Fri-Yay: Status of Sitcoms on Disney+; Gabriel Iglesias Sitcom Launches June 21 on Netflix

Friday, April 26, 2019

Fri-Yay: Status of Sitcoms on Disney+; Gabriel Iglesias Sitcom Launches June 21 on Netflix

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!

Disney Plus

by Vincent

Over the past few weeks, there has been increasing buzz over the launch of the next big streaming platform, the Disney-owned Disney+. Disney+ will launch this fall, and will be home to a large vault of Disney movies as well as Disney-owned television shows - which, as you might remember, expanded drastically after Disney officially bought Fox last year. In addition to Disney movies and Marvel-owned properties, previous Fox-owned series such as The Simpsons will also be on Disney+. The streaming network will be home to all 600+ episodes of the series. Disney+ will no doubt compete with Netflix for being the reigning streaming giant, and will also be able to exist alongside Hulu, which is now also owned majority by Disney (since it was previously owned by Disney-owned ABC, Fox and NBC - now, Disney owns the majority of the streaming service.) Disney claims that Hulu and Disney+ will be able to exist alongside each other and target different audiences.

So, what does this mean for sitcoms? Well, it certainly creates an interesting landscape for sitcoms on streaming networks. Of all of the networks, ABC arguably has made the least presence on streaming networks - big hitters such as The Middle and Modern Family remain unavailable on any streaming platforms. But now with a clear possible home for them, and with Disney having so much stock in several streaming networks, it seems very likely this large library of ABC sitcoms may be streaming once again. Additionally, so many properties that are now ABC-owned are all over different streaming services - The Simpsons streams on "Simpsons World" on FXNow, and many of the other adult animated comedies are on Hulu, for example. Could these shows move services to be part of Disney's new plan? It'll be interesting to see how it plays out over the next few years.

Mr. Iglesias

Teaching is no joke. From stand-up phenom Fluffy to your new favorite history teacher, Gabriel Iglesias (Cristela) stars in the Netflix comedy series Mr. Iglesias launching June 21! In the multi-cam series Mr. Iglesias, Gabriel Iglesias plays a good-natured public high school teacher who works at his alma mater. He takes on teaching gifted but misfit kids to not only save them from being "counseled out" by a bully bureaucrat Assistant Principal (Oscar Nunez), but also to help them unlock their full potential. Sherri Shepherd, Jacob Vargas, Maggie Geha, Richard Gant, Cree Cicchino, Fabrizio Guido co-star. Created by Kevin Hench (Last Man Standing, Cristela) and executive produced by Iglesias, Hench, Ron DeBlasio and Joe Meloche, Season 1 consists of 10 episodes. Mr. Iglesias will be released globally on Netflix on June 21.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, February 24

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Getting Lucky" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin and Dave join Lamar (Kevin Pollack) on a road trip to the casino. Also, Tina and Gemma babysit Daphne while Marty desperately tries to spend time with Courtney alone. Series star Tichina Arnold directs this episode.

Poppa's House - "Slumber Party" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Poppa dodges an invitation to a family slumber party, Junior attempts to change his mind by making him jealous of everyone attending. Charo guest stars as herself. Wendy Raquel Robinson returns as Catherine. Geoffrey Owens returns as J.J.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 24)

Monday, February 24

Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Chris on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show/The Good Life) - Drew appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Woody stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Wendell Pierce (The Odd Couple/The Michael J. Fox Show/The Weber/The Brian Benben Show/The Gregory Hines Show) - Wendell appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. He talks about the latest season of Raising Kanan on Starz on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Sam Waterston (Grace and Frankie) - Sam makes a special appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Christian Slater (Breaking In) - Christian is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Zosia Mamet (Laid/Girls) - Zosia appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood/Survivor's Remorse/Happily Divorced/Everybody Hates Chris/Martin) and Essence Atkins (Poppa's House/Marlon/Mr. Box Office/Are We There Yet?/Half & Half/Smart Guy/Under One Roof) - Tichina and Essence are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS. Tichina appers on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Jon Hamm (Grimsburg/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Jon appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
Kate Hudson (Running Point) - E! News has an interview with Kate at 11pm on E!.
Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) - NBC's Today catches up with Eric in the 9am hour.
Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons and Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The Last O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - CBS Mornings has CBS deals with Anthony and Cedric sometime between 7-9am.
Clifton Davis (Amen/That's My Mama) - Nancy Giles goes behind the scenes of CBS' new series Beyond the Gates with actors Clifton Davis, Tamara Tunie, Daphnée Duplaix and Karla Mosley on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank chats with the hosts and performs with the EZ Street Band on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso) - Phil talks about the new season of Ted Lasso on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Halle Berry (Living Dolls) - Halle is hitting the headlines with Drew and Ross and opening up about finding love again on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Then, Halle is opening up about her experience with menopause and the new platform Respin she made to help women through it.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.