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!

The Conners

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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, May 31

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 26)

Friday, May 30

  • Nathan Fielder (The Rehearsal/The Curse) - Watch Nathan on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Paula Poundstone (Home Movies) - Paula performs stand-up comedy on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Ralph swings by for a chat about Karate Kid: Legends on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) - Justina chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She also talks about Broadway's Real Women Have Curves: The Musical on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara is telling Drew about the new venture she's taking on, where she's currently at with dating and more on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Don Darryl Rivera (Only Murders in the Building) - Don talks about Broadway's Aladdin on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.


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)
07/08 - 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

05/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New King of the Hill Reboot Details; CBS Makes Late Night Changes
05/30 - FX's Adults Pilot Available on Social Platforms; BET and BET+ Premiere New Tyler Perry Series in June
05/29 - Netflix's New Chuck Lorre Sitcom Leanne; Apple TV+ Season 4 Premiere of The Morning Show
05/28 - Max Renews Hacks for Season 5; Byron Allen Coming Back to CBS Late Night
05/27 - Antenna TV Summer 2025 Schedule; Rewind TV Summer 2025 Schedule
05/26 - Memorial Day 2025 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 26, 2025)
05/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Zach Braff Joins Scrubs Reboot; 7th Heaven Reboot in the Works
05/23 - Discovery Channel's Shark Week with Tom Bergeron; Apple TV+ Season 2 of Hit Series
05/22 - TV Legend Henry Winkler's New HISTORY Series; The CW Renews Family Law
05/21 - Remembering George Wendt of Cheers; Platonic Season 2 First Look
05/20 - The CW Renews Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble; Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life on Netflix May 26
05/19 - North to Shore Festival Returns This June in NJ; S.W.A.T. Sets Spinoff Series
05/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 19, 2025)
05/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Picks Up New Dan Levy Comedy; First Look at King of the Hill Reboot Artwork
05/16 - Michael J. Fox to Guest Star on Shrinking; The CW Picks Up Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
05/15 - 2025 Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront; 2025 Netflix Upfront
05/14 - Chad Powers Premieres September 30 on Hulu; Upfront Premiere Dates for FX on Hulu
05/13 - ABC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Ted: The Animated Series Coming to Peacock
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Fox Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule
05/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 12, 2025)
05/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Cancels Night Court and Lopez vs. Lopez; ABC Renews Duo of Game Shows
05/09 - Peacock Orders Dig from Amy Poehler; Apple TV+ Comedy Stick Premieres June 4; Remembering Ruth Buzzi
05/08 - CBS 2025-26 Schedule; Animal Control and Going Dutch Renewed by Fox
05/07 - Netflix's A Man on the Inside Bulks Up Cast for Season 2; The Studio Renewed by Apple TV+
05/06 - Netflix's Long Story Short Announces Cast; NBC Renews All Chicago Series for 2025-26
05/05 - Antenna TV's The Partridge Family Mother's Day Marathon; Rewind TV's 227 40th Anniversary Marathon
05/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 5, 2025)
05/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Cancels The Equalizer; Wisteria Lane Offshoot of Desperate Housewives in the Works
05/02 - USA and SYFY Announce Summer Premieres; CBC in Canada Renews 5 Series, Including Wild Cards
05/01 - ABC Summer 2025 Schedule; Audible Scripted Comedy Podcasts for Summer