Wednesday, September 25, 2019

NBC Fall Pilot Review: Sunnyside - Premieres Thursday (Sept. 26); CBS Fall Pilot Review: Carol's Second Act - Premieres Thursday (Sept. 26)

Sunnyside


Sunnyside - Thursdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 9:30PM ET/PT


by Vincent

Sunnyside is a sitcom about a city councilman who lost his way amidst the power and glamour of politics. When his downward spiral got him busted for public intoxication (and downright stupidity), it was all caught on tape and ended his career. Now, Garrett's crashing with his sister, Mallory, and wondering where it all went wrong. That is, until he's hired by a diverse group of hopefuls who dream of becoming American citizens and believe he can help - giving him a new sense of purpose and a chance for redemption, as long as he remembers where he came from.

Cast Details:

Kal Penn as Garrett Modi
Diana Maria Riva as Griselda
Joel Kim Booster as Jim Hao
Kiran Deol as Mallory
Poppy Liu as Mei Lin
Moses Storm as Brady
Samba Schutte as Hakim

Kal Penn (Garrett) is known for playing Lawrence Kutner on the television program House, as well as the character Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar film series. He is also recognized for his performance in the film The Namesake and the ABC/Netflix drama Designated Survivor.

Diana Maria Riva (Griselda) is an actress known for her guest appearances on Murder One, Party of Five, The X Files, NYPD Blue, The Drew Carey Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, CSI, Less Than Perfect and Castle.

Joel Kim Booster (Jim) is a stand-up comedian known for his Comedy Central Presents special.

Moses Storm (Brady) is an actor known for his guest roles on This Is Us and Arrested Development.

Sambra Schutte, Kiran Duol, and Poppy Lui are new actors. Sunnyside will be their first major roles.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" (Airs Thursday, Sep. 26 at 9:30PM ET)

A former New York City Councilman finds his calling when he meets a group of immigrants in search of the American dream.

Analysis:

Sunnyside is another one of those shows where I'm more interested in the show's future than with the show's present. What I mean by that is that there is a lot here that I could see myself eventually loving, especially with Mike Schur at the helm and a cast led by Kal Penn and some very promising comic actors. The premise is also one that feels very appropriate for America in 2019, and could provide some moments of genuine meaning, and yet is also fun and light-hearted enough to be, well, a sitcom, and one that makes you laugh a lot. The cast and characters are a lot of fun, and I couldn't wait to see, by the end of the pilot, where this was going, and how it will develop.

The problem, then, is that the pilot is just...okay. Which isn't bad - the amount of comedy pilots that are truly great are far and few between, and most just offer a glimmer of hope, which Sunnyside does. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping to laugh just a bit more at the pilot. The jokes are a little flimsy and feel half-baked - which, again, isn’t uncommon for a comedy pilot. Still, I won't say I wasn't expecting the pilot to be just a bit better than it was. Despite that, the seeds are absolutely there for this to be a great series - I just hope viewers give it a chance to arrive at where it's going, rather than being turned off by a decent-but-not-great pilot.

Conclusion:

I'm very confident that Sunnyside is going to eventually turn into a great, must-watch sitcom. It has very similar DNA and sensibility to shows like The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation, and in about five or six episodes, I'm sure it will be must-watch TV. All of the characters are fun, the premise is great, and the writing shows promise. The pilot isn't necessarily a must-see, and it leaves a lot to be desired in the laughs department, but the foundation is there for a great show. Let's hope it lives up to that potential.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 9:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

  • NBC.com Official Site
  • TV.com
  • epguides.com
  • Internet Movie Database
  • Wikipedia
  • Sunnyside Photo Gallery

    Preview:





  • Carol's Second Act


    Carol's Second Act - Thursdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on CBS
    Premieres Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 9:30PM ET/PT


    by Todd

    Emmy Award winner Patricia Heaton stars in new a comedy about a woman who embarks on a unique second act after raising her children, getting divorced and retiring from teaching: pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. At age 50, Carol is a medical intern and must sink or swim with peers who are half her age. It’s her enthusiasm, perspective and yes, even her age, that may be exactly what will make her second act a great success.

    Cast Details:

    Patricia Heaton as Carol Kenney
    Ito Aghayere as Dr. Maya Jacobs
    Jean-Luc Bilodeau as Daniel Kutcher
    Sabrina Jalees as Lexie
    Kyle MacLachlan as Dr. Stephen Frost
    Ashley Tisdale as Jenny Kenney

    Patricia Heaton (Carol Kenney) is a three-time Emmy winner who has played not one, but two beloved TV moms. She starred as Debra Barone in the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996-2005 and as Frances "Frankie" Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle from 2009-2018. She twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Everybody Loves Raymond. Her other sitcom starring roles include the Fox sitcom Back to You and the ABC sitcom Room for Two.

    Ito Aghayere's (Dr. Maya Jacobs) television guest appearances include Orange Is the New Black, The Knick, The Unforgettable, Forever, BrainDead, Elementary, The Blacklist, Master of None and Instinct.

