Fri-Yay: Reboot Fever Continues with Talks of Designing Women and Frasier Reboots; E! Gets Busy...Philipps

Friday, August 17, 2018

Fri-Yay: Reboot Fever Continues with Talks of Designing Women and Frasier Reboots; E! Gets Busy...Philipps

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!

Frasier

by Vincent

Just when you thought reboot fever might be dying down, it's back again. That's right...reboot fever is back in action with talks of a Designing Women reboot as well as some "murmurs" of a Frasier revival.

We'll start with the Frasier reboot, reports of which surfaced a few weeks ago. Deadline reported that Kelsey Grammar is interested in the idea of a Frasier reboot that would "explore the idea of Frasier in a new city." Although no deal seems imminent, talks are that Grammar is shopping the reboot at different networks, and it seems to be at least a possibility. The Designing Women reboot is in similarly nascent stages, although it seems a bit further along as it has Sony on board. Supposedly, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony has tapped on original series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason to re-create the series in a way it speaks to "the politically divided state of our current nation" (which is interesting as the original Designing Women never seemed particularly political.) It seems as if the Designing Women reboot would be more of a fresh reboot with a new cast a la the new One Day at a Time rather than a continuation like the new seasons of Roseanne and Murphy Brown.

Personally, it really seems to me as if this is getting a bit out of control. Of these two remakes, the Frasier remake makes at least a little bit more sense, as Frasier has gained some surprising momentum as a Netflix favorite for millennials. But I'm still unsure that either of these long-running series are exactly dying to be revisited. I really wish the TV industry would focus a bit more on fresh ideas rather than drudging up the past. Nevertheless, more remakes and reboots are set to come to TV this fall - the new season of Murphy Brown will be premiering on CBS in the fall, as well as a rebooted version of Charmed on The CW. Whether I like it or not, it certainly seems as if reboot culture is here to stay.

Busy Philipps

E! brings viewers all the best in pop culture as the new late night talk show, Busy Tonight, hosted and executive produced by actress and social media sensation, Busy Philipps (Cougar Town), premieres on Sunday, October 28 at 10pm ET/PT. The half hour talk show, airing every Sunday through Wednesday, will feature everyone's favorite unfiltered Hollywood best friend giving her hilarious and outspoken opinions on the latest pop culture stories and trending topics with candid celebrity guest interviews and original comedic segments. The network has also tapped former Co-Executive Producer of Bravo Media's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Caissie St.Onge, to serve as showrunner.

Longtime writer and producer, Caissie St.Onge, joins Busy Tonight after nine years with Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and has previously worked on popular, Emmy-winning talk shows such as The Rosie O'Donnell Show and The Late Show with David Letterman.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, September 28

The Conners - "Scenes From Two Marriages: The Parrot Doth Protest Too Much" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Jackie moves in with Neville and discovers that being newlyweds produces new problems when Neville shows up to their home with an excess of animals from his vet office. Meanwhile, Darlene and Ben have an argument as Ben points out Darlene is turning into her father.

The Golbergs - "That's a Schwartz Man" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
With both sides of the family eager for answers on Geoff and Erica’s pregnancy, they decide to keep their baby’s sex a surprise. However, a sonagram finding from Lou Schwartz might provide an unexpected discovery. Meanwhile, Adam recruits Glascott to help his mother cope with his departure for NYU; but when he later has a change of heart about heading off to college, he sources a job as the personal assistant to a special celebrity to help lessen the blow when news of his deferred enrollment is delivered to Beverly.

Abbott Elementary - "Wrong Delivery" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After Janine gets a look at the new charter school down the street, she becomes determined to fix up Abbott and make it just as good. As Gregory goes out of his way to avoid Barbara due to an awkward situation with his personal life, and Ava takes to the school library to host a “Shark Tank”-style pitch to decide what to do with the rest of the funds from the grant.

Home Economics - "Melatonin 10 Mg Tablets, $14.99" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Tom begins publicity for his new book as Marina takes on the redesign of Gretchen’s room, which causes a lot of stress at home and in the bedroom. Meanwhile, Sarah, Denise and the kids have to crash at Connor’s house when their apartment floods, much to Lupe’s chagrin.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 26)

Wednesday, September 28

Mila Kunis (Family Guy/That '70s Show) - Watch Mila on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She talks about Luckiest Girl Alive on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Ramy Youssef (Ramy/See Dad Run) - Ramy appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Timothy Olyphant (Santa Clarita Diet) - Timothy is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood/New Girl/Modern Men) - Max will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mayim Bialik (Call Me Kat/The Big Bang Theory/Blossom) - Mayim is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Rosie O'Donnell (SMILF/Stand By Your Man/Gimme a Break!) - Rosie appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary/Go On/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tyler is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kim Coles (Living Single/The Geena Davis Show) - Kim talks about her new series Finding Happy on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - George and Amal Clooney are guests on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect) - Sherri appears on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Vanessa Lachey (Truth Be Told/Dads) - Vanessa is a guest on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Jaime Camil (Schmigadoon!/Broke) - Jaime talks about Netflix's El Rey: Vicente Fernandez on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Lio Tipton (Manhattan Love Story) - Lio appears on PIX 11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.