Friday, September 06, 2019
Fri-Yay: Fall Sitcom Slate Check-In: Fox; Mad About You Gets November 20 Premiere Date

by Vincent
Fox is last up in our check-in of returning sitcom slates. Fox is...well, certainly in a transitional state. The network is still rebuilding its image after Disney's merger with 20th Century Fox, which drastically altered the network's original content. So, needless to say, the sitcom slate has been a bit light recently, and that continues this season. Gone are the days of the mid-2010s, when you could make an argument that Fox had the best sitcom roster of all of network TV with shows like New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Last Man on Earth, and The Mindy Project, as well as short-lived but beloved series like Enlisted and The Mick.
Returning sitcoms: The only returning sitcoms that made Fox's fall schedule were its animated slate. The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers and Family Guy are all back, with the interesting caveat that Bob's later-seasons ratings spike has convinced Fox to move it to the 9pm anchor slot, while the declining Family Guy moves to the lead-out role at 9:30. Still, the block as a whole continues to provide solid and consistent numbers for Fox. The caveat, though, is that they're all 20th Century Fox properties - which, remember, is no longer run by the same company as the Fox network, but by Disney. It's possible Disney sees the value in moving them to a Disney property, so whether or not they're long for the Fox world remains to be seen. Shoved to mid-season is Fox's only returning live action comedy, Last Man Standing. Last Man did very well on Fridays last season, but well...it's also a 20th Century Fox property.
New sitcoms: There's only one new sitcom on Fox's fall schedule, and it's an animated comedy entitled Bless the Harts. The series follows a lower-class family living in the South and could make a good companion to The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers.
The bottom line: Fox is definitely in a transitional state right now, and that transition emphasizes reality series and sports and less scripted content, so aside from the solid block of animated comedies, sitcoms seem to be a second thought on the new Fox. We'll see if that continues going forward, but as of now, the days of FOX being a comedy haven are certainly long gone.
The Buchmans are back! Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt reprise their roles in the Sony Pictures Television-produced limited event series Mad About You on Wednesday, November 20 when the first six episodes drop ad-free exclusively on Spectrum's On Demand platform. The final six episodes will release on Wednesday, December 18. The series will explore the fertile ground of modern marriage through the eyes of the Buchmans as newly minted empty-nesters after dropping their unpredictable, hard-to-control daughter Mabel (Abby Quinn) off at college. The original sitcom ran for seven seasons from 1992-1999 and won multiple Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) awards. All 164 original episodes are now available free on-demand for Spectrum subscribers.
Mad About You is produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with Comedy Dynamics. Peter Tolan serves as showrunner, executive producer and writer. Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser executive produce alongside Brian Volk-Weiss, Michael Pelmont and Matthew Ochacher. Danny Jacobson, who co-created the show with Reiser will serve as an executive consultant. Additional cast includes: Original cast members John Pankow and Richard Kind as Ira Buchman and Dr. Mark Devanow, and Abby Quinn as Mabel Buchman.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, May 14
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "House of Outrage" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
House of Payne is the hilarious comedy about Retired fire chief Curtis Payne and his lovely wife Ella.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Spare The Rod" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jeremy and Leah are forced to put their foot down upon receiving disappointing news concerning Phillip.
The Ms. Pat Show - "Boo, B...!" (BET, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Ghosts of the past can affect the present, and that's what happens when Pat and Denise's abusive mom Mildred returns to haunt her daughters and interfere in their family life.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 12)
Wednesday, May 14
- Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Watch Dax on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana) - Emily appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Terry Crews (Everybody Still Hates Chris/Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) and Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Terry and Howie talk about America's Got Talent on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am. Terry will also be on in the 9am hour.
- Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/The Knights of Prosperity/Hot Properties) - Terry talks about America's Got Talent on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Jameela Jamil (Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/The Good Place) - Jameela chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario talks about Max's And Just Like That... 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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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