Friday, November 08, 2019
Fri-Yay: Thoughts on Netflix's Living with Yourself; ABC Orders More Episodes of American Housewife and Bless This Mess

Living with Yourself: A potentially great comedy-drama squandered by some questionable decisions
by Vincent
A few weeks ago, Netflix released its latest "comedy," the half-hour science fiction series about cloning entitled Living with Yourself. Starring Paul Rudd, the series really stretches the definition of a sitcom. But it's being billed as a comedy series, and has a 30 minute running time, so technically, in the eyes of Netflix, it's a member of their "comedy" slate. That speaks to the trouble Netflix has had in establishing itself in the live action comedy brand...but we'll get to that in a second. Living with Yourself is in some ways a very good series. The acting is phenomenal, the concept is very cool, and the series actually does a good job of maintaining the comedy-drama balance. Cloning yourself and having your clone ruin your life is kind of a funny concept (there was a very funny American Dad! episode about it I couldn't stop thinking about during this series), so it's a smart move to combine comedy and science fiction with such a concept, and what better guy to do that than Paul Rudd, who is one of Hollywood's most likable actors?
And yet, like so much of Netflix's programming recently, the show falls just a little bit short. So much of that is because (again, much like a lot of Netflix's slate) the show feels designed to "bingeable" more than "good." The series rushes through a lot of the fun elements of the concept in favor of unexpected twists and turns, resulting in a finish that is less than the sum of its parts. That's why I think Netflix has had such a hard time establishing a truly great live action comedy series that lasts for more than a few seasons. Sitcoms are at their best when they're living in the moment, exploding every inch of their world and characters. The Netflix comedies that understood this are all from the early slate of their original series such as Kimmy Schmidt or Grace and Frankie, or they're cut down before their prime like One Day at a Time. In this new era of Netflix's instant gratification, a truly good comedy just doesn't fit.
ABC comedies American Housewife and Bless This Mess have been given full-season orders. The network has ordered six additional episodes of each show. This means Housewife is now 21 episodes (original order for the season was 15) and Bless this Mess will run for 19 episodes (up from the original 13 ordered). Currently in its 4th season on the network, American Housewife stars Katy Mixon as Katie Otto, Diedrich Bader as Greg Otto, Meg Donnelly as Taylor Otto, Daniel DiMaggio as Oliver Otto, Julia Butters as Anna-Kat Otto, Carly Hughes as Angela and Ali Wong as Doris. Sophomore series Bless This Mess stars Lake Bell as Rio, Dax Shepard as Mike, Ed Begley Jr. as Rudy, Pam Grier as Constance, JT Neal as Jacob, David Koechner as Beau, Lennon Parham as Kay and Langston Kerman as Brandon.
On the next episode of American Housewife, entitled "Flavor of Westport," Katie teams up with Oliver in hopes of growing her lasagna-making endeavor from hobby to serious business venture. Meanwhile, a bout of writer's block forces Greg to look at new career opportunities. When a young YouTube sensation enlists Greg's help to ghostwrite his memoir, Greg is pushed out of his comfort zone on an all-new American Housewife, Friday, Nov. 15 at 8:00 p.m. EST, on ABC.
On the next episode of Bless This Mess, entitled "The Visit," Donna springs a last-minute trip to Nebraska on Mike and Rio, which she claims is to relax, but Mike and Rio soon find out she has other plans in mind when she steps into competitive mode to get them to participate in the harvest. Meanwhile, Constance's son Brandon is driving her crazy working at the store, so she pawns him off on Rudy on an all-new episode of Bless This Mess, Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 8:30 p.m. EST, on ABC.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Saturday, July 5
Mind Your Business - "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Aaliyah and Mia try convincing Lucille that the owner of a new nearby lounge is up to no good; Alfonso and Kim deal with AJ's first relationship.
Mind Your Business - "The Boy Is Mine" (Bounce TV, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Alfonso tries to maintain his newfound bromance after Aaliyah breaks up with his new friend; Kim goes the extra mile to inject luxury into their lifestyle to impress the moms of a Black Excellence club.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)
Friday, July 4
- Ayo Edebiri (Big Mouth/The Bear) - Watch Ayo on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jay Pharoah (White Famous/Champaign ILL) - Jay is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Frankie Grande (Henry Danger/Danger Force) - Frankie appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Mark Hamill (The Texas Wheelers) - Mark is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Cristin Milioti (The Resort/Made for Love/A to Z/How I Met Your Mother) - Cristin appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (FUBAR) - Arnold is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Rob Riggle (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/Golan the Insatiable/Gary Unmarried) - Rob appears on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario talks about And Just Like That... on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob opens up about being married six-times and is sharing all about his new show Landman on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela) - Justine is telling Drew about her viral wardrobe moment with Kathy Bates and shares behind the scenes moments of filming Succession, revealing the cast member she had a crush on, on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, 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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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