Friday, October 19, 2018
Fri-Yay: New Sitcoms - What's Working and What's Not?; Brockmire Season 3 Brings Out the Stars
by Vincent
We're about a month into the new TV season, so it's about time we're getting a pretty good idea of what new sitcoms are taking off and what aren't quite yet. Of the crop, there are a few sitcoms that seem to have gotten out of the gate pretty well to a strong start. Those shows are The Neighborhood, The Cool Kids and The Conners. Expectations were not high for The Neighborhood, which received poor reviews and was given the tough task of leading off a night that hasn't done particularly well in the past few years. However, the show has maintained a consistently solid 1.2 in the 18-49 demo and seems to be attracted a consistent, steady amount of viewers. It isn't an out-of-the-gate smash, but it's exceeding expectations, and CBS is likely pleased with its performance. On another page, The Conners had sky high expectations that its premiere last night may not have quite matched - its premiere number was lower than any Roseanne number last year, but it was still the highest-rated broadcast on ABC so far this season by a comfortable margin, and one of the highest rated numbers on network TV in general (only the This Is Us season premiere bested it.) Even if it loses half of its audience, it would be a lock for another season. The Cool Kids has also enjoyed a strong lead-in from Last Man Standing, and is doing quite well for a Friday night series.
There are also some shows not doing so well. NBC's I Feel Bad, despite fairly positive reviews, hasn't managed to attract much of audience, falling to a measly 0.6 in its most recent airing. Similarly, Fox's Rel is not doing a good job of maintaining the solid and steady Animation Domination line-up, falling even further from them than The Last Man on Earth did last year (which was cancelled due to low ratings.) These are the sitcoms that are certainly on watch.
The jury is still out on some other shows, like CBS's Happy Together (it has hovered just around the 0.9 mark in the demo, which is OK but doesn't leave it much wiggle room) and ABC's The Kids Are Alright (which premiered well but also lost a lot of The Conners' audience.) In a few months, we'll check back to see how the race has changed - and who's still in it.
IFC announced details and guest stars for Season 3 of Brockmire, the critically acclaimed comedy series starring Hank Azaria as Jim Brockmire, the garrulous, recently-sober baseball announcer who's climbing his way back to the major leagues. Produced by Funny or Die, Brockmire is currently in production in Atlanta and will return to IFC in spring 2019 with eight all-new episodes. Returning stars include Amanda Peet as Jules, Brockmire's ex-girlfriend, Tyrel Jackson Williams as Charles, Brockmire's entrepreneurial best friend and Becky Ann Baker as Jean Brockmire, his weathered and tough-love older sister. New guest stars appearing in Brockmire Season 3 include (in alphabetical order):
· Former Kansas City Royals baseball player and Baseball Hall of Fame inductee George Brett and Emmy(R)-winning renowned sportscaster Bob Costas will both appear as themselves.
· Richard Kind (Red Oaks, Spin City) as Gus, Brockmire's new producer with questionable leadership skills.
· Tony Award(R) and Golden Globe(R)-winner Linda Lavin (Alice) as Lorraine, Brockmire's estranged mother.
· Tawny Newsome (The Carmichael Show) as Gabby, a NCAA Champion softball player and Brockmire's new partner in the announcing booth.
· Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope) as Shirley, Brockmire's no-nonsense Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor in Florida.
· Academy Award(R)-winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) as Matt "The Bat" Hardesty, a former baseball player turned sports announcer with a brash personality and loyal fan base in Florida.
· Christine Woods (Hello Ladies) as Maggie, a self-assured oncology nurse who enters Brockmire's life in an unexpected way.
Brockmire follows Jim Brockmire, a famed major league baseball announcer who suffered a notorious public breakdown after stumbling upon his wife's infidelity - a breakdown so bad that "Brutal Brockmire" became a viral internet meme. Season 1 began a decade later, as Brockmire looked to reclaim his career and reputation by calling games for the Morristown Frackers, an underdog minor league baseball team. Despite finding happiness in Morristown alongside his girlfriend/team owner Jules, Season 2 began with a newly-single Brockmire calling games in New Orleans and living with his co-dependent friend Charles... while fully indulging in the city's booze-riddled sins. When a drug-fueled night of partying with a stranger ends with a near-death experience, Brockmire realizes it's time to get sober once and for all. Season 3 takes place one year after his stint in rehab, with Brockmire doing play-by-play in the radio booth for the major leagues in central Florida while maintaining his brazen and narcissistic tendencies, despite actually being on the wagon. When an opportunity arises for Jim and his new co-host Gabby to take over as lead broadcasters in Oakland, he must fight to change his ever-present amorality.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, May 9
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)
Friday, May 9
- Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Watch Paul on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Matt Bomer (Mid-Century Modern) - Matt appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Asif Ali (Deli Boys) and Saagar Shaikh (Deli Boys) - Asif and Saagar are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Busy Philipps (Girls5eva/Vice Principals/Cougar Town/Love, Inc.) - Busy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory/Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Christine talks about Nine Perfect Strangers on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/For Your Love/Like Family/Love, Inc.) - Holly swings by for a chat about her new film Hats Off to Love on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) and Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother/Free Spirit) - NBC's Today catches up with Sarah and Alyson in the 9am hour.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - In this a little bit extra episode Drew shares more of her conversation with Brooke at the news desk on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel joins Sherri to talk about starring in the new film Juliet & Romeo, so check your local listings.
- Terri J. Vaughn (She the People/Mann & Wife/Meet the Browns/All of Us/The Steve Harvey Show) - Terri talks about starring in the new Netflix series She the People on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Julia Sweeney (Shrill/Work in Progress/Maybe It's Me/George and Leo) and Marsha Mason (Grace and Frankie/The Middle/Sibs) - Julia and Marsha talk about My First Ex-Husband on PIX11 Morinng News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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