Friday, November 15, 2019
Fri-Yay: Disney+ Launches; NBC Orders 8th Season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine
by Vincent
This week, Disney+ made its grand debut on TV screens (or whatever device you have) all over the country. While the service's claim to fame is likely primarily its library of Disney original movies, there is some reason to be excited as a sitcom fan, as well. If you're a fan of old-school, '90s and '00s era Disney or Disney Channel sitcoms, many of them are now available to be streamed on Disney+ -- and many did not previously have a streaming home. Additionally, every episode of The Simpsons is now available ad-free for the first time ever. It's a big deal for Simpsons fans, although it's somewhat disappointing that the service is not broadcasting the episodes in their original aspect ratio. Still, having every episode of the animated series at your fingertips easily is a great feat. As good as Simpsons World was, the ads and the buggy aspects of the FXNow platform held it down - Disney+, if they fix the original aspect ratio, is a better fit for it.
Still, it's easy to wonder what Disney+ means for the future of TV going forward. 10 million subscribers signed up on the first day, beating the service's own end-of-year estimate of 8 million in the first 24 hours after launch. Perhaps not coincidentally, the live ratings for the ABC sitcom line-up that night tanked to series lows. We know streaming is the future, but having a major new player in the streaming wars certainly nails it into the coffin. It remains to be seen how the streaming landscape will exactly take place (will HBO Max and Peacock see the same type of success? Will Netflix cool off with all of the competition?) but one thing is for sure: the future is streaming.
NBC has renewed its critically acclaimed and Golden Globe Award-winning comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine for an eighth season in 2020-21. The seventh season begins Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020 at 8 p.m. ET/PT with a one-hour premiere before airing in its regularly scheduled 8:30 p.m. timeslot beginning Feb. 13. Last season Brooklyn Nine-Nine averaged a 1.2 rating and 3.2 million viewers overall in "live plus same day" Nielsens for a total-viewer increase of +15% versus the prior season on Fox. After 35 days of linear and digital delayed viewing, the show last season grew to a 3.1 rating in 18-49 and 6.4 million viewers overall, with 59% of that 18-49 rating coming from nonlinear sources - the #1 biggest digital percentage for an NBC series last season. Brooklyn Nine-Nine was also last season's #1 most-social primetime comedy series across television, earning 9 million total interactions (Source: Nielsen Social SCR , 09/24/18-05/23/19, Primetime Daypart, Linear Window, Scripted Series Only. Twitter [Organic + Owned], Facebook [owned only], Instagram [owned only].)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine stars Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio, Dirk Blocker and Joel McKinnon Miller.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, March 19
Night Court - "The Duke's a Hazard" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Gurgs' royal boyfriend pays a surprise visit, she questions their compatibility; Dan defends his family's honor after he discovers a feud that dates back centuries.
Extended Family - "The Consequences of Being Irish" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Jim learns of Trey's St. Patrick's Day fundraiser plans, he offers his expertise in an effort to save Trey and the Celtics from embarrassment.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 18)
Tuesday, March 19
- Tracy Morgan (The Last O.G./30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Catch Tracy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso), Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) and Zainab Johnson (Upload) - Brendan, Marc and Zainab are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Hilary Swank (Camp Wilder) - NBC's Today catches up with Hilary in the 10am hour.
- The cast of Girls5eva) - Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell and Sara Bareilles are guests on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse talks about his podcast Dinner's On Me on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Annie Potts (Young Sheldon/Over the Top/Love & War/Designing Women/Goodtime Girls) - Annie talks about her legendary career and new film, Ghostbuster: Frozen Empire, on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Joe stops by Tamron hall to chat about hosting the new Deal or No Deal Island, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
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