Friday, August 31, 2018

Fri-Yay: Netflix's Disenchantment Is Messy - But Should You Stick With It?; NBC's I Feel Bad Gets Preview

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!

Disenchantment

by Vincent

This month, Netflix dropped half of the first season of Disenchantment, a new animated from Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening. The show was highly anticipated as the first new Groening project in quite some time, and has a fairly stacked voice cast, featuring the likes of Abbi Jacobson and Eric Andre. And yet, the show didn't exactly light up the television world upon debut. It received decisively mixed reviews, with most calling it a disappointment that shows some signs of promise. These reviews generally have it right - while the show has its bright spots, it's incredibly messy and seems to have difficulties settling on a consistent tone. Because of this inconsistency, Disenchantment feels like it's sort of been brushed aside for flashier, shinier shows with better reception, despite its high pedigree. This makes sense - there's so much TV that no one has time to wait for a middling show to get better.

And yet, I can't help but think how early episodes of The Simpsons or Futurama would've faired in this environment, two shows whose earliest episodes also featured some tonal imbalances and struggles to streamline their humor. While I'd say both shows earlier episodes are superior to Disenchantment's, they were far from perfect, and it's easy to see either show getting brushed aside. However, both shows premiered during a different era of TV, when there were far less shows and it was worth sticking with a show that you thought had potential even if it wasn't quite there yet. It'd be really tough to imagine a world where too few people gave The Simpsons and Futurama a chance and neither shows wound up being able to become the incredible, groundbreaking shows they became. Am I saying Disenchantment will become as influential and great as those shows? Not necessarily, but I could see it happening - however, it'll require more people to give it a chance. There are still 10 episodes yet to premiere in Disenchantment's first season (Netflix split the show's 20-episode first season into two parts) - hopefully, those episodes will offer a glimmer into the type of show Disenchantment will be, and if they show improvement, will allow more people to give the show a fair shot


I Feel Bad

NBC will sneak preview the first two episodes of its new fall comedy I Feel Bad on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 10 and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT following the season 13 finale of America's Got Talent. The series will premiere in its regular 9:30 p.m. Thursday timeslot beginning Oct. 4. Emet is the perfect mom, boss, wife, friend and daughter. OK, she's not perfect. In fact, she's just figuring it out like the rest of us. Sure, she feels bad when she has a sexy dream about someone other than her husband, or when she pretends not to know her kids when they misbehave in public, or when she uses her staff to help solve personal problems. But that's OK, right? Nobody can have it all and do it perfectly. From executive producer Amy Poehler comes a modern comedy about being perfectly OK with being imperfect. The cast includes Sarayu Blue, Paul Adelstein, Madhur Jaffrey, Brian George, James Buckley, Zach Cherry and Johnny Pemberton.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, February 23

Family Guy - "Live, Laugh, Love" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Peter realizes Joe has never found him funny, he is determined to make Joe laugh; Lois chaperones Chris and Meg's school trip, where she strives to reunite the principal with his long-lost love.

Grimsburg - "Molly" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Flute forgets to buy Stan a gift for his birthday, he steals an AI doll from the evidence locker; Wynona is forced to confront her ex-boyfriend.

The Great North - "Bots on the Side Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Ham starts performing at Yet-E-Cheddar's and develops a strange relationship with an animatronic Freddie the Yeti, that puts his relationship with Crispin in jeopardy; the new Tobin boat turns out to have a cursed name.

Krapopolis - "Stavros Live and in Concert" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Tyrannis' favorite singer Stavros is in town, but he also happens to be the favorite singer of Athena and her radical followers; Deliria goes on a little getaway.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 17)

Friday, February 21

  • Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal) - Watch Anthony on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class/The Pitts) - Lizzy appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Tina Fey (Only Murders in the Building/30 Rock) and Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - Tina and Amy are guests on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - NBC's Today catches up with Jane sometime between 7-9am.
  • Alan Ritchson (Blue Mountain State) - Alan talks about Reacher on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/CafĂ© Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


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

02/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Jury Duty Returning for New Season on Prime Video; New Spinoff of 9-1-1 in the Works
02/21 - CBS Renews 9 Additional Series for 2025-26; Hulu Picks Up Paradise for Season 2
02/20 - 31st Annual SAG Awards Pre-Show Hosts; Hulu's Ellen Pompeo Series Trailer Released
02/19 - Hulu's Am I Being Unreasonable? Returns for Season 2; Apple TV+ New CG Animated Comedy Series
02/18 - Cartoon Network's Iyanu Debuts April 5; Chelsea Handler: The Feeling Premieres March 25 on Netflix
02/17 - Netflix Renews XO, Kitty for Season 3; The Pitt to Return on Max
02/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 17, 2025)
02/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Sets Cast for Potential Backdoor Spinoff of The Neighborhood; Martha Stewart to Co-Host New NBC Cooking Competition
02/14 - FX's Dying for Sex Premieres in April on Hulu; BET+ Announces Lil Kev, Adult Animated Comedy
02/13 - Antenna TV and Rewind TV Celebrate Valentine's Day; The Handmaid's Tale Returns for Final Season
02/12 - Official Trailer for Hulu's Deli Boys; Doctor Odyssey Returns with a 2-Part Event
02/11 - Trailer for Shoresy Season 4; More Stars for SNL50: The Anniversary Special
02/10 - First Ever SNL Episode This Saturday on NBC; FX Renews English Teacher for Season 2
02/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 10, 2025)
02/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: English Teacher Renewed at FX; MeTV Toons to Launch House of Hanna-Barbera Programming Block
02/07 - SNL50's Star-Studded Lineup; Adult Swim Presents Oh My God... Yes! A Series of Extremely Relatable Circumstances
02/06 - Prime Video Iliza Shlesinger Special; Kate Hudson Stars in Netflix Comedy
02/05 - Fox Midseason Tuesday Change; 2025 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Rosters
02/04 - NBC Summer Staples Return in Summer 2025; Gronk Guests on Animal Control
02/03 - The Conners Final Season Premieres March 26; Tyler Perry Gets 2nd Comedy Series for Netflix
02/02 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 3, 2025)
02/01 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Little House on the Prairie Reboot Headed to Netflix; George Sr. Set to Return on Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage
01/31 - Final Season of The Righteous Gemstones; Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell's Audible Original
01/30 - Netflix's New Little House on the Prairie Series Coming Soon; Sabrina Brier Gets Awesomeness TV Series
01/29 - MGM+ Orders Comedy Series; Peacock's Amanda Seyfried Series Premieres March 13
01/28 - Ellen Pompeo's Hulu Series Gets Premiere Date; The White Lotus Season 3 Launches February 16
01/27 - Hulu's Deli Boys Adds Tan France; Joel McHale Taking Over The 1% Club
01/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 27, 2025)
01/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Righteous Gemstones to End After Upcoming Season; Mid-Century Modern to Pay Tribute to Linda Lavin
01/24 - Prime Video George Lopez Special; Netflix Renews The Lincoln Lawyer for Season 4
01/23 - Tubi's New Comedy The Z-Suite Launches February 6; The White Lotus Renewed for Season 4
01/22 - Fox Announces Animation Domination 2025 Schedule; Abbott Elementary Renewed for Season 5