SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

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

On Wednesday night, ABC aired its first iteration of Live in Front of a Studio Audience, a Jimmy Kimmel-produced special where a few handful of actors recreated classic episodes of All in the Family and The Jeffersons. It was a really interesting idea for a TV network, one that honors the network's past and roots (something that we all know TV networks don't always do). The series featured A-List cast members: Marisa Tomei as Edith, Woody Harrelson as Archie, Ike Barinholtz as Archie's son-in-law and Ellie Kemper as Archie's daughter. The Jeffersons featured Wanda Sykes as Louise, Jamie Foxx as George, among others such as Will Ferrell, Kerry Washington, Anthony Anderson and Amber Stevens West. The episodes weren't necessarily perfect - Jamie Foxx flubbed a few lines (and joked about it quickly after), and any fan of these classic sitcoms would surely tell you they didn't hold a candle up to the original. But for a true sitcom fan, this was really a treat.

The ratings for the special were also pretty huge, earning 10.42 million total viewers (and a 1.8 Adults 18-49 rating) in Live+SD performance - ABC's highest Wednesday total viewers audience on the final night of a May sweep in 12 years. This means it performed even better than ABC's smash hit Modern Family did in its prime in total viewers. Live TV events have proven to be a bonafide way to score some ratings points, as in a DVR and streaming-dominated age, it's important for viewers to feel they need to see something live when measuring live ratings. And as much as networks are figuring out how to profit off of streaming numbers, live ratings are still easily the most important figures when determining a show (and network)'s value. So my guess is that we will see another Live in Front of a Studio Audience (take your guesses on which sitcoms will be next!), and perhaps similar events, on other networks. This is a good thing, and it's a way to keep the sitcom tradition alive in the post-streaming world.

Sticking with traditional sitcom news, Netflix has ordered 16 episodes of The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia, a new multi-cam comedy series co-created by Mario Lopez and Seth Kurland. In the sitcom, when Ashley Garcia — the world's only 15-and-a-half-year-old robotics engineer and rocket scientist — gets the chance to work for NASA, she moves across the country to live with her fun-loving Uncle Victor, a pro football player turned high school coach who’s never met a responsibility he can't shirk. Starring newcomer Paulina Chavez stars as Ashley and singer and actor Jencarlos Canela (Telenovela, Grand Hotel) stars as Victor. The series will be ran by Seth Kurland (Speechless, Melissa & Joey, Friends). The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia joins Netflix's growing slate of live action series featuring kids and families, which includes No Good Nick from David H. Steinberg and Keetgi Kogan, Alexa & Katie from Heather Wordham (two seasons streaming now, with a third on the way), as well as upcoming series Malibu Rescue from Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, Family Reunion from Meg DeLoatch, Team Kaylie from Tracy Bitterolf and Pamela Eells O'Connell, and The Baby-Sitters Club from Walden Media and Michael De Luca.