New Comedy for Sundance Now Service from Peep Show Stars; Showtime's SMILF Gets Set for Premiere

Monday, October 16, 2017

New Comedy for Sundance Now Service from Peep Show Stars; Showtime's SMILF Gets Set for Premiere

Sundance Now, AMC Networks' premium video streaming service, announced the new premiere date for Back, the scripted original co-production created and written by Oscar nominee Simon Blackwell (Veep, In the Loop, Peep Show), set to debut exclusively in the U.S. Thursday, November 16, 2017 on Sundance Now. The six-part dark comedy is directed by Ben Palmer (The Inbetweeners) and reunites Peep Show co-stars and BAFTA winners, David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The scripted original follows Stephen (Mitchell) as he tries to follow in his recently deceased father's footsteps and take over the family business. But his plans are soon foiled by the unexpected return of his estranged foster brother, Andrew (Webb). After the death of his father, a pub landlord and local legend, Stephen (Mitchell) - whose only achievements so far have been marriage, followed by divorce, and a slightly disappointing refurbish of a pub - finally has a chance to shine as he is set to take over the family business. But his plans are interrupted when the charming Andrew (Webb), a former foster child briefly raised by Stephen's parents, turns up out of the blue at his father's funeral and is eager to renew his relationship with the closest thing to a family he has ever known. While Andrew quickly charms the rest of Stephen's dysfunctional family, including his mother Ellen, sister Cass and uncle Geoff, Stephen quickly begins to resent Andrew, who he sees as a glib, dangerous sociopath who's about to steal his family, his business and his life.

SMILF

Showtime has released the trailer and the official poster art for the upcoming comedy series SMILF, created, starring and executive produced by Frankie Shaw and based on her Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-winning short film of the same name. Shaw also wrote the pilot. The new eight-episode, half-hour Showtime comedy is a raw, honest look at the life of a 20-something single mom from quadruple threat Shaw. SMILF will premiere on Sunday, November 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, following the 9 p.m. ET/PT season eight premiere of the Showtime hit series Shameless.

SMILF takes a comedic look at the life of Bridgette Bird (Shaw), a young woman from South Boston whose desires for relationships, sex and a career collide with the realities of working-class single motherhood. Shaw brings her singular, unapologetic point of view to the semi-autobiographical comedy series. The cast includes multiple Emmy(R) winner Rosie O'Donnell in her first series regular TV role as Bridgette's prideful, outspoken Southie mother, along with Miguel Gomez, Samara Weaving, and Alexandra and Anna Reimer. Guest stars include Emmy and Golden Globe(R) nominee Connie Britton, Mark Webber and Raven Goodwin. Executive producing alongside Shaw are Oscar(R) nominee Michael London, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and Scott King. Janice Williams also executive produced the pilot. SMILF is produced by ABC Signature Studios as a co-production with Showtime.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, January 25

Abbott Elementary - "Student Transfer" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After a negative teacher review, Janine gets a confidence boost when a student gets transferred from Melissa’s class into hers, but it turns out the student proves to be too much to handle. While trying to forge a friendship with an uninterested Gregory, it is revealed that Jacob is constantly getting roasted by his students. The two bond after Gregory unintentionally gives Jacob the idea to incorporate the roasts in an educational way.

black-ish - "Hoop Dreams" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jack gets a job as the locker room attendant for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Dre and Bow feel like they need to step in before letting the job get to his head. Meanwhile, Pops and Ruby realize their daily routine has gotten boring and heed advice from Junior and Olivia.

American Auto - "Commercial" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Katherine and the team reshoot a commercial to make it more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community.

Grand Crew - "Wine & Pie" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Noah's dad is in a funk, so he asks Fay to make his favorite pie; Sherm teaches Anthony to play chess; Wyatt introduces the crew to his brother.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 24)

Tuesday, January 25

Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Catch Kristen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project) - Ike appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Thomas Middleditch (B Positive/Silicon Valley) - Thomas will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Belushi (According to Jim) - Jim is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Mike Schur (The Office/Creator of Parks and Recreation/Brooklyn Nine-Nine/The Good Place/Rutherford Falls) - Mike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. NBC's Today catches up with Mike in the 9am hour.
Francia Raisa (How I Met Your Father/growni-ish) - Francia appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect) - Sherri guest hosts The Wendy Williams Show.
Jay Pharoah (White Famous) - Jay guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings.
Autumn Reeser (Complete Savages/Grounded for Life) - Autumn appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Marsai Martin (black-ish)- Marsai talks about her new Discovery+ series Remix My Space! on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin talks about Home Team on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Ming-Na Wen (The Single Guy) - Ming-Na talks about The Book of Boba Fett on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.