Friday, April 13, 2018

Fri-Yay: New Girl Begins Its Final Season; Trial & Error Returns to NBC July 19

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!

New Girl

by Vincent

This week, New Girl began its abbreviated 8-episode final season. I've been a fan of New Girl nearly since it began back in 2011, and over the course of its seven seasons, I've found the series to be an incredibly funny series with some top-notch characters that will certainly go down as one of the primest examples of the early '10s hangout comedy. What began as a Zooey Deschanel star vehicle quickly evolved into a quirky, strange little series about a truly weird group of friends navigating into adulthood. As it begins its final season with a time jump and a revelation that the main characters have moved on from the lost, I've been feeling a little nostalgic about the good times I've had with the show over the years, and how in many ways it already feels like a throwback to a time of sitcoms past, even before it's left the air.

The television industry and sitcoms themselves have transformed so much over the seven years of New Girl's run. When the show began, broadcast sitcoms were still the dominant form of television comedy - sure, cable comedies existed, but this was a world before streaming and before the full extent of cable. This was also a time when there were still multiple broadcast sitcoms bringing in tens of millions of viewers every week. So when the series began, it was a high-profile, hyped up Zooey Deschanel star vehicle, which premiered to huge ratings but mixed reviews. And yet, over the course of the first season, the series gradually toned down Zooey's Jess and expanded the characters of her male roommates, examining their quirks one-by-one until it felt like a real, complete ensemble series. As the show evolved, it became less a star vehicle and more an analysis of this world of hilarious, strange characters and the loft they inhabited. For the most part, the show remained incredibly consistent, as well - other than a slight dip in the third season stemming from too many character changes too fast, the series remained an enjoyable delight by digging deeply into its characters - both for comedy and drama.

So as the series heads into its final season, three years into the future, it feels like the end of an era - both for the series and for television in general. With the current splintering of comedy between cable, network and streaming, it's possible a series like New Girl wouldn't even exist in today's TV climate - most likely, it would be a cable or streaming series, given its young audience and niche sense of humor - but I'm glad it did. New Girl is a show I'll always remember and enjoy watching in reruns and streaming, and I'm ready to savor these final seven episodes.


Trial & Error: Lady Killer

Toplined by Tony and Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, NBC's Trial & Error: Lady, Killer will return to East Peck when the second season debuts Thursday, July 19 at 9 and 9:30 p.m. Last season the 9 p.m. telecast of Trial & Error averaged a 1.3 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.5 million viewers overall in "live plus seven day" ratings from Nielsen Media Research and the 9:30 episode averaged a 1.1 in 18-49 and 4.4 million viewers. The first season of Trial & Error is now available exclusively on the NBC App and Video on Demand.

In the spirit of true crime documentaries, the second season of this outrageous fish-out-of-water comedy centers on bright-eyed New York lawyer Josh Segal (Nicholas D'Agosto), still relatively a newcomer in a tiny southern town, who is sturdily posed for his next big case there. His mission? To defend the eccentric first lady of East Peck, Lavinia Peck-Foster (Kristin Chenoweth), known for her flamboyant outfits, large hats and hairless cat, and who suddenly finds herself accused of the bizarre murder of her beloved husband. As Josh continues to settle into his makeshift office behind a taxidermy shop while working with his quirky team of local misfits, he suspects that winning his second big case this time should be easy (especially when his client is the town favorite), but is it? The cast also includes Jayma Mays, Sherri Shepherd, Steven Boyer and Amanda Payton.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, July 12

Mind Your Business - "Love Child" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Alfonso and Aaliyah's world is flipped upside down when their mother's secret love child comes into town, while Mia tries to figure out who is sending her gifts every hour on the hour.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Friday, July 11

  • Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Fairview/Corporate) and Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Aparna and Whitney are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Malachi Barton (Stuck in the Middle) and Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Malachi and Meg discuss Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires and perform on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. They will also be on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton talks about Black Coffee and Ice Water on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - CBS News contributor Lisa Ling talks with Margaret and Joel on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE sitdown with actress/director/author Krysten Ritter who recently released her new thriller/mystery novel Retreat, so check your local listings.
  • Maggie Q (Pivoting) - Maggie Q talks about Prime's Ballard on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Tisha Campbell (Act Your Age/Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) and Wendy Raquel Robinson (Poppa's House/The Game/Here We Go Again/The Steve Harvey Show/Minor Adjustments) - Tisha and Wendy chat about their film Operation: Aunties on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings. They will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
  • David Zayas (The Bear/Saint George) - David appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (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)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

07/11 - The Office Spinoff The Paper Premieres September 4; Upload Season 4 Returns August 25
07/10 - The Big Bang Theory's Stuart Spinoff Ordered by HBO Max; Long Story Short Premieres August 22 on Netflix
07/09 - New Girl Summer on Hulu; Vir Das Gets Brand New Netflix Special
07/08 - Tubi Comedy Series Demascus Premieres in August; LEGO Masters Jr. Lines Up Celebs for 4-Week Event
07/07 - Digman! Season Premiere Moved to July 23; Hulu's Reasonable Doubt Returns September 18
07/06 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of July 7, 2025)
07/05 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Comedy Central Delays South Park and Digman! Season Premieres; Jackée to Appear in Guest Role in Netflix Series
07/04 - Happy 4th of July; Antenna TV's McHale's Navy Red, White and Navy Independence Day Marathon
07/03 - The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Season 3 Premieres August 6; South Park New Season Moves by Two Weeks
07/02 - FETV Acquires The Rookies; Hulu Renews The Bear for Season 5
07/01 - Bert Kreischer Gets Netflix Sitcom; NBC Gets Into Survival Mode This Summer
06/30 - The Comeback Makes Another...Comeback; First Look at Black Rabbit at Netflix
06/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 30, 2025)
06/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Comeback Returning for a Third and Final Season; South Park to Remain on HBO Max
06/27 - The White Lotus Star Teams Up with Netflix; Remembering Bobby Sherman, Lynn Hamilton, and Rick Hurst
06/26 - The CW's Fall Movie of the Week; First Look at New York Comic Con 2025
06/25 - Netflix Renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2; My Life with the Walter Boys First Look for Season 2
06/24 - Marc Maron Gets Second HBO Comedy Special; Outlander Prequel Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
06/23 - MeTV Summer Changes, Adds Adventures of Superman; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
06/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 23, 2025)
06/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Officially Dead After Not Finding New Home; Weigel Announces New WEST Network
06/20 - Great American Media Announces New Danica McKellar Movie; Jennifer Love Hewitt ID True Crime Series
06/19 - Bad Thoughts Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix; Zarna Garg Gets Hulu Special This July
06/18 - Weigel Broadcasting Announces WEST Network with Classic TV Westerns; Hulu's Season 2 of Such Brave Girls
06/17 - Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife on A&E Series; Digman! Returns July 9 on Comedy Central
06/16 - Hulu's Chad Powers Teaser; Prime Video's Jesse Williams Series
06/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 16, 2025)
06/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Mulls Airing The Paper on Primetime Lineup; Fox Revives Baywatch Reboot Talk
06/13 - My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Renewed for 2 More Seasons; Hanna-Barbera Developing Adult Animated Series
06/12 - Comedy Superstar Jack Black Is the King of Comedy at Nickelodeon; Doc Adds Felicity Huffman
06/11 - Celebrities for Celebrity Family Feud Season 11; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Starts Production