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
Tuesday, May 30
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 29)
Tuesday, May 30
- Salma Hayek Pinault (30 Rock/The Sinbad Show) - Catch Salma on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Jennifer appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. He stops by to chat about his new stand-up comedy special, Little Big Boy, on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Bradley Whitford (Perfect Harmony/Happyish/Trophy Wife) - Bradley appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ronald Gladden (Jury Duty) - Ronald will be on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) - Hannah is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Reid Scott (Veep/My Boys/It's All Relative) - Reid appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Jurnee Smollett (Wanda at Large/On Our Own) - Jurnee talks about her new film Lou on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry will be on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- John Owen Lowe (Unstable) - John talks about Netflix's Unstable on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
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