Fri-Yay: How Are This Season's Sitcoms Doing?; COZI TV's 3rd Annual Munster-thon

Friday, October 20, 2017

Fri-Yay: How Are This Season's Sitcoms Doing?; COZI TV's 3rd Annual Munster-thon

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

A few weeks ago, I outlined the most promising new sitcoms of the season, while acknowledging that it was a bit of a disappointing season for new sitcoms. Since then, there's been a little movement on the sitcom front - shows have premiered, had their ratings measured, and had time to develop a critical consensus. And since then, it's become even more clear: this is an "off" season for network TV sitcoms. The most promising sitcom of the season, quality-wise, is The Mayor, and yet it's also the lowest-rated, falling to a measly 0.8 rating in its most recent airing. CBS's 9JKL and Me, Myself and I ratings also aren't particularly impressive, and quality-wise, neither show has really taken off in a way that would make either one of them particularly promising. In fact, the only two sitcoms this season that seem to be doing well are Will & Grace and Young Sheldon, both of which obviously are coming from previously loved and established successful brands, the original Will & Grace and The Big Bang Theory.

This is especially a bit surprising because the last few years have really been quite good for sitcoms - shows like Superstore, The Good Place, Speechless, The Mick, Great News and Life in Pieces are all worthwhile additions to the network sitcom canon, on various different networks. Truthfully, sitcom quality tends to be a bit of a continuous cycle. Much of the good "talent" (on and off camera) gets used during a "hot streak," so the following year or two tends to be a little lighter. That could be why we saw so much reliance on past brands when networks were putting together their 2017-2018 TV slate: from Will & Grace to Young Sheldon to the upcoming Roseanne relaunch.

So it's not time to be declaring the end of network television yet. After all, there are plenty of truly excellent sophomore and third-year sitcoms at the height of their powers that can be enjoyed. Plus, we have some interesting shows coming up mid-season, such as the much-discussed Roseanne reboot to Glenn Howerton of Always Sunny fame's network TV debut on NBC's AP Bio. The state of the sitcom is still in pretty good hands, even if it's a bit of a weak fall.

The Munsters Marathon

COZI TV is inviting viewers to tune in for a pre-Halloween special broadcast marathon of the iconic sitcom, The Munsters. The 10-hour marathon will run on Saturday, October 28 beginning at 12 PM and ending at 10 PM (check local listings). This is the third year the popular national multicast network will broadcast the marathon. The marathon will feature the first 19 fan-favorite episodes of season one, along with the special Auto-Tune The Munsters – a musical version of the episode "A Man for Marilyn." The Munsters follows the hilariously spooky Munster family as they try to lead a regular life at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Featuring Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster, Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster and Al Lewis as Grandpa Munster, The Munsters regularly airs Monday to Friday at 7 PM on COZI TV. Episodes in COZI TV's October 28 Munster-thon are:

Munster Masquerade (12:00 PM)
My Fair Munster (12:30 PM)
Walk On The Mild Side (1:00 PM)
Rock-A-Bye Munster (1:30 PM)
Pike's Pique (2:00 PM)
Low Cal Munster (2:30 PM)
Tin Can Man (3:00 PM)
Herman The Great (3:30 PM)
Knock Wood, Here Comes Charlie (4:00 PM)
Autumn Croakus (4:30 PM)
Auto-Tune The Munsters (5:00 PM)
Ride Of Herman Munster (5:30 PM)
The Sleeping Cutie (6:00 PM)
A Family Portrait (6:30 PM)
Grandpa Leaves Home (7:00 PM)
Herman's Rival (7:30 PM)
Grandpa's Call of the Wild (8:00 PM)
All Star Munster (8:30 PM)
If A Martian Answers (9:00 PM)
Eddie's Nickname (9:30 PM)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, November 26

Young Sheldon - "Pasadena" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sheldon visits CalTech for the very first time. Also, Georgie is furious when Mary listens in on a phone call with his girlfriend, and Meemaw tries to cheer up a jealous Missy.

B Positive - "Pilot" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Drew, a recently divorced father, discovers he needs a kidney and finds his donor in the last person he ever would’ve imagined.

Young Sheldon - "A Parasol and a Hell of an Arm" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
A church carnival leads Missy to try out for the baseball team. Also, Meemaw struggles after her breakup with Dr. Sturgis.

B Positive - "Die Alysis" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Drew’s condition worsens, he needs to make sure Gina is still serious about donating her kidney and winds up making her an offer she can’t refuse.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 23)

Thursday, November 26

Alison Brie (GLOW/Community) - Catch Alison on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Jerry appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Brenda Song (Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) and Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) - Brenda and Esther are guests on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Sam Richardson (Champaign ILL/Detroiters/Veep) - Sam appears on a repeat of Conan Without Borders: Ghana at 11pm on TBS.
Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Billy chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) - Kim appears on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) - Cynthia appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti is a guest on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Jason George (Eve/Off Centre) - Jason chats at the kitchen table on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Holly Robinson Peete (American Housewife/Love, Inc./Like Family/For Your Love/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper) - Holly talks about The Christmas Doctor on ABC's GMA3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Ben Feldman (Superstore/A to Z/Living with Fran) - Ben appears on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Jenny McCarthy (Two and a Half Men/The Bad Girl's Guide/Jenny) - Jenny is a guest on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Tommy Davidson (Between Brothers) - Tommy appears on a repeat of The Doctors, so check your local listings.
Goldie Hawn (Good Morning World) - Goldie and Kurt Russell are guests on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Marlo Thomas (That Girl) - NBC's Today has Thanks + Giving: Meet 3 Patients Celebrating Off Chemo with Marlo sometime between 7-9am.