Fri-Yay: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Renewal; FX Orders Lil Dicky to Series

Friday, March 01, 2019

Fri-Yay: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Renewal; FX Orders Lil Dicky to Series

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

This week, NBC announced that Brooklyn Nine-Nine had been renewed for a seventh season. This is, of course, notable for a few reasons. One is because Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of TV's best comedies, and it's always good news when a great comedy gets to make more episodes. But, of course, this is notable because not even a year ago, Fox cancelled Brooklyn Nine-Nine before NBC swooped in to save it up. So as it stands, it seems Brooklyn's move from Fox to NBC is a rare example of a show changing networks and succeeding. Brooklyn Nine-Nine hasn't exactly been lighting the world on fire in the ratings since its move to NBC, but it has posted improvements on its final Fox season and manages to perform similarly to reliable NBC hits like The Good Place, Will & Grace and Superstore. That has made a valuable asset in NBC's Thursday night comedy arsenal.

Of course, Brooklyn isn't the only sitcom to change networks this season. Last Man Standing was saved by Fox after ABC gave it the ax 2 seasons ago, and is similarly performing quite well in its Friday night timeslot. Additionally, a few years ago, animated comedy American Dad moved from Fox to TBS, where it continues to enjoy great success. And then there's the countless sitcoms that have moved to streaming services, such as Arrested Development to Netflix and The Mindy Project to Hulu. At one time, moving networks was a death knell for sitcoms. But in our current age, where loyalty towards networks is non-existent and plenty of viewers likely have no idea even what network their favorite show airs on anymore, it's certainly possible to live a long, happy life even after cancelation.

Lil Dicky

FX Networks has ordered the first season of the Untitled Lil Dicky series (working title), a half-hour comedy based on the life of rapper and comedian Dave Burd, known best by his stage name Lil Dicky. The series is centered on a suburban neurotic man in his late twenties who has convinced himself that he's destined to be one of the best rappers of all time. Now he must convince his closest friends, because with their help, he might actually convince the world. The Untitled Lil Dicky series is co-created by Dave Burd and Jeff Schaffer (The League, Curb Your Enthusiasm), and executive produced by the pair along with Saladin Patterson (Psych, The Big Bang Theory), Kevin Hart and Hartbeat Productions (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, TKO: Total Knock Out, Real Husbands of Hollywood), Greg Mottola (Adventureland, Superbad), Marty Bowen (Mr. Mercedes, Rosewood), Mike Hertz and Scooter Braun (Scorpion), James Shin and Scott Manson of SB Projects. The Untitled Lil Dicky series is produced by FX Productions.

Rapper, actor and underwear model Lil Dicky (but please, call him Dave) has established himself as a staple in the entertainment industry over the last half decade. Riding the commercial success of his hit single "Freaky Friday" - the smash hit with over one billion streams and achieving multi-platinum status in 15+ countries - Dicky has been riding high ever since. His debut album "Professional Rapper" debuted at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in Comedy, Rap and Independent charts, highlighted with the multi-platinum single "Save Dat Money". And he's just getting started...

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, January 28

The Conners - "Mud Turtles, A Good Steak and One Man in a Tub" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Becky thinks that Jackie’s new friend Dawn (guest star Cheryl Hines), a restaurant supplier, is only cozying up to her to sell them things they can’t afford for the Lunch Box. Darlene is thrilled when Harris gets into Central Illinois State, but Harris might have found a better offer on her own. When Dan finds himself in an embarrassing situation nursing an injury, Louise (Katey Sagal) tries to help him out.

Bless This Mess - "The Letter of the Law" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Rio is bummed she can’t afford to go to Iceland for her best friend’s wedding, so the nuptials are moved and brought to the farm. Meanwhile, Rio is forced to take on Deb’s mail route after she quits, and Mike and Jacob help Rudy get over Constance.

mixed-ish - "True Colors" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Paul is shocked to hear from his estranged mother who wants to visit for Rainbow’s 13th birthday and soon learns more about why she abandoned him. Meanwhile, Rainbow sees turning 13 as a huge turning point in her life and wants a big birthday party, but Alicia wants to celebrate all the things Rainbow missed out on over the years while on the commune.

black-ish - "Adventure to Ventura" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Dre worries Diane and Jack don’t know how to fend for themselves and sends them out on an adventure, only to realize it’s his overbearing worries that hold the twins back. Meanwhile, Junior gets into a tricky situation at work when he befriends Josh in hopes of scoring a positive peer review.

Schitt's Creek - "Maid of Honour" (Pop, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Moira shares the newly released "Crows" movie trailer with the Jazzagals; Johnny and Roland find a suspicious bag of money at the new motel.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 27)

Tuesday, January 28

Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) - Catch Ben on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) - William drops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ashton Kutcher (The Ranch/Two and a Half Men/That '70s Show) - Ashton visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm.
Tony Rock (Living Biblically/All of Us) - Tony is a panelist on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Kumail stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Aidy Bryant (Shrill) - Aidy appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
Miles Brown (black-ish) - Miles is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Fox's The Resident on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Wendie Malick (Hot in Cleveland/Hot in Cleveland/Jake in Progress/Just Shoot Me!) - Wendie talks about Disney Channel's The Owl House on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Life) - Nia talks about Poisoned Love on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Bill Pullman (1600 Penn) - Bill talks about The Sinner on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on the BUILD Series at 12:15pm.
Janeane Garofalo (The Larry Sanders Show) and Grant Rosenmeyer (Oliver Beene) - Janeane and Grant are guests on the BUILD Series at 2pm.