Fri-Yay: Will Roseanne Inspire a New Trend?; The Last O.G. Scores for TBS

Friday, April 06, 2018

Fri-Yay: Will Roseanne Inspire a New Trend?; The Last O.G. Scores for TBS

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!

Roseanne - Roseanne Barr and John Goodman

Roseanne - Roseanne Barr and John Goodman

by Vincent

It's hard to overstate just how much of a rumble Roseanne has sent through the television industry. The show's ratings remained remarkably high in its second week, earning a 3.9 Adults 18-49 rating and 15.39 million total viewers, still far above the numbers of anything else on broadcast TV right now. And with this news comes news that Fox is considering a Last Man Standing revival after ABC (somewhat surprisingly) axed the series last spring. Last Man Standing's premise was intriguingly similar to the Roseanne reboot, centering around Tim Allen's character's conservative beliefs clashing with his more liberal family members. Last Man Standing never made the cultural impact that Roseanne has, though - it was a decently rated family sitcom that kept the lights on Friday nights that ABC decided to part ways with when it dismantled the Friday night family sitcom block. Still, considering the press and ratings Roseanne has received, it's not hard to see the series getting a second life if Fox decides to bring it back.

It also offers some insight into where networks might be thinking. Although it's a bit late in pilot season for Roseanne's ratings and cultural impact to really effect next year's pilots, it's clear that networks are scrambling to capture the demographic that was apparently ignited by the Roseanne revival. Don't be surprised if you see sitcoms about family members with drastically different political viewpoints filling the airwaves over the next year or two, attempting to strike the iron while it's still hot. It's the same reason you saw endless "young people in big cities" sitcoms after Friends took off, or why so many shows attempted to duplicate Seinfeld's "show about nothing" mantra, or even why so many zombie and fantasy shows popped up after the recent successes of The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. And yet, very few of these copycat shows, actually succeeded. And frankly, I'm not sure that any Roseanne copycats will either. Even if the media discussion around Roseanne centers around the show's political nature, the truth is that the actual show features less of that material, and that much of its success likely stems from the love for its original characters. It seems unlikely that Roseanne's revival would be such a big hit if it existed in a vacuum and wasn't a continuation of the massively popular original series.

Still - when you have a breakout success as huge as the Roseanne revival, there's always an inevitable impact on the television landscape afterwards. Whether it's an increase in political sitcoms, an increase in revivals, or both, it's likely this will be seen as a "moment" for sitcoms going forward (even if, frankly, shows like One Day at a Time, Superstore, and black-ish were already beating the political drum before Roseanne). Whether or not those shows succeed, of course, is a totally different story.

The Last O.G.

The Last O.G. starring Tracy Morgan, Tiffany Haddish and executive produced by Jordan Peele has claimed cable's top comedy slot with Tuesday's premiere generating 1.8M total viewers and 882K 18-49 viewers in Live + Same Day and is expected to hit a Live +7 projection of 1.252M. The series is tracking as #1 among all cable comedies this year, including premium services. This marks the biggest cable comedy premiere since 2016, the largest scripted cable comedy premiere since 2015, and the strongest TBS original debut ever. More than 6.9M total viewers (3.3M 18-49) tuned into the show over a three-night, five-telecast launch on TBS and TNT following the NCAA Final Four tournament.

The Last O.G. centers on Tray (Morgan), an ex-con released from a 15-year prison stint to a changed and unfamiliar world. Returning to his newly gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood, Tray discovers that his former girlfriend Shay (Tiffany Haddish) is married to another man and has been raising Tray's twins, who he never knew existed

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, August 26

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Camping Trip" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the Johnsons invite the Butlers to go camping, Dave is taken aback by Calvin’s idea of roughing it. Also, Gemma and Tina cross paths with Maynard (Jim O’Heir), a general store proprietor who may not be as friendly as he seems.

The Big Bang Theory - "The Inspiration Deprivation" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The concept of what it would mean for women everywhere if Amy were to win a Nobel Prize causes Amy to have a meltdown. Also, Koothrappali and Wolowitz try to relive the good old days after Wolowitz buys a scooter that looks like the one he had years ago. Oscar-winning actress Regina King returns as Janine.

The Big Bang Theory - "The Decision Reverberation" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Koothrappali is worried people won’t take him seriously in his own field after publishing a paper that suggests he may have discovered alien life. Also, Leonard wants to be the principal investigator on a plasma physics study.

Mom - "Flamingos and a Dance-Based Exercise Class" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bonnie and the ladies help Tammy prepare for her first date since getting out of prison. Also, in order to take the edge off, Christy revisits one of her old vices. French Stewart returns as Chef Rudy.

I Ship It - "Superfans" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Ella continues her job as a writer's PA on "Superstition," and Sasha is given an opportunity by being cast as a new character on the show; Winnie asks Ella for the latest details on "Superstition."

In The Cut - "Raging Bully" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Jay's sister visits with a new beau, who used to bully Jay; Smitty's barber's license expires, leaving him in jeopardy of losing it without Kenny's help.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 26)

Monday, August 26

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Seinfeld) - Watch Julia on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) - Dakota appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Jon Lovitz (Mr. Box Office/NewsRadio/Foley Square) - Jon is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/The Knights of Prosperity/Hot Properties) - Sofia appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
David Cross (Arrested Develpment/Running Wilde/Oliver Beene) - David is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jane Levy (Suburgatory) - Jane is a guest on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
Carly Craig (American Housewife/Burning Love) - Carly appears on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
John Travolta (Welcome Back, Kotter) - John and his daughter Ella Bleu are guests on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Jodie Sweetin (Fuller House/Hollywood Darlings/Full House) - Jodie guest co-hosts a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Portia de Rossi (Better Off Ted/Arrested Development/Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher/Too Something) - Portia appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Finesse Mitchell (A.N.T. Farm) - Finesse appears on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
Alysia Reiner (Better Things) - Alysia will be on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Niecy Nash (Getting On/The Soul Man/Reno 911!) - Niecy talks about Black Girls Rock on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Christina Milian (Grandfathered) - Christina talks about Falling Inn Love on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Drake Bell (Drake & Josh) - Drake talks about Fuego Lento on People Now at 12pm.