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
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.
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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, November 12
St. Denis Medical - "Welcome to St. Denis" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Alex is torn between her daughter's school play and an "all-hands" situation in the Emergency Department; Joyce spends the hospital's limited funds on a fancy mammography machine; Matt's first day as a nurse isn't going as he'd hoped.
St. Denis Medical - "A Very Robust Personal Life" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Joyce's belief that personal life should stay out of the workplace is tested by unexpected news; Ron thinks a patient has a crush on him; Bruce tries to demonstrate the value of his important work.
Churchy - "Tobe or Not Tobe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Corey gets Pastor Stinney's approval to start a youth service and enlists help from friends and community members, including securing a performance by Tobe Nwigwe.
Churchy - "The Praise Team" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Corey's leadership is tested when Mother Jean's grandson, Teddy, is considered for the pastor role; Rodney causes conflict as he revamps the music department and brings in fresh talent.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 11)
Tuesday, November 12
- Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Catch Wanda on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Ben Falcone (God's Favorite Idiot/Nobodies/Joey) - Ben appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jeff Goldblum (Search Party) - Jeff is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Lacey Chabert (Still the King/Baby Daddy/Family Guy) - Lacey stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Langston Kerman (English Teacher/Bust Down/South Side/Bless This Mess) - Langston is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Bonnie Hunt (Life with Bonnie/Bonnie/The Building/Davis Rules/Grand) - NBC's Today catches up with Bonne in the 9am hour.
- Nathan Lane (Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) and Tituss Burgess (Schmigadoon!/Central Park/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Nathan and Tituss talk about Spellbound on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Do Not Disturb/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Jerry and Rebecca Romijn join the fun in Greater Palm Springs on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Kristin Chenoweth (Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - Ana is sharing her hilarious take on the hottest news topics on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Wendi McClendon-Covey (St. Denis Medical/The Goldbergs/Rules of Engagement/Reno 911!) - Wendi talks about her new medical mockumentary-style comedy series St. Denis Medical on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Rob Corddry (Bookie/The Unicorn/Ballers/The Winner/Childrens Hospital) - Rob discusses his television comedy Bookie on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
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)
02/04 - 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