Friday, April 10, 2020
Fri-Yay: End of Modern Family is End of an Era; COZI TV Celebrates Will & Grace Finale with Marathon

by Vincent
On Wednesday night, Modern Family officially ended its 11-season run on ABC, a legendary run for a sitcom that was in many ways a landmark. The show is arguably the biggest and most successful single-camera sitcom of all time - only The Office has a case against it, which I'd say may have overtaken it due to its boom in popularity after its end thanks to its prevalence of Netflix (Modern Family, frustratingly, is still not available to stream in full on any major streaming site, although it plays often in syndication). Still, in terms of success and longevity during their network runs, Modern Family was able to appeal to a wide audience longer than any other single-camera sitcom. In some ways, its success already feels like the end of a bygone era of network TV. Because of streaming and audience fragmentation, network sitcoms just don't pull in the weekly audiences and have the same cultural spark that Modern Family did in its prime.
I also think Modern Family will register as a legendary sitcom for a few other reasons. The show depicted a fairly progressive view of families, and its success arguably has led to many, many successors depicting families that are a bit different than the typical nuclear family on TV. In fact, in some ways Modern Family became a victim of its own influence, in some ways. Because representation on TV has increased so much, Modern Family's "modern" family doesn't look as progressive as it did in 2009, but it's easy to forget that in 2009, the family sitcom was all but dead, its only relics on mainstream culture being shows from past eras that depicted very traditional American families. Modern Family not only made family sitcoms "cool" again in some ways, but it made them okay with depicting many other kind of families. That might be the norm now, but it certainly wasn't 11 years ago when the show premiered. Another part of the reason that a lot of people might not remember just how groundbreaking Modern Family was at first is also because, in many ways, the show became somewhat complacent through-out its run, forgoing the interesting, genuinely funny and heartwarming writing of the first several seasons with more stock sitcom plots. This is, of course, not atypical for long-running sitcoms, and although I wish Modern Family had remained fresh and funny for a little longer than it did, it still doesn't take away what the show accomplished. And the show's finale, while not groundbreaking TV, was a nice reminder of how funny the show could be. It's a fairly low-key finale (there is some change: Cam gets an offer to move to Missouri to coach a college football team, Phil and Claire kick the kids out of house, and Manny leaves home), but for the most part is was an episode without many bells and whistles. Life goes on for the Dunphys, even if things have changed. Modern Family might not be going out as one of the best sitcoms on TV, but it goes out leaving a reminder of why, at one time, it was.
In celebration of the upcoming series finale of NBC's Will & Grace, COZI TV announced a special "Celebrate! The Will & Grace Marathon," showcasing all season one episodes on Sunday, April 19 starting at 11:00 a.m. EST (check local listings). Wrapping up the marathon will be the original series finale from 2006, which has not been seen in syndication because of the new re-booted series storyline. This laugh-filled trip down memory lane will spotlight where it all began for Will, Grace, Jack and Karen before the show completes its four-decade run, comprising 11 seasons, 246 episodes and earning 18 Emmy Awards. In 2017, COZI TV became the exclusive digital broadcast network of the first eight seasons. The series finale will air on Thursday, April 23 at 9 p.m. EST on NBC. The hit comedy series Will & Grace features actors Debra Messing as Grace Adler, Megan Mullally as Karen Walker, Eric McCormack as Will Truman and Sean Hayes as Jack McFarland. The series follows best friends Will and Grace as they navigate living together, while they deal with their eccentric friends Karen and Jack. The show originally aired on NBC starting in 1998, with the season eight finale coming in 2006.
The following episodes from Will & Grace season one (and 2006 series finale) will air on COZI TV on Sunday, April 19 starting at 11:00 a.m.:
11:00 a.m.: The Pilot (Love & Marriage)
11:30 a.m.: A New Lease on Life
12:00 p.m.: Head Case
12:30 p.m.: Between a Rock and Harlin's Place
1:00 p.m.: Boo! Humbug
1:30 p.m.: William, Tell
2:00 p.m.: Where There's a Will, There's No Way
2:30 p.m.: The Buying Game
3:00 p.m.: The Truth About Will & Dogs
3:30 p.m.: Big Vent
4:00 p.m.: Will on Ice
4:30 p.m.: My Fair Maid-y
5:00 p.m.: The Unsinkable Mommy Adler
5:30 p.m.: Big Brother Is Coming: Part I
6:00 p.m.: Big Brother Is Coming: Part II
6:30 p.m.: Yours, Mine or Ours
7:00 p.m.: Secrets & Lays
7:30 p.m.: Grace, Replaced
8:00 p.m.: Will Works Out
8:30 p.m.: Saving Grace
9:00 p.m.: Alley Cats
9:30 p.m.: Object of My Rejection
10:00 p.m.: The Finale
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Saturday, January 23
Danger Force - "Vidja Games" (Nickelodeon, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Danger Force and Captain Man get hooked making celebrity greeting videos to start raking in cash, but when making celebrity videos turns into a popularity contest, they accidentally send out a video that reveals their secret identities.
Side Hustle - "KidDING! Dongs" (Nickelodeon, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Dance Dance Altoonisburg competition is coming up, and Lex, Presley and Munchy are excited to take part, but when an old friend from Lex and Presley's past surfaces, friendships are put to the test.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 18)
Friday, January 22
- Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) - Watch Bryan on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Daveed Diggs (Central Park/black-ish) - Daveed is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Bill Hader (Barry) - Bill appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- George Lopez (Lopez/Saint George/George Lopez) - George chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about The Resident on Couch Surfing at 8am.
- Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) - Jason talks about Our Friend on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Isaiah Crews (Side Hustle) - Isaiah talks about Side Hustle on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-January)
09/01 - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 14
09/01 - What We Do in the Shadows - The Complete Second Season
09/01 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray)
09/15 - Mom - The Complete Seventh Season
09/15 - South Side - Season 1
09/22 - Brockmire - The Complete Second Season
09/22 - Brockmire - The Complete Third Season
09/22 - Brockmire - The Complete Fourth Season
09/22 - Man with a Plan - Season Three
09/29 - The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete Series (2020 Release)
10/13 - The Jetsons - The Complete Series (Diamond Collection)
10/13 - Our Cartoon President - Season Two
10/23 - Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em - The Complete Collection
10/27 - The Flintstones - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/27 - Head of the Class - The Complete Second Season (WBShop.com)
11/10 - Letterkenny - Seasons 5 & 6
11/10 - The Office - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/10 - Schitt's Creek - The Complete Collection
11/17 - Carol's Second Act - The Complete Series
11/17 - Robbie - Season 1
11/24 - Corporate - Season 1
11/26 - Man with a Plan - Season Four
12/01 - The Neighborhood - Season Two
12/15 - Avenue 5 - The Complete First Season
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