Friday, November 03, 2017
Fri-Yay: The Best Show You Aren't Watching; Baskets Returns Jan. 23 on FX
by Vincent
Of all of the shows on TV right now, the one I look forward to the most may be Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is one of (if not the?) funniest show on television, stringing together lines of dialogue capable of standing with classic Simpsons episodes or 30 Rock when it comes to all-time great comedy writing. Even if it were just a funny sitcom, it'd be one of the very best shows on TV. However, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has elevated itself not just as a funny sitcom but also as a genuinely deep and dark look into the reality of life with an untreated mental illness - and in its third season (the show's darkest yet), it's better and bolder than ever.
On the surface, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend could easily look like a careless series that makes fun of a mentally ill woman and makes her the butt of the joke. Its title, while meant to be ironic, can certainly give off that vibe. And when it premiered, many critics feared that was exactly what it was. But over the course of its flawless first season, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend proved that it takes its heroine Rebecca Bunch's problems very seriously. The show would often portray her at her lowest (most notably during the heart wrenching musical number "You Stupid Bitch", in which Rebecca tells herself "you ruined everything, you stupid bitch" over and over.) Over the course of the rest of the series, the show would portray Rebecca as trying to use various new goals and new personas to escape the reality of her mental illness and depression.
I won't spoil anything, but events transpired at the end of the second season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend that have made Season 3 the darkest season yet, dealing with Rebecca's issues head on. Yes, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a hilarious show - but honestly, I haven't been on the edge of my seat with dread and anticipation this much with a TV show since Breaking Bad. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is like a funnier, more musical version of Breaking Bad, and it's the best show you aren't watching.
Yippie Kie Yay! The third season of Baskets, the acclaimed comedy series starring Zach Galifianakis, will return to FX on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 10 PM ET/PT. Nothing brings a family together like a family business - or at least that was the plan. Welcome to the Baskets Family Rodeo, where Christine is the President and CEO despite never having seen a rodeo before. Chip has his first full-time gig since Arby's, but can barely transfer a phone call, let alone recruit much-needed clowns. And even though Dale is the only one in the family who has run a business, he can't get anyone to listen to him - his family, the employees, or the horses.
Baskets was co-created by Executive Producers Jonathan Krisel (Emmy(R) Award-nominated writer and director, Portlandia, Saturday Night Live, Man Seeking Woman), Louis C.K. (Emmy Award-winner, Louie), and Zach Galifianakis (Emmy Award-winner, Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis; Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance); The Hangover and its sequels). M. Blair Breard, Dave Becky, Marc Gurvitz, Andrea Pett-Joseph, and Anna Dokoza are also Executive Producers. The series is produced by FX Productions.
The cast of Baskets features Zach Galifianakis as twins "Chip & Dale Baskets," Louie Anderson as "Christine Baskets" (Primetime Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Baskets, and two-time Daytime Emmy winner for Outstanding Performer in an animated Program, Life with Louie and The Louie Show), and Martha Kelly as "Martha."
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, December 22
Bob's Burgers - "The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the power goes out two days before Christmas, The Belchers must spend the holiday at Mr. Fischoeder's family's old hunting lodge.
Krapopolis - "Krapocalypse" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tyrannis is stuck in a time loop trying to save the city.
The Simpsons - "The Man Who Flew Too Much" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The new and improved Pin Pals travel to Capital City for their first ever state bowling championship.
Universal Basic Guys - "The Devil You Know" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark insists on teaching his son Darren how to throw a handmade boomerang that was gifted to Darren by his father; the two soon find themselves on a trek deep into the Jersey woods; David is the recipient of a sex doll that he swears he didn't order.
The Great North - "The Lies Aquatic Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While Beef is away, the Tobin fishing boat goes missing; the Tobin siblings wildly speculate on what could have happened.
Krapopolis - "National Lampoon's The Odyssey!" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The family takes a vacation to Storgos for Shlub's mother's birthday.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Full-Frontal Dottie" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Excited by her physical therapy progress, Dottie insists she is ready to return to MaxDot, much to Bob, Douglas and Christina's dismay.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 16)
Friday, December 20
- Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters/HouseBroken/Catastrophe) - Sharon is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Colton Dunn (Superstore) and Diona Reasonover (Clipped) - Colton and Diona are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - NBC's Today catches up with Zachary in the 9am hour.
- Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about Mufasa: The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. He can also be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
- Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about The Six Triple Eight on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- James Marsden (30 Rock) and Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - James and Ben talk about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about Max's Fast Friends on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit has the best of Henry and Kit Hoover, so check your local listings.
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - The Talk celebrates 15 seasons with a special finale episode; friend of the show Howie Mandel makes his 21st appearance on the show when he stops by one last time with a surprise for the hosts on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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