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
Monday, January 30
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Pit Stop, How May I Help You?" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Calvin takes Dave’s suggestion to try a new method of promoting his business, he soon comes to regret it. Also, Gemma recruits Tina to rescue her struggling after-school music program.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Bibles to Brothels" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob reconsiders his future at MaxDot and seeks advice from an unexpected source (Joel Murray), while Abishola questions Bob’s erratic behavior.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 30)
Monday, January 30
- Salma Hayek Pinault (30 Rock/The Sinbad Show) - Watch Salma on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She talks about Magic Mike's Last Dance on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
- Austin Butler (Ruby & the Rockits/Zoey 101) - Austin appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Murray Bartlett (Physical/Looking) - Murray is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Christopher Meloni (Happy/Surviving Jack/Misery Loves Company/The Fanelli Boys) - Christopher will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place/Barry) - D'Arcy appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Emma Roberts (Scream Queens/Unfabulous) - Emma is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty/Reno 911!/Betas) - Paul will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- D. L. Hughley (The Hughleys/Double Rush) - D. L. guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. He will also be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Christa Miller (Shrinking/Cougar Town/Scrubs/The Drew Carey Show) - Christa appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Hilary Duff (How I Met Your Father/Younger/Lizzie McGuire) - Hilary is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face/Russian Doll) - Natasha talks about her new show, her partnership with Maya Rudolph and whether she would do an American Pie reboot on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Sam Jay (Pause with Sam Jay/Bust Down) - Sam appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (October-January)
10/04 - Mr. Mayor - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/04 - The Munsters - Marineland Carnival with The Munsters TV Cast
10/18 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete First Season
11/08 - Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/08 - Young Rock - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/15 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Seven / The Complete Season Eight
11/22 - That '70s Show - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
11/29 - Ghosts - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/06 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Christmas Collection
12/13 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season
12/13 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
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