Monday, June 08, 2020
TBS Presents Tournament of Laughs; More on HBO's Perry Mason Launch
TBS is serving up the ultimate comedic match with a seven-episode greenlight for Tournament of Laughs, set to premiere on Sunday, June 21 at 10:00pm ET/PT. Hosted by Jason Sudeikis (We're the Millers, Saturday Night Live), the series will present 32 comedians facing off in a hilarious, single-elimination bracket-style tournament, with each episode featuring multiple match-ups. The comics will go head-to-head virtually to out-funny one another with Sudeikis acting as the master of ceremonies and providing color commentary.
Featured comedians include Jeff Ross, Margaret Cho, Gilbert Gottfried, Judah Friedlander, Michael Rapaport, Jim Norton, Fortune Feimster, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Natasha Leggero, Cameron Esposito, Godfrey, The Sklar Brothers, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Josh Wolf, Clayton English, Yamaneika Saunders, Gina Yashere, Tim Dillon, Moshe Kasher, Jessica Kirson, Paul Rodriguez, Sarah Tiana, Matteo Lane, Beth Stelling, Vladimir Caamano, Ian Edwards, Aida Rodriguez, Megan Gailey, Preacher Lawson, Piff The Magic Dragon and an additional two performers to come. Each week the comics will create, produce, self-film, and star in their own videos - from stand-up sets to song parodies and everything in-between. After the episode has aired, the home audience will decide who moves forward, via phone and online voting, with the winning comics returning for the next round. The final episode will feature an expert comedy panel charged with crowning a winner in the championship match-up for the last laugh and bragging rights as tournament champion. In addition, a charitable donation will be made to the United Nations Foundation's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and Black Lives Matter.
1931, Los Angeles. While the rest of the country struggles through the Great Depression, this city is booming! Oil! Olympic Games! Talking Pictures! Evangelical Fervor! And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong. Based on characters created by author Erle Stanley Gardner, drama series Perry Mason, starring Emmy(R) winner Matthew Rhys, debuts Sunday, June 21 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) exclusively on HBO. The series follows the origins of American fiction's most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason. When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason's relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself. The series will also be available to stream on HBO GO, HBO NOW, and on HBO via HBO Max and other partners' platforms.
Perry Mason stars Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason, a low-rent private investigator who is living check-to-check and is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage; John Lithgow as Elias Birchard "E.B." Jonathan, a struggling attorney and a semi-regular employer of Mason; Juliet Rylance as Della Street, E.B. Jonathan's creative and driven legal secretary; Tatiana Maslany as Sister Alice McKeegan, the leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, preaching to a hungry congregation and a radio audience across the country; Chris Chalk as Paul Drake, a beat cop with a knack for detective work; and Shea Whigham as Pete Strickland, who is hired by Mason as an extra set of eyes on his various investigations.
The series also stars Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcón, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, and Robert Patrick.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, September 8
Universal Basic Guys - "Pet Projects (Pilot)" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Threatened by a doctor's kindness toward Tammy, Mark tries to get her an exotic animal; Hank bonds with the chimpanzee via its bluetooth; David's dog saves David and Mernft Man from a pet snake.
Bob's Burgers - "The Big Stieblitzki" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The family gets invited to Rudy's father's birthday party; Tina attempts to convince a woman to commit to a relationship with Rudy's father.
The Great North - "Welcome To Miami Adventure" / "Worst Drives Club Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Coming off the heels of her break-up, Judy is taken on a wild adventure with Honeybee and Aunt Dirt; Judy tries to learn to drive.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 2)
Friday, September 6
- Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Watch Kumail on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - Michael appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Conner O'Malley (Shrill) - Conner is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Edie Falco (Bupkis/Nurse Jackie) - Edie talks about her film I'll Be Right There on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh is joining Drew and telling her about getting denied from his college's musical theater program and making his return to Broadway after eleven years with bestie Andrew Rannells on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Diane Farr (Splitting Together/Like Family/The Job) - Diane discusses the CBS drama series Fire Country on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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