Friday, February 16, 2018
Fri-Yay: Is the Era of the "Sadcom" Over?; TBS Lands Pilot from Emmy Winner
by Vincent
You've probably heard the term "sadcom" before. From about 2014 through 2017, it was all of the rage in television comedy - shows that were comedies, and often very funny, but dealt with some dark, depressing topics, and at times seemed to be just as sad as they were humorous. These shows didn't sugarcoat their characters' misery, which earned them the title of "sadcom." The most obvious examples are shows like You're the Worst or Bojack Horseman, comedies that deal head-on with the topic of mental illness. But you could say that a huge slew of TV comedies from the past few years fall into this category - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Mom, even wacky shows like Review can fall into this territory. These shows are very funny, but certainly aren't afraid to get dark when they want to.
However, over the past year or so, I've noticed a resurgence of bright, happy shows that still deal with serious topics, but still do their best to impose a sense of warmth and empathy even in their darkest moments. The best examples of this are some of my favorite shows on television, One Day at a Time, The Good Place and Superstore. These three shows may seem incredibly different from one another, but they all share in common the fact that they go to some sad places, but still make it clear that their characters truly love each other and are there for each other, no matter how bad things get - whether it be the tight-knit Alvarez family on One Day at a Time, the "core four" of The Good Place, and the makeshift family of Cloud 9 in Superstore, these are shows about people who care about each other very much, even if they're going through some pretty rough stuff much of the time. Even when these shows get dark, there's still a warm, comforting aura to them - and as much as I love some of the "sadcoms" that have come out over the past five years, sometimes it's nice to be in a world where even when things get bad, everything winds up being okay.
On the heels of her Emmy(R) win for Best Comedy Writing and the launch of her series The Chi, TBS has picked up writer and Master of None star Lena Waithe's project Twenties to pilot. Twenties is a single-camera comedy that follows the adventures of a queer black girl, Hattie, and her two straight best friends, Marie and Nia, who spend most of their days talking shit and chasing their dreams. It's a show about friendship, finding love, and messing everything up along the way. Twenties is created, written, and executive produced by Waithe through her production company Hillman Grad Productions and executive produced by Andrew Coles, her manager, for The Mission Entertainment.
TBS, now the #1 comedy network with 3 of the top 5 new cable comedies to date, continues to attract fresh, award-winning talent with new shows The Last O.G. premiering on April 3rd starring Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish, and Miracle Workers starring Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Friday, June 9
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 5)
Friday, June 9
- Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) - Watch Marc on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Martin Short (Mulaney/The Martin Short Show) - Martin is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi is a musical guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Sandra Bullock (Working Girl) - Sandra appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Zach Braff (Scrubs/Alex, Inc.) - Zach is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris guest co-hosts a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Jay Ellis (Insecure/The Game) - Jay discusses the motivation behind their new true-crime podcast Freeway Phantom on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig is telling Drew about working with Reese Witherspoon on their new film and the latest season of The Morning Show on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso will be on a repeat of The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
- Daniel Wu (American Born Chinese) - Daniel talks about his role on the Disney+ series American Born Chinese on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) and Jason Alexander (Listen Up!/Bob Patterson/Seinfeld/Everything's Relative/ E/R) - Eric and Jason talk about The Cottage on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Reba McEntire (Reba/Malibu Country) - Reba will be on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Geena Davis (The Geena Davis Show/Sara/Buffalo Bill) - NBC's Today catches up with Geena in the 9am hour.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
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