Friday, December 14, 2018
Fri-Yay: Where Will The Good Place Go Next?; Everything's Gonna Be Okay at Freeform
by Vincent
I know I've talked about The Good Place a lot on this column, but it's the most exciting sitcom - or actually, TV show in general - right now, so I often have a lot of thoughts about it. This column will contain spoilers for last week's Good Place, so if you aren't caught up you might want to stop reading.
Last week, The Good Place seemed to begin to process of doing what I've wanted it to do since the first season - question the ethics of the show's afterlife, where the criteria to get into The Good Place seems nearly impossible. The episode reveals that no one has made it into the good place in 500 years. Now, it's entirely possible the show will walk this back, but it seems to me that the show is finally posting the moral questions it's been hinting at for so long. And what better place to do that than the actual good place? Yep - the show is supposedly in the actual good place at the end of the most recent episode. It's been three years coming, but it seems to finally be happening.
This is a really exciting direction for the show, especially given that parts of this season have felt a little slow, at least by the show's standards. The show spent the large bulk of Season 3 on Earth, which allowed for some interesting character work, but lacked the inventive fun of the first two seasons. Now, though, we seem to be fully back in the afterlife, and the show is once again toying with format, plot, and experimentation the way it did in its first two seasons. As we come to the end of its third season, I can't wait to see where The Good Place goes next.
Freeform has picked up Everything's Gonna Be Okay to series with a 10-episode order. From Please Like Me creator, writer and comedian Josh Thomas, and produced by Avalon Television and Freeform, the half-hour comedy introduces Nicholas (Josh Thomas), a neurotic 25-year-old still living at home with his single dad and two teenage half-sisters, one of which has autism. He is not particularly helpful in raising his siblings, but when their dad becomes terminally ill, the girls have to cope with not only a devastating loss but also the realization that Nicholas is the one who will have to hold it all together.
Thomas created the concept, wrote and stars in the pilot and will serve as showrunner with David Martin, Jon Thoday, and Richard Allen-Turner serving as executive producers for Avalon Television. Stephanie Swedlove and Kevin Whyte also serve as executive producers. The series will star Josh Thomas, Kayla Cromer, Maeve Press and Adam Faison.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, February 14
Happy's Place - "Accountability" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Isabella accidentally implies she doesn't trust Steve's work on the tavern's taxes, Bobbie and Steve decide to have some fun and teach her a lesson; Gabby goes on a health kick enlisting Takoda as her personal trainer.
Happy's Place - "Dear Jack" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Bobbie catches Isabella doing a slow-fade breakup with her long-distance boyfriend, she convinces her to send a Dear John letter; Steve brings in a review praising Chef Emmett's cooking and acknowledging the tavern's bartender, "Abby."
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Raiders of the Locked Archive" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Russos go to the Wizard World, where Billie finds out a secret that will change her life, and potentially the world, forever!
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 10)
Friday, February 14
- Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Watch Ariana on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Bernadette Peters (High Desert/Mozart in the Jungle/All's Fair) - Bernadette is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Kieran Culkin (Go Fish) - Kieran appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Will Forte (HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Conner O'Malley (Shrill) - Conner appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry and Lisa Rinna are guests on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) and
- Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement/My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star) - Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos and fiancé Chock Chapple are telling Drew about their experience falling in love on television on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. The love panel of Valerie Bertinelli, Taye Diggs, Oliver Hudson and Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry is back and answering audience questions in a sex and relationships Q&A. Plus, Drew is joined by love gurus Valerie Bertinelli, Taye Diggs, Oliver Hudson and Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry for a dating Q&A.
- Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal) - Anthony talks about starring in the highly anticipated new film Captain America: Brave New World on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Monica Barbaro (FUBAR) - Monica can be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
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