Friday, October 04, 2019
Fri-Yay: New Sitcoms: First Week Impressions; Pop Goes Back to Florida for Poverty Sitcom

by Vincent
Well, the first week of the 2019-2020 TV season is officially in the books, and well, let's just say...it was a week that the networks would like to have back, if they could, at least in terms of viewing audiences. Unfortunately, they can't, so networks are simply going to have to hope that things get better from here on out. Let's take a look at the sitcoms specifically and see the...well, "best" of the bunch, although there isn't much to be excited about in the ratings department.
CBS premiered their new slate of sitcoms, and none of their new shows seem to be catching fire, although none of them look like complete disasters yet either. The network's Monday block, though, is fairly mediocre-rated all around, including sophomore comedy The Neighborhood. Newbie Bob Hearts Abishola dropped from The Neighborhood's already-not-huge audience, and the eye's Thursday sitcoms didn't fare much better, losing most of the sturdy audience of Young Sheldon through-out the night. ABC's lone new sitcom, mixed-ish, fared a bit better, but still is a ways off from the dominant heights of its nights' anchor The Conners (whose premiere was around Season 1's low point, but still easily ranks as the highest-rated sitcom of the week with little competition). And ABC's returning comedies weren't exempt from the downtick most returning series saw, with even anchors like The Goldbergs and Modern Family seeing ratings lows. But the network with the most to be worried about is NBC, whose two new sitcoms Perfect Harmony and Sunnyside could already be classified as fairly major flops. Perfect Harmony's 0.5 rating shed most of lead-in Superstore's decent-enough numbers, but Sunnyside's 0.4 rating was a flat-out disaster. Needless to say, this year's new crop of sitcoms will, hopefully, be the types of shows that grow, because they're starting off in pretty low places.
Pop TV announced that it has renewed its highly praised series Florida Girls for a second season. Florida Girls, which debuted in July to rave reviews, is an unapologetically bold comedy inspired by the life of creator and star Laura Chinn (The Mick) about four friends who are making the most out of life while living below the poverty line in Clearwater, Fla. Fronted by an all-female cast, the series also stars Melanie Field (Heathers, Shrill), Patty Guggenheim (Splitting Up Together, LA to Vegas) and Laci Mosley (The Wedding Year). The first season of Florida Girls is available on the network's app, PopNow, at POPTV.com and via cable and satellite video on demand. Florida Girls is produced by Lionsgate, 3 Arts Entertainment and Jax Media, and is executive produced by Laura Chinn, Jared Miller, Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns and 3 Arts Entertainment's Josh Lieberman and Oly Obst.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, August 8
Happy's Place - "Don't Sweat It" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bobbie asks Isabella to move in with her, but when Isabella sees that Bobbie likes to address conflict head on, Isabella decides it might not be the best idea.
Happy's Place - "Dear Jack" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Bobbie catches Isabella doing a slow-fade breakup with her long-distance boyfriend, she convinces her to send a Dear John letter; Steve brings in a review praising Chef Emmett's cooking and acknowledging the tavern's bartender, "Abby."
Electric Bloom - "How It All Came Out in the Wash" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Jade and Posey experience opposite feelings about their first crushes. Meanwhile, Tulip discovers an exciting new talent.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 4)
Friday, August 8
- Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Renée Rapp (The Sex Lives of College Girls) - Renée appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Pamela Anderson (Stacked/Home Improvement) - Pamela is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) - Marc appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Gillian Jacobs (Love/Community) and Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) - Gillian and Paul are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Steve Buscemi (Miracle Workers) - Steve talks about Wednesday on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - Kelsey talks about his book Karen: A Brother Remembers on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie is a guest on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- The Jonas Brothers (Jonas/Jonas LA) - The Jonas Brothers perform in the Citi Concert Series on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Christopher Lloyd (Taxi/Stacked) - NBC's Today catches up with Christopher in the 9am hour.
- Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) - Matt co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Tony Hale (Veep/Arrested Development) - Tony talks about Sketch on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement/My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star) - Oliver is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) - Jack talks about HGTV's Zillow Gone Wild 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)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
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