Friday, May 10, 2019
Fri-Yay: Upfronts 2019: Questions for Sitcoms; getTV Celebrates All in the Family Ahead of ABC Live Special
by Vincent
It's hard to believe it's that time of year again, but May is here and networks will soon be ending the 2018-2019 television season and making their schedules for the 2019-2020 season. In this column, I'll take a look at the "state of sitcoms" on each network and making some guesses about the fate of some bubble sitcoms and the direction each network will be going in.
ABC: 2019-2020 is going to be a bit of a sad one for ABC's comedy brand, as Modern Family will wrap up its run after 11 seasons. That leaves The Goldbergs and black-ish as the longest-standing veteran sitcoms, and ABC is clearly interested in continuing those stories as both have spin-offs either airing or in the works - Schooled (which premiered this spring and has been a ratings hit) and mixed-ish (the black-ish spin-off set for next season) will be centerpieces of the network's comedy schedule next year. Technically Goldbergs hasn't been renewed yet, but seems very likely to continue given its steady ratings success. The Conners (which had a huge first season) will also be returning. However, Speechless, Fresh Off the Boat and American Housewife, which have seen ratings declines this season, are shows that fans should certainly be somewhat concerned about. Overall, there's still plenty of family comedy to look forward to next year on ABC.
CBS: It'll be very interesting to see what CBS does with its comedy block next year, as its long-running, massive ratings hit The Big Bang Theory is bowing out this month after 12 years on the air. Its spin-off Young Sheldon remains a big hit, so it seems likely that CBS will revolve its comedy laurels on that show's heels. Solid tentpole sitcom Mom has also been renewed for another season. All in all, it's going to be a year of change as CBS adjusts to life after Big Bang.
Fox: Fox hit the jackpot this year when resurrecting Last Man Standing, as the series has done gangbusters on Friday nights for the network, looking even stronger than most of its ABC run. Additionally, Fox's steady and reliable animated slate of The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers and Family Guy will be returning. However, it'll be interesting to see if the Disney-Fox merger effects the rest of the network's output. There are rumors floating around that the animated staples may be moved to another part of the Disney umbrella after a few seasons, since they will no longer be owned by the Fox network (which, remember, is operating independently from 20th Century Fox now, which is owned by Disney).
NBC: NBC's acclaimed line-up of The Good Place, Superstore and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are all returning next year, which should keep fans of excellent comedy happy. However, the network didn't have a lot of success with its newbies this year (neither I Feel Bad nor Abby's made much of a ratings dent) and sophomore AP Bio also looked ugly in the ratings department this spring. NBC is likely looking for a big ratings hit, since while Superstore, Good Place and Brooklyn are all solid performers, they aren't necessarily world-beaters, and the Will & Grace revival hasn't been the smash hit NBC was likely hoping it would be.
All in all, it'll be interesting to see the networks' moves as we head into Upfront season. It's going to be a very interesting year for many networks!
In advance of the 90-minute primetime event Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons, airing Wednesday, May 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET on The ABC Television Network, getTV will air 30 all-time favorite episodes of the original groundbreaking 1970s comedy series every night May 13-17 beginning at 7 ET. One of television's most popular and acclaimed series, All in the Family starred Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton as Archie and Edith Bunker, with Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers as Mike and Gloria Stivic. The show originally aired from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979 and won 22 Emmy Awards out of 56 total nominations. Among the episodes airing May 13-17 on getTV are the 1971 pilot, the episode that introduced Bea Arthur as Edith's cousin Maude (who went on to have her own series), the episode guest-starring Sammy Davis Jr. in which its final scene produced the longest sustained audience laughter in the history of the show, and the 1972 two-parter flashback episode, "Mike and Gloria's Wedding."
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, October 9
Abbott Elementary - "Back to School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The neighboring construction site of a new golf course is causing issues at Abbott, forcing the teachers to find creative solutions. An HR representative visits the school. Following their kiss, Janine and Gregory’s relationship status is revealed.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Cheat Codes" (Comedy Central, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Chris debates using a cheat code to win a free Nintendo.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Halloween" (Comedy Central, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Chris spends Halloween at a church event, hoping to hook up with Tasha.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 7)
Wednesday, October 9
- Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Watch Quinta on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She also talks about the new season of Abbott Elementary on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Rachel Sennott (Call Your Mother) - Rachel is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Eric Idle (Suddenly Susan/Nearly Departed) - Eric stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - E! News has an interview with Michael at 11pm on E!.
- Ali Wong (Big Mouth/American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - NBC's Today catches up with Ali in the 10am hour.
- Rita Wilson (Girls) - Rita stops by to talk about her new album on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Goldie Hawn (Good Morning World) - Goldie appears on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
- Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl Lee talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh talks about his new children's book PictureFace Lizzy and fatherhood on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jessica St. Clair (Avenue 5/Playing House/Best Friends Forever/In the Motherhood) - Jessica is sharing her breast cancer experience with Drew and Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz is talking about breast cancer diagnoses on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Abigail Spencer (Extended Family/Burning Love) - Abigail discusses her television series Shatter Belt on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Kim Matula (LA to Vegas) - Kim is a guest on PIX 11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:39am.
- Lea Thompson (Caroline in the City) - Lea appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (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)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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