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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, June 19

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Typhoid Georgie" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie worries he’s letting his family down when he’s forced to stay home with a cold, and Mandy worries about how her career will affect her marriage.

Ghosts - "Alexander Hamilton and the Ruffle Kerfuffle" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jay becomes obsessed with the success of a fellow chef, Isaac serves up a cautionary tale about his own rivalry with Alexander Hamilton (Nat Faxon). Also, Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh) returns from hell with a limited-time offer for the ghosts.

Bob's Burgers - "The Lost City of Atlantic" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Belchers have a wild night at a casino and Linda learns more about her late grandfather than she wanted to know.

Grimsburg - "Evidence Locker" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Memories are sparked when Grimsburg PD cleans an evidence locker.

The Great North - "Super Smash Lovers Adventure" / "Serendipi-Beef Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Honeybee and Wolf renovate the guest cabin; after an extreme experience, Ham, Judy and Moon get whole new outlooks on life; on a field trip to view Curlew's Kissin' Comets, Beef rushes to stop his kids from suffering a terrible fate.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 16)

Thursday, June 19

Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) - Catch Seth on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ramy Youssef (#1 Happy Family USA/Ramy/See Dad Run) - Ramy is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Lionel Boyce (The Bear) - Lionel appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kurt Braunohler (Bob's Burgers) and Brendan Scannell (Bonding/Heathers) - Kurt and Brendan are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Jodie Sweetin (Fuller House/Hollywood Darlings/Full House) - Jodie talks about Dateless to Dangerous: My Son's Secret Life on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Owen Wilson (Stick) - Owen talks about Stick on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Chris talks about Abbott Elementary on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - In a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with actress Jennie Garth, she shares her formula for fulfillment and how she created the “I Choose Me” movement on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men/Togetherness) and Lauren Ambrose (The Return of Jezebel James) - Drew is chatting with Yellowjackets cast Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress and Lauren Ambrose about working as cast of women in their forties, supporting each other as working moms and the newest season of their thrilling show on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, they're playing a rousing round of confession session and Drew is trying to match their fun revealing facts to the right person.