Fri-Yay: Is It Time to Lower Our Expectations for Sitcom Ratings?; Antenna TV's Dennis the Menace Thanksgiving Weekend Marathon

Friday, October 18, 2019

Fri-Yay: Is It Time to Lower Our Expectations for Sitcom Ratings?; Antenna TV's Dennis the Menace Thanksgiving Weekend Marathon

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!

by Vincent

Well, we're nearly a month into the fall TV season, and it's certainly fair to say that it's been a disappointing one for sitcoms. Not one sitcom has really broken out to be a hit - CBS's slate of sitcoms hasn't quite lived up to the network's high ratings standards, NBC's Sunnyside has gotten critical acclaim but is struggling to beat even CW-level ratings (and now has been pulled from the schedule), and Fox and ABC's limited new comedies haven't exactly lit the world on fire either. Really, ABC's mixed-ish is probably the closest you could call a "hit sitcom" this season, and it's not doing amazingly well - plus, it's a spin-off of the already established hit black-ish.

Still, this isn't the first disappointing TV fall in the past few years, and it's following a trend where we're seeing less and less new sitcoms rising to "hit" status year after year. Yes, last fall we had The Conners, and it remains TV's highest-rated sitcom. But even that show, while still pulling in a strong audience, isn't rising up to the megahit levels of The Big Bang Theory or the earlier seasons of Modern Family. It's been so long since we've seen that kind of dominance from sitcom ratings, and it feels like it's been even longer since a fall sitcom that wasn't a spin-off of another series has broken out in a big way. So, is it time to start accepting that sitcoms are simply heading to a more niche place? Perhaps shows like The Neighborhood, Superstore or The Good Place, neither of which could be called "big hits" but pull in solid numbers and have a stable, consistent audience, are the closest we'll get to having a "hit" sitcom. It wouldn't be the worst thing - and with the way TV is going, catering to niches is likely the future. But it will be interesting to see if networks can conform to this new normal, or if they'll just keep hoping soon, things will turn around.

Dennis the Menace

Gather the family together this Thanksgiving weekend for a whole lot of wholesome fun on Antenna TV with a marathon of everyone's favorite mischief-maker and sitcom series, Dennis the Menace. Antenna TV, Nexstar Media Group's multicast entertainment network, will broadcast all 146 episodes in the Dennis the Menace series beginning at 8pm ET on Wednesday, November 27 and continuing through Sunday, December 1. The show follows the lives of the Mitchell family played by Jay North, Herbert Anderson and Gloria Henry. Dennis the Menace regularly airs on Antenna TV weekdays 10am ET/7am PT and Saturdays and Sundays 7:30am ET/4:30am PT.

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.