Friday, June 29, 2018
Fri-Yay: Will Roseanne Spin-off The Conners Succeed?; Fox Fall 2018 Premiere Dates
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 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
Friday, September 29
The Villains of Valley View - "The Haunted Jukebox" (Disney Channel, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When a haunted jukebox sends Amy and Hartley to an alternate dimension of Valley View, they must figure out how to get home before they are trapped in Monster Town forever.
Bunk'd: Learning the Ropes - "The Glitching Hour" (Disney Channel, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Noah and Megan watch a strange VHS tape that leads them to believe Jake isn't really who he seems; Lou thinks her life is a television show, and Bill and Winnie are just actors.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)
Friday, September 29
- Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - Watch Amy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Nathan Lane (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.
- Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite) - Margaret and Maria are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton will be on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
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