Fri-Yay: Will Roseanne Spin-off The Conners Succeed?; Fox Fall 2018 Premiere Dates

Friday, June 29, 2018

Fri-Yay: Will Roseanne Spin-off The Conners Succeed?; Fox Fall 2018 Premiere Dates

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!

by Vincent

This week, it was announced that ABC was going forward with a spin-off of Roseanne entitled The Conners. The series will take Roseanne's 8pm Tuesday timeslot, and while details on the exact direction of the series are sparse, one thing is for certain: it will not involve Roseanne in any way, and her character will be written or killed off in a turn of events that ABC execs described as "sudden." Whether The Conners will essentially be "Roseanne without Roseanne" or a different type of series entirely isn't clear, but given that the writing team and cast sans Roseanne appears to be identical to what would've been Roseanne Season 11, it's reasonable to expect the new series will pick up where Roseanne left off. The spin-off has been picked up for 10 episodes and could receive an extension if it performs adequately.

It will be interesting to see how the public responds to The Conners, and whether it will continue to see ratings as impressive as Roseanne's 10th season did this past spring. I'm going to guess there will once again be a lot of upfront public interest in the series, but as deplorable as Barr's recent comments might be, it's really hard for me to imagine the world of the Conners without Roseanne Conner. That said, the cast is incredibly talented and the characters are all solid and interesting, and while Roseanne's 10th season had a lot of flaws, it did a lot of interesting things with the Conners and examining how they would fit into 2010s America. I could see The Conners eventually developing into an astute working class sitcom without the baggage that Roseanne Barr brings to it. But part of me does wonder if maybe it's best if we all just left Roseanne in our rear view mirror. The Roseanne debacle has proved that sometimes, shows are better off left in the past, and that the present can taint our memories of shows that we once loved. It's possible The Conners will revive some of the bad taste left by the unfortunate ending to the Roseanne revival, but it's also possible it will be salt on the wound, and pulling a great show out of all of the uncertainty and turmoil of the post-Season 10 Roseanne going-ons is going to be an uphill battle. I'd love for The Conners to prove me wrong, but I'm fearing that it's going to be another example of a TV network messing up something that should've been left alone to begin with.

Fox

Fox has set the 2018-19 fall premiere dates for its new and returning series, which includes the return of Last Man Standing and new comedies The Cool Kids and Rel. Hit drama 9-1-1, featuring new cast member Jennifer Love Hewitt, returns with a two-night season premiere: Night One airs immediately following the NFL on Fox doubleheader on Sunday, Sept. 23 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/live in all time zones); Night Two airs Monday, Sept. 24 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), in its regular time period, following the season premiere of The Resident (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).

Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 25, The Gifted (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) and Lethal Weapon (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), featuring new cast member Seann William Scott, air.

On Wednesday, Sept. 26, Empire (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) and Star (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) return.

Thursday Night Football, with NFL Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Michael Strahan headlining the pregame show, debuts Sept. 27 (7:30 PM-CC ET live/4:30 PM-CC PT live).

On Friday, Sept. 28, the return of Last Man Standing, starring Tim Allen (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT), and new comedy The Cool Kids, starring comedy veterans David Alan Grier, Martin Mull, Vicki Lawrence and Leslie Jordan (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) premiere, followed by the season premiere of Hell's Kitchen (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), which, in a new twist, pits veteran contestants against rookies.

New multi-cam comedy Rel launches with a special preview immediately following the NFL on Fox doubleheader, Sunday Sept. 9 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/live in all time zones). On Sunday, Sept. 30, following the season premieres of The Simpsons (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT), Bob's Burgers (8:30-9:00 PM, in its new regular time period) and Family Guy (9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT), Rel makes its time period premiere at 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, July 23

The Conners - "O Sister, Where Art Thou?" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Becky helps Harris keep a secret from Darlene, it opens up a can of worms that causes a rift between the two sisters. Jackie supports Peter with his Nordic history project, and Dan reunites with an old friend.

American Housewife - "Insta-Friends" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Katie feels left out and slightly jealous when Greg becomes fast friends with the newest member of the Westport Historical Guild. Meanwhile, Oliver fears Cooper is ditching him when he sees on social media that Cooper lied about his weekend plans.

Modern Family - "Whanex?" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
While preparing a presentation for his students about their future goals, Cam (Eric Stonestreet) must also contend with a bully at the school and Jay (Ed O’Neil) is having a little technical trouble during his video conference. Meanwhile, the local mall is holding a photo shoot for its new ad campaign and Gloria tricks Phil and Joe into participating.

black-ish - "Under the Influence" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Jack is going through an experimental phase and getting himself into trouble, so Dre chaperones the twins’ school dance to keep an eye on him. Meanwhile, Junior fights with his girlfriend, Niecy, after she thinks he spends too much time taking care of Devante.

Modern Family - "We Need to Talk About Lily" (ABC, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Phil may have conquered his biggest real estate challenge when he thinks he found Pepper his dream home. Meanwhile, in an attempt to connect with Lily, Mitch and Cam get invited to an exclusive event for her favorite vlogger.

black-ish - "Each One, Teach One" (ABC, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dre feels like he has made a difference with the diversity at Stevens & Lido as the head of the Urban Division, but when Junior tells him that Josh is his mentor, Dre flips out. Meanwhile, Jack and Diane show their friends a video of Bow dancing and now she’s become the hot mom.

The Detour - "The Game Show" (TBS, 10:30PM ET/PT)
The Parkers are contestants on a Japanese game show.

Sydney to the Max - "Dancin' the Vida Loca" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Sydney struggles with ballet, something her mom was great at, she starts to feel like she's losing touch of her mom.

Sydney to the Max - "How Sydney Got Her Phone Back" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When a cell phone ban policy during school hours goes up for a vote, Sydney is sure that her dad, who's on the Parent School Committee, will vote against it.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 22)

Tuesday, July 23

Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever) - Catch Fred on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Tony Hale (Veep/Arrested Development) - Tony appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Eva Longoria (Telenovela) - Eva stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Thomas visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Charlie Hunnam (Undeclared) - Charlie is a guest on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
Rami Malek (The War at Home) - Rami appears on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
David Spade (Rules of Engagement/8 Simple Rules/Just Shoot Me!) - David drops by Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
Lisa Kudrow (Friends/The Comeback/Web Therapy) - Lisa is a guest on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Kyle Richards (Down to Earth) - Kyle visits Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony visits The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Idris appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings. He also talks about Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Jason Priestley (Call Me Fitz) - Jason talks about the Casteel Family Movie Series on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
David Spade (Rules of Engagement/8 Simple Rules/Just Shoot Me!) - David talks about Lights Out with David Spade on the BUILD Series at 2pm.