    Jean-Luc Bilodeau (Daniel Kutcher) starred as Ben Wheeler in the ABC Family/Freeform sitcom Baby Daddy. He made his starring debut as Josh Trager in the science fiction drama Kyle XY.

    Sabrina Jalees (Lexie) has made guest appearances on Search Party, Transparent, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, Last Comic Standing, Adam Devine’s House Party and Best Week Ever.

    Kyle MacLachlan (Dr. Stephen Frost) is best known for his role as Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks. Some of his other television credits include Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Portlandia, The Good Wife, Believe and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

    Ashley Tisdale (Jenny Kenney) starred as Maddie Fitzpatrick in the Disney Channel sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Her other starring credits include Hellcats and Clipped. She will appear in the upcoming Netflix comedy Merry Happy Whatever.

    Pilot Plot:

    "Pilot" (Airs Thursday, Sep. 26 at 9:30PM ET)

    Carol Kenney enthusiastically begins her first day as an internal medicine intern, but has a rocky start when she disregards direct orders from her boss in order to help a patient. Also, Carol meets Dr. Frost, a senior attending physician who may be the ally Carol needs in her second act.

    Carol's Second Act is a multi-camera sitcom from Halpern/Haskins Productions, FourBoys Entertainment, Kapital Entertainment and CBS Television Studios. Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins; Patricia Heaton, Adam Griffin, David Hunt and Rebecca Stay (Four Boys Entertainment); Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor (Kapital Entertainment); and Pamela Fryman (pilot only) are executive producers for CBS Television Studios.

    Analysis:

    This is one of the better pilot episodes that I've watched in recent seasons. There has been a lack of quality new multi-camera sitcoms the last few years. Carol's Second Act is an old school sitcom shot in front of a studio audience. The premise of the series is pretty basic. It's basically a sitcom version of Grey's Anatomy with a 50-year-old intern working with some younger interns. There are plenty of jokes and one-liners, with most of them about Carol's age or her short stature. They seem to have an endless supply of jokes about Carol being older, but I think they will eventually want to mix things up a little bit more in the future episodes. There is one good dramatic scene in the premiere episodes. All of the scenes in the first two episodes are at the hospital. It would be nice to see them elsewhere as a change of pace.

    They have assembled a talented cast with a mix of TV veterans and some promising newcomers. This is set up to be very much a vehicle for Patricia Heaton. She's in nearly every scene. They do a nice job of giving the other cast members a good amount of lines and a chance to shine. Newcomer Ito Aghayere plays Dr. Maya Jacobs, the Chief Resident in charge of Carol and the other three interns. The scenes between Maya and Carol are very tense and funny. They are some of the highlights of the episode. Aghayere could be one of the breakout stars of the season.

    The other interns with Carol include Jean-Luc Bilodeau as Daniel Kutcher, Sabrina Jalees as Lexie Gilani and Lucas Neff as Caleb Summers. They all do a solid job and have some good chemistry together. Kyle MacLachlan plays Dr. Steven Frost, the accomplished senior attending physician who finds Carol charming. He's mostly known for his work in dramas, but he shows he has some good comedy skills as well. Ashley Tisdale plays Carol's daughter, Jenny Kenney. She has just one brief scene at the end of the "Pilot" episode. She is a pharmaceutical rep who has an arrangement to have an office at the hospital, so we see more of her in the second episode. Bonnie Dennison was originally cast in the role, but maybe they decided to make it an expanded role. Cedric Yarbrough from Speechless appears in a few scenes of the "Pilot" before being introduced as the nurse Dennis in the second episode.

    Conclusion:

    Patricia Heaton makes a welcome return to CBS. It's a great TV moment when she first appears on screen. The audience gives her a big round of applause. She became a household name and won two Emmy Awards for her role as Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996 to 2005. She had another good run for eight seasons as Frankie in The Middle. It's interesting that she plays a 50-year-old when she's really a very youthful looking 61 in real life. She has a lot of enthusiasm and energy. Whatever her secret is, she should try to bottle it. It would be pretty easy for her to slow down or retire, but she clearly loves to act and work. It's way too early to say that this sitcom will have a run of nine seasons like her other two major hits, but it's easy to envision her winning another Emmy or two for her hilarious role as Carol Kenney.

    Carol's Second Act is one of the most promising new sitcoms of the season. It wouldn't be surprising if it's the highest rated new sitcom this fall. It has a strong and likable cast, funny writing and a great timeslot on CBS' rebuilt Thursday night lineup. The end of The Big Bang Theory leaves a big hole in their schedule, but they have a solid crop of new comedies. This may not be an immediate blockbuster hit, but it wouldn't be shocking if it's anchoring their comedy lineup in a season or two. They say laughter is the best medicine. This series delivers plenty of good, clean laughs. The doctor is in Thursday nights on CBS!

    Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

    Watchability: 4/5
    Funniness: 4/5
    Overall: 4/5

    Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 9:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

    Related Links:

  • CBS.com Official Site
  • TV.com
  • epguides.com
  • Internet Movie Database
  • Wikipedia
  • Carol's Second Act Photo Gallery

    Preview:


  • Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Sunday, March 23

    Family Guy - "Dog Is My Co-Pilot" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    Brian and Quagmire go on a press tour after successfully landing a plane; Chris and Stewie open a boutique pizza place.

