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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, July 13

Ghosts - "Patience" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
While Sam and the ghosts race to find him, Isaac comes face to face with Puritan ghost Patience (Mary Holland) for the first time since she was lost in the dirt.

The Simpsons - "Homer and Her Sisters" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a fight in an escape room, Krusty's aunt fixes Homer's relationship with Patty and Selma.

Krapopolis - "Ice Week!" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ty struggles to keep his cool when he gets the hots for a visiting reporter; Shlub is paid a visit by an old friend; Hippocampus and Stupendous risk missing the festivities altogether.

Animal Control - "Giraffes, Gorillas and Penguins" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The crew must contain a freak zoo break; Frank realizes that he needs to break up with Yasmin; Emily finds an unexpected benefactor in a celebrity businesswoman.

Going Dutch - "Pilot" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The colonel is reassigned to take emergency command of USAG Stroopsdorf in the Netherlands; Sgt. Conway provides the colonel and Shah with a tour of the things Stroopsdorf is known for... cheese, laundry and bowling.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Friday, July 11

Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Fairview/Corporate) and Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Aparna and Whitney are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Malachi Barton (Stuck in the Middle) and Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Malachi and Meg discuss Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires and perform on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. They will also be on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton talks about Black Coffee and Ice Water on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - CBS News contributor Lisa Ling talks with Margaret and Joel on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE sitdown with actress/director/author Krysten Ritter who recently released her new thriller/mystery novel Retreat, so check your local listings.
Maggie Q (Pivoting) - Maggie Q talks about Prime's Ballard on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Tisha Campbell (Act Your Age/Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) and Wendy Raquel Robinson (Poppa's House/The Game/Here We Go Again/The Steve Harvey Show/Minor Adjustments) - Tisha and Wendy chat about their film Operation: Aunties on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings. They will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
David Zayas (The Bear/Saint George) - David appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.