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

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!

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

Thursday, January 23

Shifting Gears - "Accommodations" (ABC, 9:02PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt joins Riley at Carter’s high school open house, where he’s unsettled to learn about the “accommodations” made for his grandson’s anxiety. Meanwhile, Riley reconnects with Caitlin, a former classmate, and sets her up with Gabriel.

Only Murders in the Building - "Sparring Partners" (ABC, 9:33PM ET/PT)
Closing in on the killer, Mabel takes her investigative talents into the ring; Oliver and Charles duke it out over a birdcage only to end up confronting their deepest paternal struggles.

Only Murders in the Building - "I Know Who Did It" (ABC, 10:12PM ET/PT)
The question of who did it remains, along with a few more questions that have been raised.

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "An Old Mustang" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie worries that he’s leaving Connor out of his new project with Jim. Meanwhile, Mandy and Audrey struggle to decorate CeeCee’s nursery without fighting.

Ghosts - "The Primary Source" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Sam’s book publisher requires source material for her biography on Isaac, she and Jay take a field trip to find a diary he claims he hid when he was alive.

Animal Control - "Baby Kangaroos and Chickens" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Victoria compete to win Fiona's affections at the new kennels' fundraiser; Emily gets some very bad advice from Bettany on her speech; Patel and Shred find themselves facing the world's most charming squatter.

Going Dutch - "Korfball" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Everyone in town is talking about the upcoming Korfball match between the Americans and the Dutch; the colonel refuses to lose to the Dutch and Quinn brings out her high school alter ego "The Rocket" to make her dad proud.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)

Thursday, January 23

James Marsden (30 Rock) - Catch James on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Fortune Feimster (FUBAR/Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Denis Leary (Going Dutch/No Good Deed/Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/The Job) - Denis stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Britt is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Thomas, Paul and Joe are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Al Madrigal (Lopez vs Lopez/About a Boy/Gary Unmarried/Welcome to The Captain) - Al appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason and his wife Jenny Mollen are telling Drew about their new show Dinner and a Movie that features an episode focusing on 50 First Dates on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.