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
Tuesday, January 19
Call Your Mother - "Pilot" (ABC, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Jean, an empty-nester mom, wonders how she ended up alone while her children live their best lives thousands of miles away. She decides her place is with her family, and as she reinserts herself into their lives, her kids realize they might actually need her more than they thought.
The Conners - "Protest, Drug Test and One Leaves the Nest" (ABC,
10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Harris’ job is in jeopardy after joining a protest she strongly believes in, leading to tense discussions within the family. Jackie makes a visit to Wellman Plastics only to realize the company is instituting supervised drug testing, inspiring Becky to lead her own protest.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 18)
Tuesday, January 19
- Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) - Catch Dakota on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Our Friend on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) - Jason is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Craig Robinson (Ghosted/Mr. Robinson/The Office) - Craig will be on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
- Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey appears on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Iain Armitage (Young Sheldon) - Iain chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Leslie Odom Jr. (Central Park/Big Day) - Leslie talks about the film One Night in Miami on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Tommy Davidson (Between Brothers) - Tommy will be on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody/The Suite Life on Deck) - Cole appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra talks about Call Your Mother on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy is a guest 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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