Fri-Yay: Primetime Emmy Results for Comedy; AFV Gets 30th Anniversary Special

Friday, September 27, 2019

Fri-Yay: Primetime Emmy Results for Comedy; AFV Gets 30th Anniversary Special

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!

Phoebe Waller-Bridge - Fleabag

by Vincent

Well, a week ago I tried to predict the Emmys winners, thinking, as usual, the Emmys voters would play it fairly safe. Needless to say, I was quite wrong! This was, apparently, one of those years the Emmys voters have every 3 years or so where they decide to go a little left field, which, well, sort of messed up my predictions. Let's go back through each of my picks just to see how wrong I really was...

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
My Prediction: Ted Danson
Winner: Bill Hader
I thought Ted Danson would take this one, but in reality, it went to Bill Hader, for HBO's Barry. Truthfully, I thought it was kind of a dead heat between the two actors, but because I prefer The Good Place, I went with my own tastes for this one. Clearly, it steered me wrong. However, Bill Hader is totally deserving as well and Barry is a great, unique series, so this was certainly not an unpleasant way for me to get a category wrong.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
My Prediction: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Winner: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
I was not expecting the Emmys to show as much love for Fleabag as they did, but they sure did. Phoebe Waller-Bridge gets the nod here, and it's incredibly deserving, although I'm still frankly shocked JLD didn't get the nod as Selena one last time. Voters didn't seem to love Veep's final season - I guess the year off really did hurt it with Emmys audiences, and it was also arguably the show's weakest season yet. So, again, not displeased with this choice.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
My Prediction: Tony Shaloub
Winner: Tony Shaloub
Hey, I got one right! It wasn't as big of a night for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as many predicted it would be, but Shaloub still easily wins this category, not surprising given he's probably the biggest name of the bunch. Again, a deserving win even if Maisel's second season was a little inconsistent.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
My Prediction: Olivia Colman
Winner: Alex Borstein
Well, the one category that I actually picked Fleabag to win, it didn't. Go figure. Mrs. Maisel ruled the Supporting categories, but I still think Borstein is kind of a surprising choice here. She's great, but it feels like her performance on Mrs. Maisel is one of the more undersung ones, so I'm (pleasantly) surprised that Emmy voters rewarded her, especially since overall the night wasn't a rousing success for the show.

Outstanding Comedy Series
My Prediction: Veep
Winner: Fleabag
Again, I wasn't predicting the Emmys to sour on Veep as much as they did, given how Game of Thrones manages to come back and sweep every year despite taking off years. I also wasn't expecting Fleabag to be as big of a winner as it was, although I did see it as a potential dark horse candidate if the Emmy voters tired of Veep and Mrs. Maisel (which it seems like they did). It's a fun, good win, though - one that hopefully will bring more attention to a show that was critically beloved but didn't get the same amount of audience love. All in all, it was a pretty interesting night, at least as far as the Emmys go.

AFV: America, This is You!

In celebration of AFV's milestone 30-year anniversary, ABC will air AFV: America, This is You!, on Sunday, Dec. 8 from 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST on ABC, following an all-new episode of AFV. It can also be viewed the next day on ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu. The special retrospective will take a closer look at the history of the iconic series, including how it originated, the evolution over 30 seasons and its significant influence on pop culture, as well as how changes in technology impacted the show. Additionally, the episode will unlock some of the most memorable video clips in AFV's coveted vault, revealing interviews with past contestants all grown up and how their appearances affected their lives. Audiences can also expect to see some familiar faces, including current host Alfonso Ribeiro and former hosts Bob Saget and Tom Bergeron, reminiscing about AFV's legacy and their individual styles of hosting.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, July 7

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: All in the Family and Good Times - (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
“Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘All in the Family’ and ‘Good Times’,” the holiday-inspired live event that captivated audiences back in December, is set to rebroadcast on ABC, TUESDAY, JULY 7 (8:00-9:30 p.m. EDT). Produced by Sony Pictures Television, “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘All in the Family’ and ‘Good Times’” recreates installments of Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin’s Emmy® Award-winning series “All in the Family” and groundbreaking sitcom “Good Times,” created by Mike Evans, Eric Monte and developed by Lear.

All-star cast members taking on the famed “All in the Family” roles include Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Ellie Kemper and Ike Barinholtz reprising their iconic roles as Archie and Edith Bunker, Gloria Stivic and Meathead, along with Kevin Bacon as Pinkie Peterson, Jesse Eisenberg as David Brewster and Justina Machado as Teresa Bettencourt.

A lineup of all-star talent tackling “Good Times” roles include Viola Davis and Andre Braugher as Florida Evans and James Evans, Jay Pharoah as J.J Evans, Asante Blackk as Michael Evans, Corinne Foxx as Thelma Evans and Tiffany Haddish as Willona Woods. Jharrel Jerome also stars as Jimmy Pearson, while ABC’s Anthony Anderson and the legendary Patti LaBelle join forces for a show-stopping musical performance.

black-ish - "Boss Daddy" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dre’s torn at the office between looking out for Junior as his dad or letting him make his own mistakes. Meanwhile, Jack loses a friendship after trying to look cool in front of the basketball team.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 6)

Tuesday, July 7

Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys) - Catch D.L. on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) - Ray appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Lauren Ash (Superstore/Super Fun Night) - Lauren is a guest on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Ben Feldman (Superstore/A to Z/Living with Fran) - Ben appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Rob Lowe (The Grinder/Parks and Recreation) - Rob is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Yvette Nicole Brown (The Mayor/The Odd Couple/Community) - Yvette chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Denise Richards (Blue Mountain State) - Denise appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Jada Pinkett Smith (A Different World) - Jada is a guest on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Ron Funches (Final Space/Powerless/Undateable) - Ron appears on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect) - Sherri is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kym Whitley (Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) - Kym will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Paul Reiser (The Kominsky Method/Mad About You/Red Oaks/My Two Dads) - Paul appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jim Carrey (Kidding/The Duck Factory) - Jim talks about Memoirs and Misinformation on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom is a guest on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen talks about The World Needs More Purple People on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.