SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Buys Rural Comedy From "Liberal Redneck" Trae Crowder; Crossover Event Planned for Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon

Saturday, November 17, 2018

SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Buys Rural Comedy From "Liberal Redneck" Trae Crowder; Crossover Event Planned for Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! We're already in to Thanksgiving week, and after Thursday, it's going to be all Christmas everywhere! But before that, let's take a moment to sit back and breathe and enjoy these last few moments of fall, as this week, we're hearing about a new comedy from ABC featuring a man known as the "Liberal Redneck," a crossover for The Big Bang Theory, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

It's been under consideration for over a year, but now, ABC has bought a rural comedy that features Trae Crowder, who is known for his stage persona of the "Liberal Redneck." (Deadline)
It probably isn't a big surprise that there is going to be a crossover event between The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon. (Vulture)
Roy Clark, host of the long-running series Hee Haw, has died at age 85. (New York Times)
One has to wonder how much of a future awards shows have on TV, as they are all collectively getting lower and lower ratings every year. This week, it was the Country Music Awards that saw record low ratings. (Deadline)
It just wouldn't be Christmas without a newly colorized I Love Lucy episode, and CBS will be doing that yet again this year, along with some newly colorized episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show. (SitcomsOnline)

TUESDAY (NOVEMBER 20) HOME MEDIA RELEASE

Step by Step - The Complete Third Season (DVD, $29.99): Warner Archive brings the third season of the classic TGIF show to DVD, just in time for Thanksgiving.

WEEKLY PLANNER (NOVEMBER 17 - NOVEMBER 23)

Decades has a binge marathon of Barnaby Jones this weekend.
Steve Carrell makes his return to comedy as host of Saturday Night Live tonight.
ABC will have A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Wednesday night.
You can spend all Thanksgiving weekend with the Seavers, as Antenna TV will be airing every single episode of Growing Pains all weekend long, starting Wednesday night.
We don't normally point out the airing of a single episode of a classic series that regularly airs on a network anyway, but we'll make an exception for this one since it's a timely favorite: the "Turkey's Away" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati will air both Sunday at 7:30PM ET and Thursday at 9:30PM ET on MeTV.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, November 21

Young Sheldon - "The Sin of Greed and a Chimichanga from Chi-Chi’s" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The University makes George Sr. a lucrative job offer in the hopes of recruiting Sheldon. Also, Georgie gets a job working for Meemaw’s new boyfriend, and Mary is determined to rid her home of greed.

The Unicorn - "Turkeys and Traditions" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Wade and the girls tackle hosting a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for friends and extended family. Also, Ben attempts to make a fried turkey for the very first time. Annie Mumolo guest stars as Aunt Allison, Wade’s opinionated and passive-aggressive sister-in-law who’s visiting for Thanksgiving.

Mom - "Hot Butter and Toxic Narcissism" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Christy regrets fleeing the scene after hitting a parked car. Also, Bonnie’s therapist, Trevor (Rainn Wilson), offers tools to help her better communicate with Adam.

Carol's Second Act - "Sick and Retired" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Carol’s dear friend Phyllis (guest star Jane Kaczmarek) is admitted to the hospital, and Carol jealously witnesses what retirement would have looked like for her. Also, Daniel takes credit for Caleb’s excellent diagnosis and is bothered when Caleb doesn’t seem to mind.

Superstore - "Curbside Pickup" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
As part of a new corporate initiative Dina is spearheading, Jonah, Cheyenne and other overworked employees have to rush items directly to shoppers’ cars. Amy’s brother, Eric (George Salazar), visits the store, and Amy thinks she sees a spark with Mateo. Garrett is impressed by a customer’s high-tech purchase.

Perfect Harmony - "Thanks-taking" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Jax convinces Arthur to join the choir's progressive Thanksgiving dinner and snoop in various choir members' homes to find a missing item. Meanwhile, Adams invites her handsome contractor to dinner as a set-up for Ginny, but he has something else in mind.

The Good Place - "The Answer" (NBC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
In an attempt to plan a better future, Chidi considers his past.

Will & Grace - "The Grief Panda" (NBC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
In the aftermath of Will (Eric McCormack) and McCoy breaking up, Grace (Debra Messing) and Jack (Sean Hayes) hire the Grief Panda to help Will process his pain. With Karen (Megan Mullally) completely occupied with her new baseball team, Grace believes that she has to fire Karen in order to set her free.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Thursday, November 21

Lena Waithe (Master of None) - Catch Lena on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm.
Tom Papa (Come to Papa) and Fortune Feimster (The Mindy Project) - Tom and Fortune are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever) - Fred is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Jamie Lee Curtis (Scream Queens/Anything But Love) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She also talks about Knives Out on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat) - Randall visits The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - Eric is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls/Raising Dad) - Kat stops by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Jackée Harry (Tyler Perry's The Paynes/In the Cut/The First Family/Sister, Sister/227) - Jackée appears on The Real, so check your local listings. She also talks about OWN's Carole's Christmas on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Tisha Campbell (Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney drops by The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Lil Rel Howery (Rel/The Carmichael Show) - Lil Rel is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Sean Hayes (Will & Grace/The Millers/Sean Saves the World) - Sean talks about Will & Grace on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Craig Bierko (Unhitched/Madman of the People/Sydney) - Craig wlll be on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) - Soleil talks about Lifetime's Staging Christmas on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Peter Porte (Baby Daddy) - Peter talks about Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2 on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
Niecy Nash (The Soul Man/Getting On/Reno 911!) - Niecy appears on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.