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

Wednesday, March 3

The Goldbergs - "Mr. Ships Ahoy" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
As William Penn’s new Quaker Warden, Beverly is thrilled to have co-workers for the first time and sets out to make them all love her. To her dismay, it’s more difficult to win them over than she anticipated, as her reputation of being a difficult school parent precedes her. Meanwhile, Geoff competes in the “Mr. Ships Ahoy” beauty pageant to prove to Erica that he can be seen as desirable by other women.

American Housewife - "The Guardian" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Katie and Greg secretly put Kathryn (Wendie Malick) through a series of tests to see if she would make a good guardian for Anna-Kat in the unlikely event something should happen to them. Meanwhile, after tracking down J.D.’s (Jake Choi) potential egg donors, Tami (Holly Robinson Peete) and Katie scheme to learn more about them.

The Conners - "A Stomach Ache, a Heartbreak and a Grave Mistake" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Mark is stressed out and feeling sick, convinced he has COVID-19. Meanwhile, Becky and Harris team up to confront Josh who has been “ghosting” Harris; and when Jackie visits Roseanne’s grave, she finds an appalling headstone right next to it and sets out to make it right.

Call Your Mother - "Feelings" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jean and Danny’s relationship grows complicated emotionally and physically as they try to resist their feelings for one another until his divorce is final. As Celia is moving into Freddie’s apartment, Freddie is disappointed to learn that Celia plans to keep her place as a backup plan, causing some hard conversations between the two.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 1)

Wednesday, March 3

Ben Schwartz (Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - Watch Ben on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. He will also be on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Annaleigh Ashford (B Positive) - Annaleigh appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 3:30am on Bravo.
Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio talks about Coming 2 America on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) and Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Kristen and Dax are guests on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Jermaine Fowler (Superior Donuts) - Jermaine will be on The Real, so check your local listings.
Awkwafina (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) - Awkwafina appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Hillary Duff (Younger/Lizzie McGuire) - Hillary talks about My Brave Little Girl on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.