Friday, January 31, 2020
Fri-Yay: The Good Place Officially Ends; Starz Picks Up Comedy with Amber Stevens West

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.
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
Tuesday, May 13
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 12)
Tuesday, May 13
- John Krasinski (The Office) - Catch John on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Reba McEntire (Happy's Place/Malibu Country/Reba) - Reba appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Bento Skinner (Overcompensating) and Mary Beth Barone (Overcompensating) - Benito and Mary Beth are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Annie Murphy (Kevin Can F**k Himself/Schitt's Creek) - NBC's Today catches up with Annie in the 9am hour.
- Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso is a guest on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Jay Pharoah (White Famous/Champaign ILL) - Jay talks about The Quiz with Balls on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Mindy Kaling (Running Point/The Mindy Project/The Office) - In this a little bit extra episode Drew shares more of her conversation with Running Point creator Mindy Kaling on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) - Justine talks about her play Real Women Have Curves on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Jim tells Sherri about his Hulu comedy special, The Skinny, and his new bourbon line on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Camille Guaty (The Help/Raising Dad) - Camille is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
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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