Friday, August 23, 2019
Fri-Yay: Fall Sitcom Slate Check-In: ABC; Antenna TV Acquires The Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, Who's the Boss? and More

by Vincent
ABC is next up in our check-in of returning sitcom slates. ABC has been a big center of family comedies in recent years, and that mostly continues in 2019-2020. Let's jump into their line-up:
Returning sitcoms: ABC's solid block of family sitcoms are all returning, from Modern Family to The Goldbergs to The Conners to black-ish to Fresh Off the Boat. The big change, though, will be coming after this TV season, as the upcoming 11th season will be the final season of Modern Family. Just as CBS is scrambling to find its Big Bang replacement, ABC is likely doing the same thing with Modern Family - with the big caveat that ABC does have The Conners, which actually rated higher than Modern last season and is returning as the network's biggest ratings hit. Whether The Conners will be able to keep its strong Season 1 numbers now that we're fairly far removed from the Roseanne situation and hype is certainly a question, but even if it can maintain half of its Season 1 audience, it'll be a big hit for the network. Otherwise, except more of the same from the anchor sitcoms - The Goldbergs and black-ish continue to be strong tentpoles, Fresh Off the Boat is holding down the fort on Fridays, and promising sophomores Bless This Mess, Single Parents and Schooled are also back on the line-up hoping to build on their respectable Season 1 showings. The only real downgrade is American Housewife, which gets bumped to Fridays after just a so-so rated third season last year.
New sitcoms: There's only one new sitcom on ABC's fall schedule, the black-ish spin off mixed-ish, which follows Rainbow's upbringing. First spinoff grown-ish has been a fairly strong hit for Freeform, so it makes sense that ABC is continuing to build off the solid black-ish brand. Still, it's somewhat surprising to not see more new comedies, but I guess ABC is thinking "if it's not broke, don't fix it." Though ABC does have multi-camera sitcom United We Fall waiting in the wings for mid-season that could be a potential companion for The Conners.
The bottom line: ABC is probably in the best place sitcom-wise of all four networks. They have a really strong core of anchors and enough solid performers to fill two and a half entire blocks and not have any real weak spots. It says a lot that ABC felt they could essentially bring back their entire slate last season and not have to add many new pieces. Yes, there are some questions - will The Conners be as big in Season 2 as Season 1? Is anything being set up to take over for Modern Family? Can the modest sophomore hits like Bless This Mess, Single Parents and Schooled step up and become anchors in their second season the way shows like The Goldbergs and black-ish were eventually able to? Those are questions that will eventually have to be answered, but for now, things are good in sitcom land at ABC.
Antenna TV, Tribune Broadcasting's multicast network, announced the addition of five classic series to the network's 2020 lineup, with four sitcoms starting in January 2020 and one in Fall 2020. Antenna TV, which airs in 136 TV markets across the U.S. reaching 89% of TV households, continues to aggressively invest in programming acquisitions. Beginning in January 2020, Antenna TV will add The Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, Designing Women and NewsRadio. In Fall 2020, Who's the Boss? will join the lineup. All five series come from Sony Pictures Television and originally aired in the late '70s through late '90s. Diff'rent Strokes and NewsRadio are returning to Antenna TV in new deals, while The Facts of Life, Designing Women and Who's the Boss? are brand new to Antenna TV! Both Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life are currently airing on MeTV, but will migrate over to Antenna TV by Jan. 2020. Designing Women was last seen on getTV, while NewsRadio hasn't aired since Antenna TV last aired it and Who's the Boss? is coming to a multicast network for the first time.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, July 25
Happy's Place - "Mama Drama" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Isabella's mom, Maritza, arrives, Bobbie tells the crew she's forgiven her for what happened with Happy, only to realize Maritza holds a grudge against her; Emmett and Takoda try to find out why Steve can't return to his home in Colombia.
Happy's Place - "Accountability" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Isabella accidentally implies she doesn't trust Steve's work on the tavern's taxes, Bobbie and Steve decide to have some fun and teach her a lesson; Gabby goes on a health kick enlisting Takoda as her personal trainer.
Electric Bloom - "How We Made a Tiny Mistake" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Follows a girl band since they met in middle school to present day, learning how their pre-famous lives go on to fuel their future musical chart toppers.
Electric Bloom - "How We Found a Howie" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Follows a girl band since they met in middle school to present day, learning how their pre-famous lives go on to fuel their future musical chart toppers.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 21)
Friday, July 25
- Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The Last O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Watch Cedric on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) - Jeremy is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Timothy Olyphant (Stick/Santa Clarita Diet) - Timothy appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Emily Ratajkowski (Too Much) - Emily is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear/Girls) - Ebon talks about The Fantastic Four: First Steps on a repeat of ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Leanne Morgan (Leanne) - Leanne talks about Neflix's Leanne on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Kristen Johnston (Leanne/Mom/The Exes/3rd Rock from the Sun) - Kristen talks about Netflix's Leanne on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Tony Danza (Taxi/Who's the Boss?/Hudson Street/The Tony Danza Show) - Tony talks about his brand-new show Tony Danza: Sinatra & Stories on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Michael Jai White (Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse) - Michael is a guest on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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