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

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!

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

Monday, September 16

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Conversation" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dave is thrilled when Calvin invites him golfing, confident that it represents progress in their relationship, but Calvin may have another motive. Also, Gemma and Tina team up to pull off an unforgettable surprise for Malcolm, Marty and Grover.

The Big Bang Theory - "The Stockholm Syndrome" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bernadette and Wolowitz leave their kids for the first time; Penny and Leonard try to keep a secret; Sheldon and Amy stick together; and Koothrappali makes a new friend, as the gang travels together into an uncharted future.

In The Cut - "America's Got Skillz, Part 1" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Kenny, Smitty and Percy audition for a talent show competition with Jay as Percy's manager; Mabel begins to lose customers when a famous food blogger writes a bad review.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 16)

Monday, September 16

Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Watch Anthony on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney), Natasha Leggero (Another Period/Dice/Free Agents) and Henry Winkler (Barry/Out of Practice/Happy Days) - Whitney, Natasha and Henry make special appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Bless This Mess on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat) - Constance is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser, M.D./Stark Raving Mad) - Neil drops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy appears on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn visits A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Bill Burr (F is for the Family) and Jim Jefferies (Legit) - Bill and Jim are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Jane Lynch (Angel from Hell) and Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Sherri/Less Than Perfect) - Jane and Sherri guest co-host The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Brian Austin Green (Anger Management/Wedding Band/Freddie) - Brian appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
The Cast of The Brady Bunch - The cast of the most famous TV family, The Brady Bunch, is hanging with Rach today and they’re dishing on what it was like to renovate the Brady house on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Tony Danza (Taxi/Who's the Boss?/Hudson Street) - Tony will be on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Michelle Buteau (First Wives Club) - Michelle talks about BET+'s First Wives Club on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.