Fri-Yay: Live in Front of a Studio Audience Recap; Mario Lopez Produced Sitcom Coming to Netflix

Friday, May 24, 2019

Fri-Yay: Live in Front of a Studio Audience Recap; Mario Lopez Produced Sitcom Coming to 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!

All in the Family & The Jffersons Live in Front of a Studio Audience

All in the Family & The Jffersons Live in Front of a Studio Audience

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.

Paula Chavez and Jencarlos Canela

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.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, December 26

Happy's Place - "Promises, Promises" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Emmett continues his nightly check-ins with Bobbie to ensure her safety, Isabella pays the price as she's kept up by their loud late-night chats, prompting her to tell Bobbie to advance their relationship or at least take it out of the house.

Stumble - "Media Day" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Courteney decides to use media day as a way to recruit new cheerleaders and to push her team to get right back on that mat; DiMarcus proves that not all Buttons are meant to be pushed.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 22)

Friday, December 26

Mila Kunis (Family Guy/That '70s Show) - Watch Mila on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Zooey Deschanel (Physical/New Girl) - Zooey appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Rose Byrne (Platonic/Physical) - Rose appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jamie Kaler (My Boys) - Jamie is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Dick Van Dyke (The Dick Van Dyke Show/The New Dick Van Dyke Show/The Van Dyke Show) - Dick discusses his new book with ABC News' Chris Connelly on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti cooks on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Lacey Chabert (Still the King/Baby Daddy/Family Guy) - Lacey talks about Loist in Paradise on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Ryan appears on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Sarah Paulson (Leap of Faith) - Sarah is a guest on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil appears on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Mo'Nique (The Parkers) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Mo'Nique about her weight-loss journey and the launch of her new fitness brand, Mo'Niques Movement, as well as the emotional moment with her husband that changed it all, so check your local listings.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Star Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - NBC's Today has Cocktails and Mocktails with Neil and David Burtka on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Mario tells Sherri about his new holiday film The Christmas Spark on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Woody Harrelson (Cheers), Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb), Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) and Ariana Greenblatt (Stuck in the Middle) - The Now You See Me: Now You Don't cast including Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher Jesse Eisenberg, Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa join Drew to dish all about the third installment of the hit franchise on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.