Wednesday, February 26, 2020
HBO Comedy Betty to Premiere May 1; Molly Shannon Is a Big Deal on Showtime

Based on Crystal Moselle's critically acclaimed feature Skate Kitchen, HBO's new six-episode half-hour series Betty, debuts Friday, May 1 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT, exclusively on HBO. The series will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners' streaming platforms. Starring Dede Lovelace, Moonbear, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell, and Rachelle Vinberg, who all starred in the original film, Betty follows a diverse group of young women navigating their lives through the predominantly male-oriented world of skateboarding, set against the backdrop of New York City.
Opinionated and loyal, Janay (Lovelace) is strong willed and stubborn in ways that both help and hurt her. Honeybear (Moonbear) is a quiet storm. Her flagrant style is a ruse; an armor she wears to hide her emotional struggles. Kirt (Moran) is a lover (to the ladies), a fighter (to the rest of the world), and a little kid in the body of a woman. She's the funniest person alive, but even if she knew it, she wouldn't care. Meanwhile, Indigo (Russell) is a street-savvy hustler trapped in the body of a well-to-do art school drop-out. On the edge of the group is Camille (Vinberg), guarded, perceptive, intelligent and awkward. She wants to be down with the dudes in the skate park and has fought hard for the small space she's carved out with them, but she needs to realize that cool points don't actually add up to the sum of anything, especially in the eyes of the other girls.
Recurring cast include Reza Nader as Farouk, Edmund Donovan as Bambi, Caleb Eberhardt as Donald, Katerina Tannenbaum as Ash, Jules Lorenzo as Yvette and Brenn Lorenzo as Celia.
Three-time Emmy nominee Molly Shannon (The Other Two) has signed on to star in the half-hour comedy pilot Big Deal, starring and executive produced by Emmy nominee Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live). If the project is picked up to series, Shannon would appear as a series regular. Bayer co-created Big Deal with Emmy nominee Jeremy Beiler (Saturday Night Live, Inside Amy Schumer), who will also executive produce. Emmy winner Jessi Klein (Inside Amy Schumer, Black Monday, Big Mouth) will serve as showrunner and executive produce along with Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, Wet Hot American Summer, The Lovebirds), who will direct, as well as Annapurna's Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle and Jordana Mollick of Semi-Formal.
Produced by SHOWTIME, Big Deal is a grounded comedy in which Bayer plays a character, inspired by her own past, who overcame childhood leukemia to achieve her lifelong dream of landing a job as a successful home shopping channel host. Shannon will star as Jackie, the charismatic, popular host at the network.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Saturday, December 9
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 4)
Friday, December 8
- Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- John Caponera (The Good Life) - John is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog aka Robert Smigel chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals) and Molly Gordon (Ramy) - Noah and Molly talk about Theater Camp on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Eric Stonestreet (The Santa Clauses/Modern Family) - Eric talks about The Santa Clauses on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan sits down with Sherri to talk about his new book, When I Was Your Age, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
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