Friday, September 06, 2019

Fri-Yay: Fall Sitcom Slate Check-In: Fox; Mad About You Gets November 20 Premiere Date

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!

Bless the Harts

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.


Mad About You

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

Tuesday, May 30

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 29)

Tuesday, May 30

  • Salma Hayek Pinault (30 Rock/The Sinbad Show) - Catch Salma on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Jennifer appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. He stops by to chat about his new stand-up comedy special, Little Big Boy, on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Bradley Whitford (Perfect Harmony/Happyish/Trophy Wife) - Bradley appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Ronald Gladden (Jury Duty) - Ronald will be on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) - Hannah is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Reid Scott (Veep/My Boys/It's All Relative) - Reid appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Jurnee Smollett (Wanda at Large/On Our Own) - Jurnee talks about her new film Lou on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry will be on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • John Owen Lowe (Unstable) - John talks about Netflix's Unstable on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)

Growing Pains - The Complete Series Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Twelve Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI) Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)

01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

05/29 - Memorial Day 2023 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 29, 2023)
05/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Wins 2022-2023 Ratings Game; Netflix Ends Sharing of Passwords
05/26 - Prime Video Renews Priyanka Chopra Series; Sex and the City 25th Anniversary Event in NYC
05/25 - Brady Bunch House on the Market; The Family Stallone Gets 2nd Season
05/24 - Antenna TV's Father Knows Best Father's Day Fest Marathon; Netflix Gets Glamorous This June
05/23 - CBS Summer 2023 Reality Schedule; Apple TV+ Announces Peanuts Programming
05/22 - More Details on Zoey 102; New Lifetime Movie Series Coming July 8
05/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 22, 2023)
05/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Showtime Looking to Bring Back Two Old Favorites; Disney+ Removing Content
05/19 - Futurama Triumphantly Returns July 24; Final Season of Physical Drops August 2; Primo Premieres May 19 on Amazon Freevee
05/18 - The CW Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Netflix Upfront 2023
05/17 - Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023; Sarah Silverman HBO Special Premieres May 27
05/16 - ABC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; FX's Summer 2023 Slate
05/15 - FOX Announces 2023-24 Programming Slate; iCarly Season 3 Premieres June 1
05/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 15, 2023)
05/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Season Finale Brings Back a Familiar Face; Comedy Central Renews Digman! for Second Season
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Hulu Orders Deli Boys from Onyx Collective
05/11 - CBS Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; The CW Summer Lineup Has Comedies
05/10 - Minx Returns in July on STARZ; Never Have I Ever Final Episodes Premieres June 8, Trailer Drops
05/09 - The CW Acquires Son of a Critch; FX's The Bear Returns June 22
05/08 - NBC's Hot Wheels Gets Celeb Judges; Zooey Deschanel's Max Series Premieres May 23
05/07 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 8, 2023)
05/06 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Week of Writers' Strike Already Sees Early Casualties; Fox Cancels Call Me Kat
05/05 - BUZZR's Classic TV Moms Week; Fox's Stars on Mars Celebs Announced
05/04 - Dancing with the Stars Returning to ABC in Fall; Conan O'Brien Producing New Podcast Miniseries
05/03 - Roku 2023 NewFront; Peacock Schedules Kaley Cuoco Series
05/02 - COZI TV's Little House Mother's Day "Ma-A-Thon"; Human Resources Returns June 9 on Netflix
05/01 - Peacock's Twisted Metal Drops in July; IFC Dark Comedy SisterS Launching May 17
04/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 1, 2023)
04/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Bob ♥ Abishola to Return with Smaller Regular Cast; CBS Developing Comedy Set in 1700s