    Grimsburg - "CrimeCon" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
    When Flute learns that criminals at CrimeCon are celebrated, not the detectives, he decides to prove that celebrity criminal Damien Flesher is not the reformed cannibal he claims to be; Pentos meets the Pentos-tonix.

    The Great North - "Can't Hardly Debate Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
    Aunt Dirt takes a new job at Lone Moose School; Wolf tries to impress Beef.

    Krapopolis - "" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
    An animated comedy set in mythical ancient Greece, centering on a flawed family of humans, gods and monsters as they try to run one of the world's first cities without killing each other.

    Complete TV Listings


    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 17)

    Friday, March 21

    • John Mulaney (Mulaney) - Watch John on on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
    • Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Dana Carvey (One of the Boys) - Dana is a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher at 10pm on HBO.
    • The Jonas Brothers (Jonas) - Good Morning America catches up with the Jonas Brothers sometime between 7-9am.
    • John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
    • Tatyana Ali (Second Generation Wayans/Love That Girl!/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Tatyana discusses her off-camera work of helping women have safer births and how she is creating community with her quilt company on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
    • Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building/Wizards of Waverly Place) - NBC's Today catches up with Selena sometime between 7-9am.
    • Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - NBC's Today catches up with Michael in the 9am hour.
    • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
    • The Cast of Harlem - Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson, Shoniqua Shandai & Tyler Lepley talk about Harlem on Prime Video on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
    • Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) - Sarah appears on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
    • Tommy Davidson (The Proud Family/Malcolm & Eddie/Between Brothers) and Mark Curry (One Love/See Dad Run/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper) - Tommy and Mark are guests on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:00am.


    New on DVD and Blu-ray

    I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

    11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
    11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
    11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
    12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
    12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
    01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
    02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
    03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
    04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

    More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


    Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

    03/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* Coming to DVD; American Dad! Moving Back to Fox
    03/21 - Big Mouth Final Season; The Four Seasons Premieres in May on Netflix
    03/20 - HBO's Brett Goldstein Comedy Special; Disney+ Adds The Simpsons 24/7 Stream
    03/19 - Solar Opposites Final Season This Fall; NBC to Move Grosse Pointe Garden Society to Fridays
    03/18 - Game Show Network New Shows Launch April 14; NBC Picks Up 3rd Comedy Pilot, While Bobby Moynihan Joins Tracy Morgan Pilot
    03/17 - It's True! Ted Lasso Renewed for Season 4; Jane Goodall Returns for Jane Season 3
    03/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 17, 2025)
    03/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Neighborhood Renewed for Eighth and Final Season; NBC Picks Up New Cheerleading Comedy
    03/14 - NBC Comedy Pilots Wheeling & Dealing; Hulu's Got to Get Out
    03/13 - Prime Video Comedy Series Overcompensating Premiere Date; Eric Stonestreet Joins Dexter: Resurrection
    03/12 - Hacks Season 4 Premieres April 10; Nickelodeon Orders Wylde Pak
    03/11 - The Neighborhood Renewed for Final Season; Max's The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast
    03/10 - Netflix Renews Running Point for Season 2; Apple TV+ Trailer for The Studio
    03/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 10, 2025)
    03/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Tracy Morgan to Star in NBC Pilot from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock; Nobody Wants This Returning for Second Season
    03/07 - Trailer for Apple TV+ Comedy Government Cheese; Remembering Saved by the Bell and TV Producer Peter Engel
    03/06 - The CW Spring Premiere Dates; Henry Winkler Heads to HISTORY Channel
    03/05 - Hacks Brings Out the Stars in Season 4; NBC Orders Pilot with Tracy Morgan
    03/04 - Apple TV+ Side Quest Launches March 26; Krysten Ritter Joins Dexter: Resurrection
    03/03 - HBO's The Rehearsal Returns April 20; Sharon Horgan Signs Deal for HBO Comedy Series
    03/02 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 3, 2025)
    03/01 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Premiere Date for Mid-Century Modern Set; Roseanne Remastered in High Definition
    02/28 - Remembering John Lawlor, Michelle Trachtenberg, Lynne Marie Stewart, Alice Hirson, Isaac Ruiz Jr., and Others We Lost in February
    02/27 - Fox Orders Season 2 of Doc; Law & Order: Organized Crime Moves to Peacock in April
    02/26 - Peacock's Poker Face Season 2 Premieres This Spring; Bert Kreischer Returns with His Fourth Netflix Special
    02/25 - Hulu Sitcom Mid-Century Modern Premiere Date; NBC Renews Happy's Place for Season 2
    02/24 - Fox Renews Jay Pharoah Game Show; Leighton Meester to Guest Star on Nobody Wants This
    02/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 24, 2025)
    02/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Jury Duty Returning for New Season on Prime Video; New Spinoff of 9-1-1 in the Works