Friday, March 15, 2019
Fri-Yay: Netflix Cancels One Day at a Time; Stana Katic Drama Returns June 14 on Amazon
by Vincent
Yesterday, Netflix announced it was canceled its critically beloved sitcom One Day at a Time due to low viewership. I have a lot to say about the cancelation - frankly, I think it's a sign that Netflix as a reliable provider of quality content is becoming quite questionable - but I might have even more to say about the odd way Netflix announced the show's cancellation. In a truly bizarre turn of events, Netflix took to Twitter to gush about how much they love the show and how important it is...only to cancel it.
This rings false for several reasons. I'd accept this more from a broadcast or cable network, whose funds are directly tied to a show's performance. But on Netflix, which doesn't even announce viewership totals and has never really explained how they correlate to their overall profit, it seems odd to act as if cancelling the show was a necessity. After all, the third season of the show has only been out for a month. Isn't the point of Netflix that you can watch it anytime, and that it's always available for new viewers to discover? And how can we know just how terrible the show's ratings are without any viewership data at all?
Moving on from the method, though, One Day at a Time's cancellation truly feels like the moment where Netflix stops being the fan favorite service it once was. Netflix was once the network that didn't cancel anything, and whose entire presence was based on pleasing fans. It launched, after all, with the revival of Arrested Development. But more and more, as Netflix has canceled fan favorite series like the Marvel series, American Vandal, Fuller House and now One Day at a Time, it feels as if Netflix is, simply, just another TV network, driven more by money than making anyone other than their own wallets happy. Still, hope remains for me that perhaps the outcry will cause Netflix to revisit their decision. At the very least, maybe another network will notice it and swoop in, similar to what NBC did for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But if that doesn't happen, at least we'll have those three top-notch seasons to enjoy for all time.
After tracking down and killing her abductor, former FBI agent Emily Byrne struggles to define her new normal as a mother and a survivor of six years of physical and mental torture. Even while she rebuilds her relationship with her son, Flynn, Emily still cannot shake the darkness of her past. She enlists Boston police detective Tommy Gibbs in a secret investigation of her mysterious history. When the case turns deadly, she risks everything to uncover the truth. Absentia, starring and executive produced by Castle's Stana Katic, centers on FBI agent Emily Byrne (Katic).
In season one, Emily disappeared without a trace and was declared dead after hunting one of Boston's most notorious serial killers. Six years later, Emily was found in a cabin in the woods, barely alive, and with no memory of the years she was missing. Returning home to learn her husband had remarried and her son was being raised by another woman, she soon found herself implicated in a new series of murders. In season two, after tracking down and killing her abductor, Emily struggles for a tenuous new normal with son Flynn and ex-husband Nick. But her obsessive investigation into the questions that haunt her uncovers a serial killer and a spiraling conspiracy that threatens more than just her family. New cast members joining season two include Matthew Le Nevez (The Widow) and Natasha Little (The Night Manager). Watch Absentia Season 2 June 14 on Amazon Prime Video.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, January 22
Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.
Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)
Wednesday, January 22
- Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.
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
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