Friday, February 14, 2020
Fri-Yay: Thoughts on Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens; HBO's Avenue 5 Gets 2nd Season

by Vincent
A few weeks ago, Comedy Central premiered its first 2020 original series, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens. It's the first new series the network has premiered this season, and it comes at a time when the network is in a state of transition. Through-out the mid-to-late 2010s, Comedy Central was home to some of the most daring and acclaimed comedy series, such as Broad City, Nathan for You and Review - not to mention the back-to-back hitters of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. However, in recent years, groundbreaking comedy has been gravitating more towards streaming services. Combined with the fact that Comedy Central slashed some of its own series in their prime (such as Detroiters and Another Period), the network feels as if its a bit lost, with last year's The Other Two being the only show of real promise as of late.
Enter Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, a series very much in that same Workaholics/Broad City vein, following a woman named Nora living with her grandmother in Queens. The series certainly has potential to rise up and be a memorable Comedy Central series along with The Other Two to ring in a new decade. Awkwafina is a funny and likable presence who brings a lot of energy to the screen, but the show is currently recycling a few too many of the same beats as Broad City. I'd like to see the show develop its own voice that matches Awkwafina's true potential. Comedy Central was a great source of excellent comedy in the 2000s, and it'd be great if it could be again.
Following the debut of the first season on January 19, comedy series Avenue 5 has been renewed for a second season. Created and executive produced by Armando Iannucci of Veep, the HBO comedy Avenue 5 is set forty years in the future when traveling the solar system is no longer the stuff of sci-fi fantasy, but a booming, multibillion-dollar business. The series kicked off its nine-episode season January 19.
The series stars Hugh Laurie (Emmy(R) nominee for Veep, Golden Globe winner for House M.D.) as Avenue 5 Captain Ryan Clark; Josh Gad (Murder on the Orient Express) as billionaire Herman Judd, the mercurial face and name behind Avenue 5; Zach Woods (HBO's Silicon Valley) as head of customer relations Matt Spencer; Rebecca Front (Poldark, BAFTA winner for The Thick of It) as strong willed passenger Karen Kelly; Suzy Nakamura (Dr. Ken) as Iris Kimura, Judd's right hand woman; Lenora Crichlow (Being Human") as engineer Billie McEvoy; Nikki Amuka-Bird (CINEMAX's Quarry) as Rav Mulcair, head of Judd Mission Control; and Ethan Phillips (Inside Llewyn Davis) as Spike Martin, a space enthusiast and former astronaut.
Season one guests include Andy Buckley as Karen's husband Frank; Jessica St. Clair (American Housewife) and Kyle Bornheimer (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as feuding couple Mia and Doug; Neil Casey (HBO's Silicon Valley) as Cyrus, an Avenue 5 engineer; Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game) as Rav's deputy Alan Lewis; Himesh Patel (Yesterday) as stand-up comedian Jordan Hatwal; Paterson Joseph (Timeless) as Judd's business rival Harrison; and Daisy May Cooper (This Country) as Sarah, a member of the bridge crew.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, May 9
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)
Friday, May 9
- Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Watch Paul on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Matt Bomer (Mid-Century Modern) - Matt appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Asif Ali (Deli Boys) and Saagar Shaikh (Deli Boys) - Asif and Saagar are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Busy Philipps (Girls5eva/Vice Principals/Cougar Town/Love, Inc.) - Busy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory/Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Christine talks about Nine Perfect Strangers on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/For Your Love/Like Family/Love, Inc.) - Holly swings by for a chat about her new film Hats Off to Love on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) and Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother/Free Spirit) - NBC's Today catches up with Sarah and Alyson in the 9am hour.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - In this a little bit extra episode Drew shares more of her conversation with Brooke at the news desk on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel joins Sherri to talk about starring in the new film Juliet & Romeo, so check your local listings.
- Terri J. Vaughn (She the People/Mann & Wife/Meet the Browns/All of Us/The Steve Harvey Show) - Terri talks about starring in the new Netflix series She the People on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Julia Sweeney (Shrill/Work in Progress/Maybe It's Me/George and Leo) and Marsha Mason (Grace and Frankie/The Middle/Sibs) - Julia and Marsha talk about My First Ex-Husband on PIX11 Morinng News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
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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