Fri-Yay: The Good Place Officially Ends; Starz Picks Up Comedy with Amber Stevens West

Friday, January 31, 2020

Fri-Yay: The Good Place Officially Ends; Starz Picks Up Comedy with Amber Stevens West

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

Yesterday, The Good Place ended its four year run on NBC. While I haven't seen the finale yet at the time of writing this blog post, I have a lot to say about the season up to this point and particularly about last week's amazing penultimate episode.

The Good Place has always been a very philosophical series, but it honestly really surprised me with how deep it got last week in its discussion of the afterlife and "Heaven" (or the good place.) The show essentially argued that human life is shaped by the knowledge that we're going to die, so the "good" place is really not so good after all - without that strive to do great, it becomes a big pile of mush. Frankly, part of me wishes this concept had been explored a little longer. I could've done a whole season watching the good place crew fix...well, the good place. But nevertheless, I'm happy the show appears to be going out high and on its own terms. The show has always remained an absolute mind-bending delight, stretching the sitcom form as wide as it could possibly go. Now I'm interested to see if any series steps up in its place. I certainly hope so - the show is leaving behind a big gap in its absence. There's really no series with the level of humor and insight that The Good Place has right now. Still, I'm beyond overjoyed that the series was able to make it this long at all, so cheers to The Good Place and the end of one of TV's very best sitcoms.

Amber Stevens West

Starz announced it has given an eight-episode series order for Run the World. The half-hour comedy is created and written by Leigh Davenport (The Perfect Find, untitled Wendy Williams biopic) who will executive produce with showrunner Yvette Lee Bowser (Lionsgate's Dear White People, Living Single) and Lionsgate Television, where Bowser's SisterLee Productions is under an overall deal. Millicent Shelton (black-ish, P-Valley) directed the pilot. Run the World is the story of a group of Black, vibrant, fiercely loyal best friends who work, live and play in Harlem as they strive for world domination. At its core, it's an unapologetically female show about enviable friendship and not only surviving - but thriving together.

The previously announced cast include Amber Stevens West (The Carmichael Show, Happy Together) as "Whitney," Andrea Bordeaux (NCIS: Los Angeles) as "Ella," Bresha Webb (A Fall from Grace, Marlon) as "Renee," Corbin Reid (Valor) as "Sondi" and Stephen Bishop (Moneyball, Imposters) as "Matthew."

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, July 25

Where Have All the Theme Songs Gone? (CNN, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Don Lemon reviews the most popular TV theme songs in history with Gary Portnoy of "Cheers", Christopher Knight from "The Brady Bunch", Fran Drescher from "The Nanny", and composer Kurt Farquhar.

History of the Sitcom - "Working for Laughs" (CNN, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Work families can be even funnier than our biological ones, since the endless array of wacky sitcom characters on the job offers hilarious insights into the state of the American workplace.

Duncanville - "Crimes and Misters Demean Her" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Jack coaches Jing's little league soccer team, but when he feels he's too easy on the kids he calls on Duncan to yell at the team to get them to win; Annie takes Kimberly to work with her after she has a falling out with her friends.

HouseBroken - "Who's Going to the Vet?" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Chief eats Jill's vibrator, he's taken to the vet and ends up leading his own version of group therapy; Tabitha goes to live with The Gray One and learns she has to sing and dance if she wants to survive.

The Simpsons - "The 7 Beer Itch" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Marge and the kids take a seaside vacation, Homer is unwittingly tempted by a British femme fatale.

The Great North - "My Fart Will Go on Adventure" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
While the family prepares for Wolf and Honeybee's wedding, an unexpected guest RSVPs.

Bob's Burgers - "Y Tu Tina También" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Tina is forced to listen to Spanish audio lessons in the library to improve her grade, she develops an unexpected crush; Louise and Gene want to dunk Mr. Frond at the Wagstaff Spring Fair.

Family Guy - "The Marrying Kind" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Stewie gets a mail order bride and experiences domestic life; Peter and Chris become addicted to free hotel breakfast buffets.

Wellington Paranormal - "She-Wolf" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Officers O'Leary and Minogue investigate what they believe are dog attacks, but stumble upon something more mysterious.

Dead Pixels - "The Chair" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Alison becomes concerned over Meg's physical downturn and tries to sway her to a healthier regime; everyone worries about Nicky.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 19)

Friday, July 23

Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Watch Kim on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso/Son of Zorn/The Cleveland Show) - Jason will be on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Christine Baranski (Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Christine appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Minnie Driver (Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Sarah Levy (Schitt's Creek) - Sarah appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Leah Remini (Kevin Can Wait/The Exes/Family Tools/The King of Queens) - Leah is a guest on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.