Fri-Yay: Netflix's One Day at a Time Revived By Pop TV; WarnerMedia OTT Gets Gremlins Series

Friday, July 05, 2019

Fri-Yay: Netflix's One Day at a Time Revived By Pop TV; WarnerMedia OTT Gets Gremlins Series

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

Well, just when it seemed like all hope was lost for One Day at a Time, it finally happened. The beloved yet cancelled revival of the 1970s sitcom was miraculously resurrected by Pop TV - yes, the former TV Guide Network - for a fourth season, set to air in 2020. This is a landmark deal not just for fans of One Day at a Time - although the fact that we will get to see more of the Alvarez family is seriously exciting - but also for TV in general. Over the past 5-6 years, we've gotten used to streaming services swooping in and saving network and cable TV shows from cancellation. Now, we have the opposite happening - a cable network has saved a cancelled streaming series. It seems we've come full circle, haven't we?

One Day at a Time going to Pop TV - an admittedly lesser known cable network - seems strange at first, but makes more sense the more you think about it. After all, Pop TV is home to Schitt's Creek, another little watched but critically cherished family sitcom. More importantly, the network is owned by CBS, who previously expressed interest in the show for its CBS All Access streaming service but was denied the ability by Netflix due to the platform's (frankly ridiculous) rules about its originals switching streaming services. One Day at a Time will premiere its new episodes on Pop, but will also rerun them on CBS, which should give the series a chance to reach new fans. Frankly, One Day at a Time has always felt like it would do best on a traditional TV network, and CBS's audience could very well eat the show up (it would fit well with Mom). I really hope this series works out for the show, as there's nothing quite like it on TV. But I'm also interested to see just what this means for streaming services going forward. With Netflix going on a cancellation spree lately, could some of its other casualties find a new home? In this new "cable network saves streaming services" world, it seems like anything's possible.

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai

WarnerMedia has ordered Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, a 10-episode, half-hour prequel to original Gremlins, for it OTT streaming sertvice. In the animated television adaptation, we travel back to 1920s Shanghai to reveal the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing (future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 movie) met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Along with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a perilous journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. On their quest to return Gizmo to his family and uncover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Saturday, February 27

Young Rock - "On the Road Again" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Pennsylvania, 1987: Dwayne pretends he's rich to impress popular girl Karen, but a date to Rocky's wrestling match at the flea market risks exposing the truth; stressed about money, Ata takes on a wealthy new client.

Kenan - "Hard News" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Kenan, Rick and Gary go to great lengths to uncover what they think is a deep, dark secret Cori was hiding; Mika believes the morning show should cover more hard news stories.

Danger Force - "Twin It to Win It" (Nickelodeon, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Captain Man makes ShoutOut and AWOL compete over who can catch more criminals using their own ways of crime-fighting.

Side Hustle - "Karaoke Kickoff" (Nickelodeon, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Presley, Lex and Munchy are excited when they buy a karaoke machine from the "Karaoke Kickoff" show; when the machine breaks, the kids head to the studio to get their money back.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 22)

Friday, February 26

Will Arnett (Flaked/Arrested Development/The Millers/Up All Night/Running Wilde) - Watch Will on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Queen Latifah (Living Single) - Queen Latifah is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Annie Mumolo (Mapleworth Murders/About a Boy) - Annie is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Regina King (227/Leap of Faith) - Regina appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Constance Zimmer (Entourage/Good Morning, Miami) - Constance talks about the series Good Trouble on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany guest hosts The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (mixed-ish/Saved by the Bell/Truth Be Told) and Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/The Game) - Mark-Paul and Tika are guests on The Real, so check your local listings.
Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) and Cherie Johnson (Punky Brewster) - Soleil and Cherie talk about Peacock's Punky Brewster on NBC's Today in the 9am hour. Soleil also appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Freddie Prinze Jr. (Punky Brewster/Freddie) - Freddie is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason is filling us in on hosting the new game show Cherries Wild on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Mary Lynn Rajskub (How to Be a Gentleman/Veronica's Closet/The Larry Sanders Show) - Mary Lynn talks about Live from the Pandemic on Couch Surfing at 8am.
Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.