Friday, June 12, 2020
Fri-Yay: Rick and Morty Season 4; HBO Max Orders 2nd Season of Love Life
by Vincent
As we enter the summer months, sitcoms on TV are increasingly rare to find, and more so now than we're entering a COVID age. So I thought I'd spend this column talking about Rick and Morty, an animated comedy that technically doesn't fit the sitcom bill, but is still one of the most popular comedic shows on TV today. Rick and Morty is Adult Swim's flagship series, a time travel, sci-fi sitcom from the minds of Justin Roiland and Community creator Dan Harmon. The series quickly grew to extreme popularity, with it becoming Adult Swim's highest-rated series of all time by its third season. And yet, the show has only produced 4 seasons and 40 episodes since being on the air in 2014, a slow rollout schedule that has somewhat complicated its' fans fervent relationship with it. Granted, TV is gradually moving towards more sporadic releases rather than the clockwork-like scheduling it adhered to for years, but this seems like a lot even for that.
Rick and Morty's fourth season was split up into two 5-episode short seasons, one airing in late 2019 and one starting in May, just finishing last week. The season overall was very solid, with some highlight episodes that could stand up with the best of the series, as well as some disappointing episodes - fairly standard for a comedy in its fourth season. But given the sporadic release schedule and how every episode now feels like an event, getting a "regular old" season feels a bit disappointing. And the show seems to be starting to recycle some of the same patterns (Rick is a jerk, kind of learns that he shouldn't be, then goes back to being a jerk again). This season also moved away from the long-term storytelling that marked much of its second and third seasons. Still, for all of these flaws, Rick and Morty remained one of the funniest and move inventive comedies, even if it's not quite as perfect as it was at the start, and still made me wish and hope we can start getting episodes on a more consistent basis.
HBO Max announced that it has picked up its first scripted original series Love Life for a second season. Audiences love Love Life, the romantic comedy anthology series from Lionsgate Television that has quickly become one of the streaming platform's top performers out of all available content, and this is the first Max Original to earn a renewal. Season one stars Oscar® nominee Anna Kendrick, and its final four episodes are now available to stream on HBO Max. Season two will remain set in New York City but will focus on a new character’s journey – one which explores what happens when you've lived your whole life knowing who your soulmate is, only to find out years into a marriage that it's not the right fit at all. The new season will also cleverly key off characters in season one, and "Darby" (Anna Kendrick) will appear occasionally.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, April 25
Young Sheldon - "A Fancy Article and a Scholarship for a Baby" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon’s published paper leads to a frenzy of grad school recruiting, and Georgie tries to speak more properly in front of his daughter.
Ghosts - "The Traveling Agent" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Pete discovers a power that he never knew he had – one that brings him closer to his buddy Jay (and further apart).
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 22)
Thursday, April 25
- Rob McElhenney (Mythic Quest/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Catch Rob on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Carol Burnett (Palm Royale/Mad About You/Mama's Family) - Carol appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Tim Robinson (Digman!/Detroiters) - Tim is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Wendell Pierce (The Odd Couple/The Michael J. Fox Show/The Weber/The Brian Benben Show/The Gregory Hines Show) - Wendell appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits in with The 8G Band on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - E! News has an interview with Jerry at 11pm on E!. He also talks about Unfrosted on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny guest co-hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Jason Ritter (The Class) - Jason is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Jim talks about Unfrosted on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am. NBC's Today catches up with Jim in the 9am hour.
- Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Arsenio/Out All Night) - Vivica talks about Not Another Church Movie in the 10am hour.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie talks about her new book Indulge: Delicious and Decadent Dishes to Enjoy and Share on a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Pam Grier (Bless This Mess) - Pam talks about Prime Video's Them: The Scare on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Luenell (Lopez) - Luenell stops by before her performance at the famous Apollo Theater in New York City on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood/Survivor's Remorse/Happily Divorced/Everybody Hates Chris/Martin) - Tichina guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
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