taught by CB, yet it’s anything but.

Modern Family - "New Kids on the Block" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Haley is determined to follow the advice in her parenting books with the twins, but Phil and Claire think their old methods are better. Meanwhile, Manny is set to direct Jay’s dog bed commercial in the hopes of winning his ex-girlfriend back.

Single Parents - "Sport" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Will is pumped to become the coach of Sophie’s soccer team in order to spend more time with his daughter, especially since she has been distant recently. However, his intentions to focus on Sophie and teach the team that you don’t need to win to have fun slowly shift once he realizes he has a secret weapon on his team – Rory – but allowing him on the team means Will must keep a certain secret about Rory. Meanwhile, Douglas and Angie attempt to navigate what their friendship looks like now that they are roommates for the foreseeable future.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang Texts" (FXX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
During their trip to the Philadelphia Zoo, Mac sets up a text group chain for the gang, but confusion sets in and the gang must learn from the meerkats on how to communicate properly in a group.

Family Time - "Black Love" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Lisa and Tony appear on a TV show that exposes some of the imperfections in their relationship; Donnie and Brandy use a dating app to play matchmaker for each other.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 21)

Wednesday, October 23

Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Office) - Watch Ellie on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) - Michael stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kathryn Hahn (Transparent/Happyish/Free Agents) - Kathryn appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Andrea Savage (I'm Sorry/Significant Others) - Andrea is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jesse Plemons (No Activity/Bent) - Jesse visits Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie on ABC's GMA 3: Strahan, Sara & Keke at 1pm.
Lea Michele (The Mayor/Scream Queens) - Lea drops by A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tim Robbins (The Brink) - Tim appears on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Ali Wong (American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - Ali is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Amanda Seales (Insecure) - Amanda guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings. She also talks about Small Doses on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Thomas will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Ken talks about The Masked Singer on People Now at 12pm and on the BUILD Series at 1pm..
Alfonso Ribeiro (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/In the House/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso talks about Catch 21 on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT and on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) - Alan talks about the Clear + Vivid Podcast on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Stark Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil is a guest on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/The Mindy Project) - Anna talks about Perfect Harmony on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Rob Corddry (The Unicorn/Ballers/The Winner) - Rob is a guest on the BUILD Series at 2pm.