Friday, February 21, 2020

Fri-Yay: Single Parents Quietly Becoming ABC's Best Sitcom; BET+ Gets Bigger with Comedy

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!

Single Parents

by Vincent

ABC is generally very good at developing sitcoms, but it's been a while since they've had a knock-it-out-of-the-park show. They've hit a level where they can churn out fairly decent sitcoms faster than any other network, but since the era of black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat I haven't fell in love with any of their new offerings the way I did with shows like those or The Middle. However, Single Parents has very quietly been getting better over the course of its run, to the point where I'd now call it quietly one of the best sitcoms on TV.

Single Parents is in its second season, and when it started it was a likable but ho-hum family sitcom. Over the course of its two seasons, though, the show has progressive been getting a little more interesting, exploring topics such as sexuality and family in interesting ways and also becoming funnier and more cutting with its humor. The show is created by former New Girl writer JJ Philbin (daughter of Regis), and you can feel some of that show's likable character humor with an edge creeping into Single Parents slowly but surely. Like many ABC sitcoms of recent years, it's fairly basic in structure but is taking some real creative risks that are causing it to be the type of show you definitely want to keep an eye on. Unfortunately, like many great sitcoms of recent times, the ratings aren't great - so hopefully ABC sees a developing gem and sticks with it.


Bigger

BET+ announced the second season pickup of the Will Packer and Will Packer Media executive produced series, Bigger. The provocative comedy created by Felischa Marye will continue to stream exclusively on BET+. Returning series regulars include Tanisha Long (Layne Roberts), Angell Conwell (Veronica Yates), Rasheda Crockett (Tracey Davis), Chase Anthony (Deon Lewis), and Tristen Winger (Vince Carpenter). The full first season of Bigger is currently available to stream on BET+. Production specifics and the premiere date are forthcoming.

Season one of Bigger follows Layne, a single-black-woman and her close-knit group of 30-somethings as they navigate love, friendships, career ambitions, and the journey to getting BIGGER, together. When a college acquaintance suddenly dies, the group is forced to take a deeper look at their messy lives, while asking themselves - is this it or is there something bigger and better?


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, September 8

Universal Basic Guys - "Pet Projects (Pilot)" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Threatened by a doctor's kindness toward Tammy, Mark tries to get her an exotic animal; Hank bonds with the chimpanzee via its bluetooth; David's dog saves David and Mernft Man from a pet snake.

Bob's Burgers - "The Big Stieblitzki" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The family gets invited to Rudy's father's birthday party; Tina attempts to convince a woman to commit to a relationship with Rudy's father.

The Great North - "Welcome To Miami Adventure" / "Worst Drives Club Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Coming off the heels of her break-up, Judy is taken on a wild adventure with Honeybee and Aunt Dirt; Judy tries to learn to drive.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 2)

Friday, September 6

  • Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Watch Kumail on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - Michael appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Conner O'Malley (Shrill) - Conner is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Edie Falco (Bupkis/Nurse Jackie) - Edie talks about her film I'll Be Right There on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh is joining Drew and telling her about getting denied from his college's musical theater program and making his return to Broadway after eleven years with bestie Andrew Rannells on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Diane Farr (Splitting Together/Like Family/The Job) - Diane discusses the CBS drama series Fire Country on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series Check It Out! - The Complete Series Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series

04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

09/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 9, 2024)
09/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Only Murders in the Building Renewed for Fifth Season; Plex Adds Knots Landing and More
09/06 - Hulu's Child Stars Documentary; Keke Palmer Heads to The 'Burbs for Peacock
09/05 - Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Cast; Tia Mowry We TV Docuseries
09/04 - Nick at Nite Acquires Modern Family; SNL Stars Go Live on Peacock Next Thursday
09/03 - The CW Swaps Two Nights for Fall 2024 Schedule; Retta Returns to HGTV
09/02 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2024 Include Barney Miller
09/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 2, 2024)
08/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at New Netflix Comedy; One Tree Hill Sequel in the Works
08/30 - Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween 2024; Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Premieres October 29
08/29 - Based on a True Story Returns in November on Peacock; Nikki Glaser to Host Golden Globes
08/28 - Acapulco Renewed for Season 4; Kiernan Shipka Max Movie
08/27 - Everybody Still Hates Chris Premieres September 25 on Comedy Central; Final Season of Somebody Somewhere Returns in October
08/26 - Frasier Returns September 19 on Paramount+ for Season 2; Ted Danson's Netflix Comedy Premieres in November
08/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 26, 2024)
08/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at New Netflix Comedy; TNT Picks Up The Librarians: The Next Chapter
08/23 - FETV's Sunday Mystery Matinee Block; Glen Powell Is Chad Powers for Hulu Comedy
08/22 - Pee-wee Forever on August 27 on Shout! TV; The Lincoln Lawyer Is Back This October
08/21 - NBC Moves Premiere Due to VP Debate; Seth Meyers Gets Live Primetime Special
08/20 - The Rockford Files 50th Anniversary Marathons on Great Entertainment Television (get.); Bad Sisters Returning for Season 2
08/19 - Schitt's Creek Stars to Host Emmys on ABC; Madison Iseman Joins USA Network Series
08/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 19, 2024)
08/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Drew Carey Show Now Streaming for Free; Hulu Picks Up Mid-Century Modern Comedy
08/16 - NBC to Air Mr. Throwback Premiere; Ariel Winter Returns for New Sofia the First Series
08/15 - Comedy Central Acquires Family Guy; Hallmark to Launch Hallmark+ Streaming Service
08/14 - Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Trailer; Grotesquerie Gets Premiere Date on FX
08/13 - Audible Announces Two Scripted Comedy Podcasts; Modern Family's Julie Bowen's Peacock Series
08/12 - Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Assisted Living Return; First Look at Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
08/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 12, 2024)
08/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: A Sequel to A Different World and Reboot for Scrubs?; Cartoon Network Shuts Down Website
08/09 - Rewind TV's Welcome Back, (to School) Kotter Marathon; Gary Coleman Peacock Documentary
08/08 - Antenna TV Closing Out Summer with Back to School and Labor Day Marathons; Colin from Accounts Returns Sept. 26