Hulu Gears Up for Comedy Premieres in May; Quibi Programming Slate for April 6 Launch

Monday, March 09, 2020

Hulu Gears Up for Comedy Premieres in May; Quibi Programming Slate for April 6 Launch

New Hulu comedy The Great premieres May 15 with 10 episodes. The Great is a satirical, comedic drama about the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest reigning female ruler in Russia's history. Season One is a fictionalized, fun and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl, who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter. Hoping for love and sunshine, she finds instead a dangerous, depraved, backward world that she resolves to change. All she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military and get the court onside. A very modern story about the past which encompasses the many roles she played over her lifetime as lover, teacher, ruler, friend, and fighter. The series stars Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Sebastian de Souza, Bayo Gbadamosi, Belinda Bromilow

Ramy

Hulu comedy Ramy returns May 29 with 10 episodes. The Golden Globe(R) Award-winning actor Ramy Youssef returns to Hulu for his critically-acclaimed performance in the Hulu Original comedy series Ramy. The series follows first-generation, Egyptian-American Ramy Hassan (Youssef) who is on a spiritual journey in his politically-divided New Jersey neighborhood. Ramy brings a new perspective to the screen as it explores the challenges of what it's like to be caught between a religious community who believes life is a moral test, and a millennial generation that doubts an afterlife even exists. In the second season, Ramy delves further into his spiritual journey, finding a new Muslim community and embracing a deeper commitment to his faith. The series stars Ramy Youssef, Mahershala Ali, Mohammed Amer, Hiam Abbass, Amr Waked, May Calamawy, Dave Merheje, Laith Nakli, Steve Way

Quibi

Quibi unveiled that it will launch with 50 shows, including Survive, Most Dangerous Game, Thanks A Million, Chrissy's Court, Murder House Flip, Last Night's Late Night, The Replay by ESPN and more on April 6. As an added bonus, Quibi announced it would offer 90 day free trials for a limited time. To unlock the offer, viewers need to visit Quibi.com and sign-up before April 6. Launching on April 6, Quibi is the first entertainment platform designed specifically for your phone and will feature fresh, original content from Hollywood's biggest stars and creators. Quibi will release 175 original shows and 8,500 quick bites of content in the first year alone. Among the stars featured are Jennifer Lopez, Chrissy Teigen, Chance the Rapper, Kristen Bell, Liam Hemsworth, Sophie Turner, Lena Waithe, Nicole Richie, Reese Witherspoon, Will Forte, Eva Longoria and more.

Quibi will offer three categories of content:
1. Movies in Chapters: Big stories told in chapters that are 7 to 10 minutes in length.
2. Unscripted and Docs: This episodic category is food, fashion, travel, animals, cars, builds, music, sports, comedy, talk, variety, documentary and more. All with episodes in 10 minutes or less.
3. Daily Essentials: Curated daily into 5-6 minute quick bites of news, entertainment and inspiration. Quibi's Daily Essentials will quickly give viewers everything they need to know - and why it matters.

Quibi - which is short for "quick bites" - is built for easy, on-the-go mobile viewing with new episodes of movie-quality shows delivered daily in episodes of 10 minutes or less. The Quibi app is now available for pre-order. Quibi will cost $4.99 with ads and $7.99 without ads.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, April 9

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Stuffed Monkey and an Ex-Girlfriend" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When CeeCee loses her favorite toy, Mandy and Meemaw (Annie Potts) take it as an opportunity to make some money. Meanwhile, Connor contemplates revisiting an old relationship.

Ghosts - "Michael Jackson Goes to HR" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor lands himself in trouble when an inappropriate gift to a co‑worker forces him into an HR meeting only Jay can handle. Meanwhile, Pete unintentionally sparks drama with Alberta after casually mentioning a surprise visit to his ex.

Animal Control - "Scaredy Cats and Card Sharks" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT)
When Frank and Daisy lose $5,000 in union funds, they try to win the money back by gambling; Shred and Patel cover the late-night shift at the precinct.

Going Dutch - "The Heart Locker" (Fox, 9:32PM ET/PT)
After throwing out his back, the Colonel is ordered to bed rest; the base is sent to sweep for landmines at a local farm, where Major Shah suddenly finds himself in serious danger when he steps on one.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Catch Kerry on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy talks about Scrubs and High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Dany Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) - Dan talks about Big Mistakes on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity dishes on Doc on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/Help Me Help You) - Bryan, Frankie and Jane talk about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8) - NBC's Today has "Head or Tails" with John in the 9am hour.
Billy Magnussen (The Franchise/Made for Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Billy in the 9am hour.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Terry and Rebecca King-Crews revealing for the first time Rebecca's health battle, so check your local listings.
Kenya Barris (blackAF) - Kenya talks about Prime's Jerry West: The Logo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette tells Drew about her current run in Broadway show The Rocky Horror Show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.