Fri-Yay: Beyond Friends and The Office: Other Great Sitcoms on Streaming Services; Mad About You Launches During Holiday 2019 Season

Friday, July 19, 2019

Fri-Yay: Beyond Friends and The Office: Other Great Sitcoms on Streaming Services; Mad About You Launches During Holiday 2019 Season

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

The past few weeks have brought news that Friends and The Office will be leaving Netflix within the next few years. This is a big deal for many people, as Friends and The Office are reportedly the two most-streamed sitcoms in our current era. But while both of these shows deserve titles as classics in their respective decades, there's no reason your search for great comedy needs to end there. If you're someone who has spent all of your time at Dunder Mifflin or at Central Perk, consider giving these similar comedies a try:

Parks and Recreation (streaming on Netflix): Parks and Recreation is another popular mockumentary comedy similar to The Office - in fact, helmed by longtime Office writer Michael Schur and co-created by Office exec Greg Daniels, the series is in some ways a little sister to the show. It's a warm, sunny series about the workers of the Pawnee parks department that, like The Office, puts big stock in its characters and cares deeply about them under its silly exterior.

30 Rock (streaming on Hulu): 30 Rock and The Office were timeslot partners for much of each of their lives, and it makes sense why: both are fast-paced, smart and well-crafted comedies that demonstrate the single-camera, 21st century sitcom at its finest. 30 Rock, like The Office, follows a workplace that seems too ridiculous to be true much of the time. If you like the fly-on-your-seats humor of The Office, you'll love 30 Rock.

New Girl (streaming on Netflix): New Girl follows the relationship/friendship model of Friends very closely - there are definitely parallels between Jess/Nick and Ross/Rachel - and is set up, in many ways, like Friends, following a group of young professionals in the big city (except this big city is LA, not New York). However, New Girl has the humor stylings more in line with The Office or 30 Rock - the characters are all incredibly funny and silly people, who make you laugh, cringe, and cry. The humor is also fast-paced and bizarre in a way similar to The Office, so if you're looking for a show that melds the best of the two worlds, New Girl is a great choice.

Happy Endings (streaming on Hulu): You've probably heard of the other shows on this list, but you may not have heard of Happy Endings. Although the series was cut short after three seasons, its legacy has lived on via internet memes by its most ardent supporters. In many ways, Happy Endings can be thought of as a millennial Friends. The set up is very similar - six friends living near each other in Chicago - but the humor is over-the-top, ridiculous and cutting, in a way that feels very appropriate for our current era. If you love Friends but want something that's a bit more reflective of our times, check out Happy Endings.

Better Off Ted (streaming on Hulu): Another short-lived series (cut down after just 2 seasons), this show is like an even more satirical version of The Office that takes a real look at how the workplace runs. I won't give too much away, but it's the sort of comedy where you can't believe what's happening much of the time, much like the cringiest episodes of The Office. If you like that side of the show, you'll love Better Off Ted.

Mad About You

Winner of a coveted Peabody and a Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series, Mad About You aired its final episode in May 1999. Now, 20 years later, Spectrum Originals reunites stars Paul Reiser and Emmy(R) Award winner Helen Hunt for a new limited series, debuting for the Holidays in late 2019. To set the stage for this comedic return, Spectrum will make all 164 episodes of the original series available free on-demand, exclusively for Spectrum subscribers beginning August 1. Over seven seasons of the beloved original series, Reiser and Hunt played Paul and Jamie Buchman, a married couple in New York City who mine the gentle humor in domesticity and life's everyday situations. For its limited-series return, Mad About You will explore the fertile ground of modern marriage through the eyes of the Buchmans as empty-nesters. Spectrum Originals is a premier destination for premium original series available exclusively to Spectrum video subscribers on-demand and ad-free. This free service launched with the Sony and Bruckheimer-produced drama L.A.'s Finest, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, October 23

The Goldbergs - "Parents Thursday" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
While at school, Erica attempts to fool Beverly into thinking Parents Weekend has been rescheduled to Parents Thursday so the family won’t attend … but the smother knows better! Meanwhile, William Penn is doing “Romeo & Juliet,” the perfect play for Adam to romance Dana until someone else gets the leading lady.

Schooled - "Outbreak" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When a bad flu epidemic hits William Penn, Coach Mellor is sent to his sick bed and Principal Glascott must step it up as the wrestling coach with the Jenkintown Cup on the line. Meanwhile, Lainey thinks she can easily pass a class taught by CB, yet it’s anything but.

Modern Family - "New Kids on the Block" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Haley is determined to follow the advice in her parenting books with the twins, but Phil and Claire think their old methods are better. Meanwhile, Manny is set to direct Jay’s dog bed commercial in the hopes of winning his ex-girlfriend back.

Single Parents - "Sport" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Will is pumped to become the coach of Sophie’s soccer team in order to spend more time with his daughter, especially since she has been distant recently. However, his intentions to focus on Sophie and teach the team that you don’t need to win to have fun slowly shift once he realizes he has a secret weapon on his team – Rory – but allowing him on the team means Will must keep a certain secret about Rory. Meanwhile, Douglas and Angie attempt to navigate what their friendship looks like now that they are roommates for the foreseeable future.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang Texts" (FXX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
During their trip to the Philadelphia Zoo, Mac sets up a text group chain for the gang, but confusion sets in and the gang must learn from the meerkats on how to communicate properly in a group.

Family Time - "Black Love" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Lisa and Tony appear on a TV show that exposes some of the imperfections in their relationship; Donnie and Brandy use a dating app to play matchmaker for each other.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 21)

Wednesday, October 23

Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Office) - Watch Ellie on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) - Michael stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kathryn Hahn (Transparent/Happyish/Free Agents) - Kathryn appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Andrea Savage (I'm Sorry/Significant Others) - Andrea is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jesse Plemons (No Activity/Bent) - Jesse visits Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie on ABC's GMA 3: Strahan, Sara & Keke at 1pm.
Lea Michele (The Mayor/Scream Queens) - Lea drops by A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tim Robbins (The Brink) - Tim appears on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Ali Wong (American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - Ali is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Amanda Seales (Insecure) - Amanda guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings. She also talks about Small Doses on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Thomas will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Ken talks about The Masked Singer on People Now at 12pm and on the BUILD Series at 1pm..
Alfonso Ribeiro (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/In the House/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso talks about Catch 21 on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT and on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) - Alan talks about the Clear + Vivid Podcast on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Stark Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil is a guest on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/The Mindy Project) - Anna talks about Perfect Harmony on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Rob Corddry (The Unicorn/Ballers/The Winner) - Rob is a guest on the BUILD Series at 2pm.