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
Thursday, July 10
Ghosts - "Smooching and Smushing" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Jay, Sam and the ghosts attempt to fix the ghost trap in hopes of getting Sasappis across the ghost boundary to visit his longtime crush, Shiki.
Bob's Burgers - "Wild Steal-ions" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Tina's lost book of semi-erotic horse-torical fiction lands in the hands of a mysterious stranger with nefarious intentions.
Grimsburg - "How to Lose an Ankle Monitor in 10 Days" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When the criminals of Grimsburg go on strike, the police force gets furloughed.
Family Guy - "Karenheit 451" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Lois becomes the leader of a group of mothers who want to ban books from schools.
The Great North - "Bust a Moon Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Moon makes a big decision after clashing with Beef; Judy and Ham hatch a plot to make some extra cash.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)
Thursday, July 10
- Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke is a musical guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Rhys Darby (Wrecked/How to Be a Gentleman/Flight of the Conchords), Rory Scovel (Grace and Frankie/Robbie/Ground Floor) and Baron Vaughn (Corporate/Grace and Frankie) - Rhys, Rory and Baron are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement/My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star) - Oliver is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jessica Lowe (Wrecked) - Jessica talks about Elixir's Red Flag Green Flag on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
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)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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