Friday, October 05, 2018

Fri-Yay: The Good Place - The Most Innovative Sitcom; Netflix Shoots Hoops with Jake Johnson

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!

The Good Place

by Vincent

Last Thursday, The Good Place returned for its third season. Once again, it completely flipped its premise. SPOILERS for The Good Place Season 3 ahead, so if you haven't gotten there, you might want to stop reading, but...basically, The Good Place Season 3, at least so far, seems to be about the four main characters being given a second chance on Earth. This is completely different than the second season premise (the core four finding out they're in The Bad Place and trying to get into The Good Place) and of course, the original premise, about a woman who thinks she's in The Good Place by mistake. It's hard to think of a show that's changed its premise as drastically in three seasons as The Good Place - and even harder to think of one that's done it so well. The show is still as fresh and excellent as ever, making its innovations and changes even more impressive, and even more exciting to watch.

So where does The Good Place go from here? It's impossible to say, but personally, I'm wondering if we're going to eventually address the morality of the way the afterlife and demons actually treat people. For a show about morals and ethics, it's interesting how morally gray the show's actual afterlife is! Given that the actual demons seem to be taking more of a center stage this season (if the way the show ended is any indication), I wouldn't be surprised if we start to dig into that question. Or maybe not. I've given up trying to predict where this show is going, because I'm always wrong - but hey, that's the beauty of The Good Place. It keeps you guessing and guessing every week.


Jake Johnson

Netflix has gotten yet another series. Now an animated comedy with Jake Johnson. Hoops centers around a hot-headed, foul-mouthed high school basketball coach who thinks turning around his God-awful team will take him to the "big leagues." Jake Johnson (New Girl, BoJack Horseman, Spider Man: Into the Spider-verse) will voice the character of Coach Ben Hopkins. Netflix has ordered ten half-hour episodes from Writer/Creator/Executive Producer Ben Hoffman, Phil Lord & Chris Miller (The Lego Movie), Seth Cohen and Jake Johnson. 20th Century Fox Television is producing.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, January 8

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 5)

Thursday, January 8

  • Denis Leary (Going Dutch/No Good Deed/Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/The Job) - Catch Denis on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Rose Byrne (Platonic/Physical) - Rose appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Idris is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Hijack on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Lucy appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Holly Hunter (Mr. Mayor) - Holly talks about Paramount+'s Star Trek: Starfleet Academy on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!) - Alan talks about The Traitors on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan talks about Unfunny Bunny on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
  • Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) - Matt co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Valerie appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The Last O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric and Malik S talk about YouTube's Laughing Voodoo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series (DVD)
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two (DVD)
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season (DVD)
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2 (DVD)
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

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

01/07 - Saturday Night Live Bobbleheads from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum; Fox Entertainment Signs Tracee Ellis Ross to Deal
01/06 - Emily in Paris Renewed for Season 6; Audible's New Comedy Series Starring Jenifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Niecy Nash-Betts
01/05 - Trailer for The Muppet Show Special Event; Season 3 of Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal on Adult Swim
01/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 5, 2026)
01/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Premiere Date Set for Malcolm in the Middle Reboot; NBC Pulls The Paper
01/02 - Bridgerton Season 4 Details and Live Premiere Event; NBC Pulls The Paper from Mondays
01/01 - Happy New Year; Shrinking Season 3 Trailer
12/31 - In Memoriam: Remembering the Sitcom Stars We Lost in 2025
12/30 - Antenna TV and Rewind TV's New Year's Eve and Day Marathons; Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair Premieres April 10
12/29 - COZI TV Postpones The Jeff Foxworthy Show Launch; Netflix Releases Free Bert Trailer
12/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 29, 2025)
12/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Chevy Chase "Hurt" By Not Being Invited to SNL 50th Anniversary; New Lineups for Antenna TV and Rewind TV
12/26 - GET Acquires Psych for January 2026; Details on Netflix's A Different World Sequel
12/25 - Merry Christmas from Sitcoms Online; Interviews from 2025 Christmas Con in Edison, NJ
12/24 - 2025 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day TV Marathons
12/23 - Antenna TV January 2026 Schedule; Rewind TV January 2026 Schedule
12/22 - The Ms. Pat Show Returns January 7; According to Jim Christmas Day Marathon on Laff
12/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 22, 2025)
12/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Historical 19th Century Comedy in the Works at CBS; Bowen Yang Leaving Saturday Night Live After Tonight
12/19 - The Muppet Show 50th Anniversary Event in February on ABC & Disney+; Adult Swim Renews Haha, You Clowns for 2 More Seasons
12/18 - The Oscars Moving to YouTube in 2029; Celebs for Hollywood Squares Season 2
12/17 - MeTV Remembers Rob Reiner with Tribute Marathon; MGM+ to Make New The Magnificent Seven Series
12/16 - The Rob Reiner Story: A Hollywood Tragedy – ABC News Special; Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Part 2 on CBS
12/15 - Remembering the Legendary Rob Reiner of All in the Family; Trailer for Netflix's His & Hers
12/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 15, 2025)
12/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner/Netflix Merger Gets Complicated; Steve Carell Comedy Rooster Coming to HBO Max in March
12/12 - Survival of the Thickest Final Season Guest Stars; Ted Season 2 Returns in March
12/11 - The Upshaws Final Season Premieres January 15; Mike Epps Gets 5th Netflix Special
12/10 - HBO's Rooster Premieres in March; Fox's Updated Winter 2026 Schedule
12/09 - 83rd Golden Globe Nominations; Paradise Returns on Hulu in February
12/08 - First Look at Bert Kreischer Netflix Comedy Free Bert; School Spirits Season 3
12/07 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 8, 2025)