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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, May 28

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "House of Tough Decisions" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
House of Payne is the hilarious comedy about Retired fire chief Curtis Payne and his lovely wife Ella.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Parental Woes" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Tension escalates as tempers flare between Reginald and Brandon's rocky relationship; Leah's disconnect with Sandra leaves her terribly confused.

The Ms. Pat Show - "Pick Up Your Feelings" (BET, 10:30PM ET/PT)
The family arrives in Atlanta to find Pat's cousin and former partner in crime, Tanya, has been released from prison, which leads to a difficult walk down memory lane.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 26)

Wednesday, May 28

Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Watch Ryan on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) and Arden Myrin (Working/Still the King) - Esther and Arden are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Joe Mande (Hacks/Parks and Recreation) and Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Joe and Fred are guests on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity talks about The 13th Wife: Escaping Polygamy on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Julianne Moore (Sirens) - Julianne chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) - Sarah talks about her special Sarah Silverman: PostMortem on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Ashley Tisdale (Carol's Second Act/Merry Happy Whatever/Clipped/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Ashley stops by the studio to talk Disney's Phineas and Ferb on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ming-Na Wen (The Single Guy) - NBC's Today catches up with Ming-Na in the 9am hour.
Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Ralph talks about ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Drew is having a candid conversation with Demi about how growing up in the spotlight inspired her new documentary Child Star on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jenny McCarthy (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) - Jenny talks about Fox's The Masked Singer on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) and Wendell Pierce (The Odd Couple/The Michael J. Fox Show/The Weber/The Brian Benben Show/The Gregory Hines Show) - Carrie and Wendell talk about CBS' Elsbeth on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.