Friday, May 11, 2018

Fri-Yay: Fox's Comedy Bloodbath: What Does It Mean?; Fox Orders Second Multi-Camera Sitcom

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!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

by Vincent

Yesterday, Fox cancelled nearly its entire slate of comedies, including the quirky, high-concept veteran The Last Man on Earth, once promising Kaitlin Olson launching pad The Mick, and most heartbreakingly, the internet-beloved Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This is in addition to the departing New Girl, which will wrap up its seven-year run next week. The jury is still out on freshman comedies Ghosted and LA to Vegas, but either way, it's clear this marks a big change for Fox.

Fox, as you may remember, is going through a major shake-up as its parent company 20th Century Fox was recently bought by Disney. Fox (the network) is still owned by News Corp and not Disney, but this shake-up does change the course for Fox a bit - they no longer have stake in a production company, which means any scripted series they air will be owned by another company. Many have speculated that this will result in Fox going "broader" and relying primarily on sports and live events for its primetime series. If this slate of cancellations, along with Fox's rumored revival of Last Man Standing, is indicative of the future, those people might just be right.

Still, these cancellations certainly come as a surprise - while all of these shows were low-rated, much of Fox's line-up is, and over the past several years Fox has consistently renewed shows in worse ratings shape than these 3 shows are. Despite the reputation the network had in the 2000s as a "murderer" of fan favorite shows like Arrested Development, Futurama and Firefly, the Fox of the 2010s has been almost the opposite. There is no other network, for example, where a low-rated, high-concept sitcom like The Last Man on Earth could've survived for four seasons, or where shows like New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine could see renewal after renewal despite being low-rated niche hits. And yet, all of that seems to be ending soon. It's a real shame that it had to end so abruptly, as these shows - particularly longer-running Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Last Man on Earth, had done enough to at least earn a proper farewell, the kind that New Girl is getting this season. These shows had large, passionate fanbases and were inventive, creative shows that clearly had a lot of love put into them. To have them ripped away without warning is cruel and cold. But hey, that's the television business for you. We're living in a post-streaming world and a world of reboots, so there's always the chance a streaming show or even another network will scoop up and save at least one of these shows. But if not, we can at least be thankful for the years of great TV they provided us with.


Rel

And sticking with Fox, they have ordered another multi-camera sitcom for 2018-19: Rel. Lil Rel, a prideful, self-made success who lives by the code to "always believe in yourself and great things will come," finds that attitude put to the test when he learns his wife is having an affair with his own barber. He tries to rebuild his life post-divorce as a long-distance single father on the South Side of Chicago who's on a quest for love, respect and a new barber. Inspired by Lil Rel's real life.

The sitcom stars Lil Rel Howery as Lil Rel, Sinbad as Rel's Dad, Jess "Hilarious" Moore as Brittany, and Jordan L. Jones as Nat. The sitcom will be produced by Jerrod Carmichael, Mike Scully, Kevin Barnett, Josh Rabinowitz and Lil Rel Howery. Rel joins multi-camera sitcom The Cool Kids in the only Fox comedy orders so far.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, January 22

Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.

Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)

Wednesday, January 22

  • Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

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

01/22 - Fox Announces Animation Domination 2025 Schedule; Abbott Elementary Renewed for Season 5
01/21 - Fox Renews Murder in a Small Town; O.J. Simpson Netflix Docuseries
01/20 - Rewind TV February 2025 Schedule; Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary Score Big for Premieres
01/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 20, 2025)
01/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Frasier Reboot Canceled at Paramount+; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Coming to MeTV Toons
01/17 - Remembering Bob Uecker of Mr. Belvedere, Punky Brewster Creator David W. Duclon, and Others We Recently Lost
01/16 - Apple TV+ Prime Target Trailer; Apple Cider Vinegar Premieres in February on Netflix
01/15 - My Three Sons to Join FETV Lineup Starting February 3; St. Denis Medical Renewed for Season 2
01/14 - Game Show Network Acquires The Wall; NBC's The Hunting Party to Premiere After NFL Divisional Playoff Game
01/13 - Antenna TV February 2025 Schedule; SNL First Two 2025 Episodes Before 50th Anniversary Event
01/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 13, 2025)
01/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Saturday Night Live Hosts Announced; The West Wing Returns to Max After Brief Disappearance
01/10 - The Jeffersons 50th Anniversary Marathon on Antenna TV; FETV to Air Uncut Episodes of Most Series
01/09 - Trailer for Apple TV+ Comedy Mythic Quest; Upcoming Season of Harlem Is Final Season
01/08 - Roy Wood Jr. Comedy Special on Hulu; The Late Show Gets Post AFC Championship Game Airing
01/07 - HGTV's Celebrity IOU New Season; Joey King and Cooper Koch to Announce 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations
01/06 - 82nd Golden Globe Winners; Shoresy Returns in February on Hulu
01/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 6, 2025)
01/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: HBO Cancels The Franchise; Alice Actress Linda Lavin Dies
01/03 - Antenna TV Pays Tribute to Linda Lavin with Alice Marathon; Catchy Comedy Recreates Classic CBS Saturday Night Lineup from the 1970s
01/02 - Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Crossover Event; The Night Agent Returns January 23 on Netflix
01/01 - Happy New Year; Antenna TV's New Year's Day Fresh Start Marathon; ABC's Shifting Gears Official Trailer
12/31 - In Memoriam: Remembering the Sitcom Stars We Lost in 2024
12/30 - Remembering Linda Lavin of Alice; Hulu Releases Chad Powers Teaser
12/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 30, 2024)
12/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Cable Networks No Longer a Priority for Paramount; Paramount+ Removes Vintage Nickelodeon Series
12/27 - Max Renews Creature Commandos for Season 2; Fox's Denis Leary Comedy Gets First Look
12/26 - Cobra Kai Final Episodes in February on Netflix; HBO Slates 13th Bill Maher Comedy Special
12/25 - Merry Christmas from Sitcoms Online; The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Coming to DVD in February
12/24 - 2024 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day TV Marathons
12/23 - Christmas Con Celebrates 5 Year Anniversary; Deli Boys Premieres in March on Hulu
12/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 23, 2024)