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

Wednesday, April 2

The Conners - "Fame, Flying Fists and Cold Feet" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners get a taste of fame when their family restaurant is featured in a reality TV show, which inspires Becky to become an influencer. Meanwhile, Jackie and Dan meet with a lawyer, and Darlene connects with someone at The Lobo Lounge.

Abbott Elementary - "Ava Fest: Tokyo Drift" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Abbott teachers turn their open house into a carwash to help raise money for the school.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Wednesday, April 2

Adam DeVine (The Righteous Gemstones/Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/Workaholics/Modern Family) - Watch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - Michael appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Sinners on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey/Catastrophe) - Rob appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Sasheer and Greta are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
Jennifer Lopez (South Central) and Jamie Foxx (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has interviews with Jennifer and Jamie at 11pm on E!.
Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Chris talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - NBC's Today catches up with Judy in the 9am hour.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - NBC's Today catches up with Glen and Kristin in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) - Tasha, who stars in Netflix's Surival of the Thickest, joins Tamron Hall to discuss how she found her freedom by sharing her story on her own terms and learning to embrace self-love, so check your local listings.
Gabourey Sidibe (Difficult People/The Big C) - Gabourey talks about starring in the new Lifetime movie Give Me Back My Daughter on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) - Seth is joining Drew to tell her all about his new show The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.