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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, August 26
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 25)
Tuesday, August 26
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Andy Samberg (Digman!/Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - Catch Andy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows/The Thundermans) - Harvey appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) and Bowen Yang (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) - Matt and Bowen are guests on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Sandra Oh (Arli$$) - Sandra appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) and Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) - Nicole and Sasheer are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) and Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Amanda and Olivia chat with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Erika Alexander (Run the World/Living Single/The Cosby Show) - Erika talks about Invasion on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Austin Butler (Ruby & the Rockits/Zoey 101/Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide) - Austin talks about Caught Stealing on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Lea Thompson (Caroline in the City) - Lea is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Shakira Ja'nai Paye (Demascus) - Shakira is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
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