Fri-Yay: The Good Place Nearing the End; TBS Orders More Misery Index

Friday, December 06, 2019

Fri-Yay: The Good Place Nearing the End; TBS Orders More Misery Index

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

This week, I'd like to give a special shout out to the 4th and final season of The Good Place. I was able to catch up with the excellent series this past weekend, and I was reminded of just how inventive, funny and lovable it is. I'm really going to miss it when it's gone after Jan. 30, but I'm also glad it gets to go out on its own terms on a high note. And so far, this season has been a really high note.

To be fair, the season got off to somewhat of a rough start, at least in terms of Good Place standards. It wasn't a bad stretch of episodes by any means, but it was a little repetitive and "just okay." It felt like the show was repeating some of the same beats from Season 1, and although the characters were still funny, the new characters left something to be desired. And yet, I should've known there was a plan all along. Around the 5th episode, things really started to pick up, and now, the entire world of the show has yet again been busted open. It's incredible just how often the show successfully pulls the rug out from under us at this point. I won't spoil the plot details here, but the show is going to some really exciting and intense places. As we enter the last few episodes of the series, I'm comfortable calling The Good Place one of the shows of the decade. If it sticks the landing, it'll cement its place as that. So far, it really looks like it's going to.

Misery Index

TBS is ordering another dose of misery with a second season of the outrageously entertaining comedy game show The Misery Index hosted by Jameela Jamil (The Good Place). Currently in its first season, the original series is a top-five new cable comedy and has reached nearly 28 million viewers across linear, VOD, and digital platforms. Inspired by the card game Sh*t Happens, The Misery Index is the only game show where contestants can make a fortune out of other people's mis-fortune. Teams compete against each other by attempting to rate hilarious and miserable real-life events based on the "misery index," a ranking system created by a team of therapists. Jameela Jamil will return as host along with stars of truTV's Impractical Jokers, comedy troupe The Tenderloins – Brian "Q" Quinn, James "Murr Murray, Joe Gatto and Sal Vulcano – as panelists.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, December 1

Young Sheldon - "Four Hundred Cartons of Undeclared Cigarettes and a Niblingo" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
George Sr. bails Meemaw and Georgie out of jail. Also, Sheldon and Missy meet Mandy (Emily Osment), and Mary feels unwelcome at church.

Ghosts - "Possession" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Hetty accidentally possesses Jay’s body just as he and Sam are to about show Woodstone Mansion to a renowned wedding planner.

Welcome to Flatch - "Open House" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Barb's first open house in Flatch draws all kinds of attention; Mandy displaces Father Joe as the Flatch advice giver; Kelley rises to the occasion as an up-and-coming real estate agent.

Call Me Kat - "Call Me Fancy Puffenstuff" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Kat's murder mystery-themed friendsgiving dinner isn't a crowdpleaser; Phil has a romantic dilemma; Kat tries to encourage Max's career ambitions, but she worries that he has a bigger problem.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 28)

Thursday, December 1

Don Cheadle (The Wonder Years/Black Monday/House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Catch Don on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke makes a special guest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
John Krasinski (The Office) - John is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
David Duchovny (Californication) - David appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) - Sarah is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Sally Field (Gidget/The Flying Nun/The Girl with Something Extra) - Sally appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy talks new book imprint on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Alfred Molina (Angie Tribeca/Laides Man) - Alfred will be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Keshia Knight Pulliam (Tyler Perry's House of Payne/The Cosby Show) and Brad James (Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse) - Keshia and her husband Brad discuss how they met on set, their decision to share freezing Keshia's eggs and being reunited on their new Lifetime film, Noel in New Orleans, on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Whoopi Goldberg (Whoopi/Bagdad Cafe) - Whoopi appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Ken will be on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Freddie Prinze Jr. (Punky Brewster/Freddie) - Freddie is a guest on E! News on E! at 11:30pm.
Jane Lynch (Angel from Hell) and Kate Flannery (The Office) - Jane and Kate discuss their Christmas cabaret tour and participate in a holiday-themed quiz on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Tom Everett Scott (I'm Sorry) - Tom talks about NBC's Dolly Parton's Magic Mountian Christmas on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.