Fri-Yay: The Return of NBC Thursday Night Sitcoms; Everything Sucks at Netflix

Friday, January 19, 2018

Fri-Yay: The Return of NBC Thursday Night Sitcoms; Everything Sucks at Netflix

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!

NBC Thursday Sitcoms

by Vincent

Although this hasn't been the best season for network television, there have been a few bright spots, even in a year with a rather underwhelming freshman class, particularly for sitcoms (the fall's only promising sitcom The Mayor was just cancelled, before it could really live up to its potential). In terms of network comedy, the ultimate bright spot is one that started last year but has expanded this year - the return of NBC's Thursday night comedy line-up. For television fans, NBC Thursdays was long known as the night where you could go to watch smart and high-quality sitcoms, starting with when the night featured shows like Cheers and The Cosby Show in the mid-late 1980s, continuing into the '90s with Friends and Seinfeld, into the 2000s and early 2010s with The Office, 30 Rock, Community, and Parks and Recreation. However, over the course of the 2010s, the power of the night gradually began to fade. NBC attempted to replace departing veterans The Office and 30 Rock with shows that mimicked their sensibilities without quite capturing them - shows like Go On, The Michael J. Fox Show, and A to Z. (If you remember any of those shows, you're in the minority.) Finally, during the 2014 - 2015 TV season, NBC nixed comedy on Thursdays altogether, replacing it with The Biggest Loser and The Blacklist.

However, for the first time in nearly five years, NBC once again has a full slate of sitcoms airing on Thursday nights - and for the first time in even longer, all of them are worth watching! From the consistently funny and charming Superstore to the "possible best show on TV" The Good Place to the uneven but generally worth watching Will & Grace revival to worthy 30 Rock heir Great News, NBC has once again put together a Thursday night line-up full of comedies worth watching. Sure, unlike the line-ups glory days, most of the people watching are likely doing so on demand or on streaming, not on Thursday nights, but it still feels "right" to have Thursday night be a home of great comedy again on NBC. Also encouraging is that the night, with the exception of poor Great News, seems to be catching on with audiences. Maybe the secret to saving NBC's Thursday nights after all was just - surprise - putting in funny, interesting sitcoms that people want to watch.

Everything Sucks!

It's awkward. It's exciting. It's heartbreaking. It's high school. Everything Sucks! launches globally on Netflix on February 16, ~~1996~~ 2018. The 90s high school experience: Desperate, heartfelt, awkward, exciting, and free of smartphones. Set in the real life town of Boring, Oregon in 1996, Everything Sucks! is a quirky, funny coming of age story that revolves around Boring High School's A/V Club and Drama Club - two crews of nerdy-edgy outsiders, who join forces to make a movie and endure the purgatory known as high school. The series stars Peyton Kennedy (American Fable, The Captive) and Jahi Winston (The New Edition Story) as students Kate Messner and Luke O'Neil, with Patch Darragh (Sully, Boardwalk Empire) and Claudine Nako (Grimm) as their respective parents. The 10-episode, half-hour dramedy is created by Ben York Jones (Like Crazy, Newness) and Michael Mohan (Save the Date, Pink Grapefruit), who will both serve as executive producers.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.