Fri-Yay: Broad City Goes Out on a High Note; Freeform Summer 2019 Premieres Includes grown-ish

Friday, March 29, 2019

Fri-Yay: Broad City Goes Out on a High Note; Freeform Summer 2019 Premieres Includes grown-ish

It's time for another edition of Fri-Yay! That means we will take a look back on some sitcom happenings in recent days or weeks or other fun sitcomy stuff. It's a sitcom lover's paradise! Happy Fri-Yay!

by Vincent

Last night, Broad City ended its five-year run on Comedy Central. This final season has been surprisingly emotional - it's tied up a lot of loose ends and called back several of the show's famous and most beloved moments and characters, but without feeling forced like shows sometimes do as they're wrapping up. Most importantly, the show has remained hysterical right up until the end. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are incredibly talented comic actresses, and even though it does feel as if they've outgrown their Broad City roles to an extent, they still do an excellent job detailing the comic pratfalls of these characters.

Plus, outgrowing their old selves has been a major theme of the final season of Broad City. Ilana and especially Abbi are no longer the young, carefree, aimless 20-somethings having fun in the big city the way they were when the series began. They're older, more mature and ready to get their lives together. That's why (spoilers for the final season of Broad City ahead) Abbi decides to leave New York City and enter an artists in residency program in Boulder, Colorado. Abbi and Ilana are not only growing older, but in some ways, growing apart. The two will always be linked with friendship, but Ilana feels satisfied running around New York City in the most carefree way possible in a way that Abbi has never really felt fully okay with having that be her endgame. It's a sad ending, but it's also one that makes sense for the characters. That makes total sense for a series that, as wacky as it got, has always had a big spot in its heart for its unique central duo. Broad City will be sorely missed in the TV comedy landscape, but what a great way for the show to go out then with a hilarious and heartfelt final season the way it has.

grown-ish

Season two of the critically acclaimed Freeform comedy grown-ish returns for summer session on Wednesday, June 5, at 8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT on Freeform for the back half of its second season (episodes 11-20). After a cliffhanger spring finale, Zoey (Yara Shahidi) and her friends find themselves at dramatic crossroads in their relationships, academics and adulthood. The second half of the season continues to explore important topics, including cultural appropriation, mental health, academic scandal and more. Starring Yara Shahidi, Trevor Jackson, Francia Raisa, Emily Arlook, Jordan Buhat, Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey, Luka Sabbat, Deon Cole and Diggy Simmons, who has just been added as a series regular, the show is a contemporary take on the issues that students face in the world of higher education. grown-ish is produced by ABC Signature Studios and executive produced by Kenya Barris, Julie Bean, Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry, Craig Doyle, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland and E. Brian Dobbins.

Good Trouble will return for more trouble in its highly anticipated sophomore season on Tuesday, June 18, at 8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT on Freeform. Good Trouble stars Maia Mitchell, Cierra Ramirez, Tommy Martinez, Sherry Cola, Zuri Adele and Roger Bart. The season one finale airs Tuesday, April 2, at 8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT on Freeform. Siren, Freeform's fan-favorite mermaid drama, will return Thursday, July 11, at 8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT on Freeform for the second half of its second season. Season 2B stars Eline Powell, Alex Roe, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Ian Verdun and Rena Owen. And finally, Freeform announced that they will say farewell to fan-favorite series Shadowhunters with an extended two and a half-hour finale on Monday, May 6 from 8:00-10:30 p.m. EDT/PDT.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.