Fri-Yay: Parks & Rec and SNL Stay at Home Specials; ABC's Ryan Reynolds Produced Game Show Premieres June 11

Friday, May 01, 2020

Fri-Yay: Parks & Rec and SNL Stay at Home Specials; ABC's Ryan Reynolds Produced Game Show Premieres June 11

It's time for another edition of Fri-Yay! That means we will take a look back on some sitcom happenings in recent days or weeks or other fun sitcomy stuff. It's a sitcom lover's paradise! Happy Fri-Yay!

by Vincent

Parks and Recreation

Last night, NBC aired a Parks & Recreation special, a special treat for fans of the long-running NBC comedy. It was an interesting move to film a remote episode of a series that has been off the air for 5 years, but it also makes a lot of sense. Despite Parks & Rec being low-rated and on the verge of cancellation for essentially its entire run on NBC, the show has found a second life on Netflix, as many people have binged the series and are now huge fans of the show. The show has a pop culture presence that it didn't have during its original run, and with content running low, it makes sense that NBC would jump at the chance to have a popular series from its recent past do a special episode. At the time of writing this, the special has not aired yet (it will have aired when this posts), but I'm very curious to see where the characters are and how they respond to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Parks & Rec finale very neatly tied up where all of the characters end up, so it will be interesting to see if the address the endgame for the characters.

Saturday Night Live at Home

SNL is another show doing remote specials in place of its regular live shows. While the first SNL at Home on April 11 was a bit shaky, the second episode on April 25 brought back beloved characters like What Up With That and found the show on much sturdier ground. When the pandemic ends and life goes on, these remote specials will serve as such an interesting portal back to a strange time, and I guarantee they will be talked about in the TV history books for years. We might even see more of these specials, depending on how long TV production is held up for. But until then, it's nice that creators are giving some kind of attempt to keep the show going even when production isn't possible.

Don't

Speaking of Parks & Rec, one of the stars is heading to ABC to host a game show. Executive produced by Ryan Reynolds and hosted by Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation, Big Little Lies), Don't is a comedic physical game show where doing nothing is what it takes to win (finally!). Contestants are given the opportunity to team up with their family and friends for the chance to win a cash prize of up to $100,000 by tackling hilarious tasks, each with the simple rule: DON'T. From Banijay Studios North America, ABC's newest summer game show premieres Thursday, June 11 at 9:00 p.m. EDT.

In each episode, members of a four-person team strive to accomplish various challenges, such as "Don't Blink," "Don't Look Back" and "Don't Play Ball in the House," as they work together to build their bank. If they fail a challenge, they don't earn money and suffer ridiculous consequences. Along the way, they'll have the choice to take risks by pushing the Don't Push Button or taking a chance on a Don't You Dare, You. In the end, whatever money they have left in their bank - if anything - is theirs to keep. The series is voiced by Ryan Reynolds and features hilarious, unexpected moments that break from the traditional game show format.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, December 22

Bob's Burgers - "The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the power goes out two days before Christmas, The Belchers must spend the holiday at Mr. Fischoeder's family's old hunting lodge.

Krapopolis - "Krapocalypse" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tyrannis is stuck in a time loop trying to save the city.

The Simpsons - "The Man Who Flew Too Much" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The new and improved Pin Pals travel to Capital City for their first ever state bowling championship.

Universal Basic Guys - "The Devil You Know" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark insists on teaching his son Darren how to throw a handmade boomerang that was gifted to Darren by his father; the two soon find themselves on a trek deep into the Jersey woods; David is the recipient of a sex doll that he swears he didn't order.

The Great North - "The Lies Aquatic Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While Beef is away, the Tobin fishing boat goes missing; the Tobin siblings wildly speculate on what could have happened.

Krapopolis - "National Lampoon's The Odyssey!" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The family takes a vacation to Storgos for Shlub's mother's birthday.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Full-Frontal Dottie" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Excited by her physical therapy progress, Dottie insists she is ready to return to MaxDot, much to Bob, Douglas and Christina's dismay.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 16)

Friday, December 20

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters/HouseBroken/Catastrophe) - Sharon is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Colton Dunn (Superstore) and Diona Reasonover (Clipped) - Colton and Diona are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - NBC's Today catches up with Zachary in the 9am hour.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about Mufasa: The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. He can also be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about The Six Triple Eight on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
James Marsden (30 Rock) and Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - James and Ben talk about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about Max's Fast Friends on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit has the best of Henry and Kit Hoover, so check your local listings.
Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - The Talk celebrates 15 seasons with a special finale episode; friend of the show Howie Mandel makes his 21st appearance on the show when he stops by one last time with a surprise for the hosts on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.