Friday, January 04, 2019
Fri-Yay: Sitcoms in the Year 2019; Things Get Better Again on FX with Season 3 of Comedy

by Vincent
Now that another calendar year is upon us, what can we expect from sitcoms in the year of 2019? 2018 was a year where a lot of sitcoms continued to surprise me. I'd expect shows like Superstore, The Good Place, Bojack Horseman and One Day at a Time will continue to impress with their 2019 batch of episodes. But what are some other, less covered shows that could take off in 2019, and what else is going on in the world of sitcoms?
Personally, I'm interested to see how things shape up on these sitcoms coming to an end: You're the Worst, Broad City, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. All of these shows are poised to reach their conclusions this season, and I'm really sad to see them go but also feel that it might be the right time for many of them to wrap up, and am interested to see just how they wrap things off. All of these shows will certainly be very missed in the sitcom landscape.
And how about new shows, or shows that haven't quite taken off yet? I'll be keeping an eye on Comedy Central's Corporate, a riotously funny show that I hope doesn't go the way of recent Comedy Central projects. I'm also interested in AP Bio on NBC. I wasn't a big fan of the first season, but I saw potential for greatness, and now that it's getting another shot, I'm interested to see if it can build on its potential in its second season. Elsewhere, I'm interested to see if Netflix has any more interesting comedies in the pipeline. It feels as if sitcoms have taken a bit of a backseat on that platform, and I'd love to see some more great, original comedies come out of the streaming service.
2019 will surely bring some surprises, as well, just as 2018 did with shows like Corporate. Still, I feel 2018 was somewhat of a quiet year for sitcoms (and even for TV in general) - let's hope 2019 brings them back with a vengeance.
Better Things, the acclaimed and award-winning comedy series directed by, produced by and starring Pamela Adlon, will return to FX for its third season on Thursday, February 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Better Things is the story of Sam Fox (Pamela Adlon), a single mother and working actor with no filter, raising her three daughters, Max (Mikey Madison), Frankie (Hannah Alligood) and Duke (Olivia Edward) in Los Angeles. She also looks after her mother, Phil (Celia Imrie), an English expat with questionable faculties who lives across the street. Whether she's struggling to keep her daughters close or trying to push one of them out of the nest, Sam approaches every challenge with fierce love, raw honesty and humor. At the end of the day, Sam's just trying to earn a living, navigate her daughters' changing lives, survive her family, have fun with a friend or two, and also - just maybe - squeeze in some private time.
Season three will welcome several new faces as guests: Sharon Stone, Matthew Broderick, Doug Jones, Glynn Turman, Judy Reyes, Cree Summer, Charlie Robinson, Janina Gavankar and Marsha Thomason to name a few. Additionally, recurring players Diedrich Bader, Greg Cromer, Rebecca Metz, Kevin Pollak and Alysia Reiner will return this season, inhabiting their familiar roles. Adlon, who directs all 12 episodes of the third season, also serves as writer, executive producer and showrunner. Better Things is produced by FX Productions. In its first season, Better Things was one of seven entertainment programs to be honored with a Peabody Award. Additionally, in the first and second seasons, Pamela Adlon was nominated for an Emmy(R) Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe(R) Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy in season two.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Saturday, December 9
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 4)
Friday, December 8
- Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- John Caponera (The Good Life) - John is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog aka Robert Smigel chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals) and Molly Gordon (Ramy) - Noah and Molly talk about Theater Camp on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Eric Stonestreet (The Santa Clauses/Modern Family) - Eric talks about The Santa Clauses on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan sits down with Sherri to talk about his new book, When I Was Your Age, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
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