Fri-Yay: Orange Is the New Black Season 6: A Tightrope Between Comedy and Drama; King of the Hill Labor Day Marathon on Comedy Central

Friday, August 10, 2018

Fri-Yay: Orange Is the New Black Season 6: A Tightrope Between Comedy and Drama; King of the Hill Labor Day Marathon on Comedy Central

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

Classifying Orange Is the New Black as a "sitcom" may be stretching it a bit. It's an hour long, and often feels more dramatic than comedic. But in the dog days of summer, it's a little difficult to spot any genuine sitcoms worth discussing. Plus, Orange's balance between comedy and drama is increasingly indicative of the way TV comedy is headed, blending the difference between comedy and drama - after all, shows structured like more traditional sitcoms like One Day at a Time or animated comedies like Bojack Horseman often feel even more dramatic than Orange at times. Genre is becoming increasingly blended, and part of that reality has added to Orange's struggle to keep up its initial quality and interest in its most recent seasons.

Orange was initially presented as a somewhat light-hearted look at life in a women's prison that nevertheless took its characters and the situation they were in seriously. The world that it introduced us to was fairly grim, but the characters were lively, fun, and lovable. We liked hanging out at Litchfield, even if we acknowledged that our characters didn't. Still, because we cared about the characters so deeply, the show was able to cover serious topics well - we wanted these characters to do well, and we got frustrated when the prison system treated them with injustice. It was a delicate, difficult balance that the show managed to navigate incredibly well in its first three seasons.

However, the show took a turn somewhere in season four, a season that was markedly darker than anything the show had attempted before. The season was incredibly grim, shedding a light on issues like the prison industrial complex and showcasing the level of abuse that prisoners may go through. Without spoiling a major plot point, the season ended on an absolutely heartbreaking note - one that wound up being a bit controversial. Whether or not you felt that the season's climax was earned or not, it was clearly a turning point for the series. Since that moment, the show's previous balance has felt off. This is no longer a world we want to spend any time in, and it's gotten to the point where each episode almost feels like we're simply watching characters we love be tortured, as their circumstances somehow get worse and worse. And yet, because the show is presented as a "dramadey", there are still moments of comedy inserted in, which makes the tone feel jumbled. Things are very serious, and yet...the show is still making ill-timed jokes. It's an example of how the blending of tone that shows like to do can be an incredibly difficult balance to make. Frankly, I'm really hoping that the already-ordered seventh season of Orange will be its last. The show's sixth season (released a few weeks ago) had some great moments and was a marked improvement over the incredibly messy fifth season, but it still feels as if the show has lost its sense of what it wants to be, trapped in big, dramatic storylines with seemingly no easy out. Orange was a landmark series for television, but it may be time to for it to gracefully bow out, preserving its legacy before its tone gets even more muddy.

King of the Hill

A King of the Hill Labor Day Marathon has been added to Comedy Central's line-up on Monday, September 3, 2018 from 7am-4am. The episodes in the marathon will go in order beginning with the Pilot episode. All 12 first season episodes will air, followed by the entire second season (23 episodes) and the first ten episodes of season three. King of the Hill regularly airs in the late nights on Comedy Central, with times varying, sometimes from 12-1:30am. The series started on the network on July 23, as we mentioned. Comedy Central also airs other off-network series such as Scrubs, The Office, That '70s Show, and Futurama. In King of the Hill, which originally aired on Fox from 1997 to 2010, depicts the life and times of Hank Hill, his family and their neighbors in the fictional suburb of Arlen, Texas, the heartland of America. A hard-working, loyal family man and proud Texan, Hank is assistant manager of Strickland Propane. He's an average Joe who sees himself as the voice of common sense and reason in a world of incompetent sales clerks, meddling bureaucrats and do-good liberals. Created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, King of the Hill is executive produced by Judge, Daniels, Howard Klein, Michael Rotenberg, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, April 9

Young Sheldon - "A Slump, a Cross and Roadside Gravel" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sheldon and Georgie mine for platinum in roadside gravel. Also, Mary is concerned when Missy misuses religion to help with a batting slump.

Man with a Plan - "Adam's Big Little Lie" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Adam promises not to lie to Andi again but finds himself in a tough spot when he has to cover for Joe.

Mom - "Hot Butter and Toxic Narcissism" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Christy regrets fleeing the scene after hitting a parked car. Also, Bonnie’s therapist, Trevor (Rainn Wilson), offers tools to help her better communicate with Adam.

Broke - "Jobs" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Jackie encourages Javier and Elizabeth to get jobs so they can contribute financially to the household, Javier gets work as a ride share driver, with Luis’ help, and Elizabeth is employed as a personal shopper. Also, Jackie worries Sammy will get hurt by becoming so close with his uncle Javier.

Last Man Standing - "Garage Band" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
A car restoration article throws Mike, Chuck, and Ed into the spotlight, while leaving Joe feeling unappreciated; Ryan overreacts after taking Kyle's psych test.

Last Man Standing - "A Bedtime Story" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mike tries to avoid hurting Vanessa's feelings due to her snoring; Mandy goes overboard preparing for the arrival of Kristin and Ryan's new baby.

Superstore - "" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - "Valloweaster" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The squad competes in an effort to determine who is the greatest human/genius.

Will & Grace - "We Love Lucy" (NBC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Will claims living with Grace is like Ricky living with Lucy. When Karen and Jack hear this, they each claim that they are the Lucy of the group. Grace, Karen, and Jack each imagine themselves as Lucy (during “Vitameatavegamin,” “Chocolate Factory,” and “Grape-Stomping”), with Will as the Ricky to all of them. Lucie Arnaz and Leslie Jordan guest star.

Indebted - "Everybody's Talking About King and Queens" (NBC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Debbie decides to become a certified life coach to help her and Stew get out of debt and immediately make waves in Dave and Rebecca’s lives. Stew rejects Joanna’s help while trying to come up with a great new as-seen-on-TV product.

Better Things - "High Man. Bye Man" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Sam goes to the weed store and visits her brother; Frankie and Sam eat ice cream.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Don Cheadle (Black Monday/House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Catch Don on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:05am on ABC.
Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered) - Regina appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:05am on ABC. She will also be on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - Jane is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Abby Elliott (Indebted/Odd Mom Out) and Adam Pally (Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Abby and Adam are guests on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig will be on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Casey Wilson (Marry Me/The Hotwives/Happy Endings) - Casey appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Danielle Schneider (The Hotwives) - Danielle is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Victor Rasuk (How to Make It in America) - Victor previews the new series The Baker and the Beauty on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
David Spade (Rules of Engagement/8 Simple Rules/Just Shoot Me!) - David appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Rob Lowe (The Grinder/Parks and Recreation) - Rob is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kim Fields (The Facts of Life/Living Single) - Kim appears on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Christine Baranski (Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Christine will be on CBS This Morning sometime between 7-9am.
Tim Robbins (The Brink) - Tim is a guest on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Busy Philipps (Vice Principals/Cougar Town) - Busy appears on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Daniella Monet (Baby Daddy/Victorious/Listen Up!) - Daniella cooks lentil soup on a repeat of Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.