Friday, July 24, 2020

Fri-Yay: Two More COVID-19 Remote Reunions: 30 Rock and Happy Endings; Netflix Renews Top 10 Series Sweet Magnolias for Season 2

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

This week, two more sitcoms joined the growing trend of remote reunion episodes, 30 Rock and Happy Endings. 30 Rock's remote reunion special aired last Thursday on NBC, while the Happy Endings remote reunion episode streamed on YouTube this past Monday. It was great seeing the casts and hearing the joke rhythms of these two cult classic comedies again, both of which had a non-stop joke telling approach to comedy writing that I really loved, and which have allowed both of them to go onto become cult classics via streaming services. That said, I had very different opinions of both specials, despite being a big fan of both shows.

The 30 Rock reunion special doubled as a promotional vehicle for NBC's fall schedule as well as Peacock, and it made the entire special seem a little forced. It was nice to see the 30 Rock cast again, catch up to where they are in 2020, and hear some of the show's classic joke rhythms. The special felt true to the characters, and it was especially fun watching Jane Krakowski's Jenna deal with the effects of "cancel culture." And there were some other good gags in the special, such as Jack having the "iPhone 40" and the meta joke about Peacock not securing the rights to Friends (which felt like a very classic "30 Rock dunking on NBC" joke.) And yet, the fact that the special had to be interrupted every few minutes to watch the characters shamelessly plug NBCUniversal Networks' line-up was disappointing, even if that's what the special was intended for. It was a little odd to see the show just blatantly promoting NBC when it spent so much of its run making fun of it and using meta, tongue-in-cheek humor to get out of doing product placement (the classic gag where Liz looks into the camera and says "Can we have our money now?" was one of the show's funniest moments). Still, it was enjoyable enough and I did like seeing all of the characters again, so while I was a bit letdown, it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Happy Endings

But it couldn't compare to the Happy Endings reunion episode, which had a much lower production budget (it was literally just the cast on Zoom, similar to the Parks & Recreation episode from earlier in the pandemic) but otherwise was written and structured like a regular episode of Happy Endings. And the show has not missed a beat in terms of joke crafting - the jokes came fast and furious, just as they did during the show's original run. The running joke of Dave accidentally opening a restaurant called "Covid-19" felt extremely classic Happy Endings, as did the idea of airheaded Alex being a virus denier, or Penny and Max marrying each other on Zoom because they couldn't find anyone else. It was simple, but it managed to completely capture everything that made the show so great, and further convinced me that a Happy Endings reboot would be one of the only shows that I think could successfully be rebooted and not miss a step from its original run. This special proved you could literally just get the cast onto video chat and it would still be comedy gold. I'm just saying, if any streaming service or network wants to greenlight a show that's just the Happy Endings cast talking in character over video chat for 10 episodes a season...I'd watch. All in all, this special really reminded me just how great Happy Endings was, and if you still haven't seen it, I really recommend checking out all 56 episodes on Hulu as soon as possible.


Netflix has renewed southern drama Sweet Magnolias for a second season! The first season dropped in May with 10 episodes. Life in the small, Southern town of Serenity isn't exactly serene for three best friends as together they navigate relationships, family and careers. Centered on three South Carolina women, best friends since high school, as they shepherd each other through the complexities of romance, career, and family. The series stars JoAnna Garcia Swisher as Maddie Townsend, Brooke Elliott as Dana Sue Sullivan, Heather Headley as Helen Decatur, Justin Bruening as Cal Maddox, Chris Klein as Bill Townsend, Carson Rowland as Tyler Townsend, Logan Allen as Kyle Townsend, Anneliese Judge as Annie Sullivan and special guest star Jamie Lynn Spears as Noreen Fitzgibbons.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, December 11

American Dad! - "A Little Extra Scratch" (TBS, 10:00PM ET/PT)
A CIA agent does anything to protect his homeland and family.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 11)

Monday, December 11

  • George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Watch George on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Kumail appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Olivia Rodrigo (Bizaardvark) - Olivia is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Kal Penn (The Santa Clauses/Sunnyside/We Are Men) - Kal guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Drew is on location in London to chat with the cast of Wonka including Keegan-Michael on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian talks about Bookie on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) - Cristela discusses her comedy tour on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and Sydney Sweeney (Everything Sucks!) - Glen and Syndey talk about Anyone But You on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • The Cast of Taxi - The View celebrates the iconic television series Taxi, welcoming stars Danny DeVito, Judd Hirsch, Carol Kane, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner and Christopher Lloyd for an exclusive reunion marking 45 years since the beloved series premiered. The View airs on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)

Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (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
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

12/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 11, 2023)
12/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Remembering Norman Lear; Fox to Air M*A*S*H Retrospective
12/08 - CBS Norman Lear Tribute Special Tonight (December 8); Peacock Renews Twisted Metal
12/07 - Harlem Renewed for Season 3; Netflix Orders Drama Ransom Canyon
12/06 - Remembering TV Legend Norman Lear; Critics Choice Awards Nominees
12/05 - Who's the Boss? Now on Hulu; The CW Announces New Series Wild Cards
12/04 - The Upshaws Renewed for Season Prior to Season 5 Launch; Fox Holiday Movie with Justin Long
12/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 4, 2023)
12/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Bob ♥ Abishola Coming to an End; Only Murders in the Building Gets Limited Run on ABC
12/01 - Abbott Elementary Post-Oscars Airing, Only Murders on ABC; Remembering Frances Sternhagen, Marty Krofft and Others We Recently Lost
11/30 - Bob ♥ Abishola Ending After This Season; NBC Renews Rookie Dramas
11/29 - Antenna TV January 2024 Schedule; Max December Comedy Specials
11/28 - Prime Video's Hazbin Hotel; Lacey Chabert Gets Hallmark Unscripted Series
11/27 - Sundance Now Gets Original Comedy; Hallmark Original Returns for Season 2 in January
11/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 27, 2023)
11/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Kelsey Grammer Ready to Do 100 Episodes of Frasier; TBS Cancels Miracle Workers
11/24 - Fox Winter 2024 Schedule; An Evening From the Heart John Ritter Foundation NYC 2023 Event
11/23 - 2023 Thanksgiving TV Marathons
11/22 - Kerry Washington's UnPrisoned Gets Season 2; Classic Comedy Shorts Celebrate 40th Anniversary
11/21 - NBC Winter 2024 Schedule; Netflix Renews Rob Lowe Comedy
11/20 - BUZZR Celebrates Bob Barker's 100th Birthday; Ted Prequel Series on Peacock Gets Premiere Date
11/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 20, 2023)
11/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Young Sheldon Coming to an End After Seven Seasons; The CW International Sitcom Approach Not Going So Well
11/17 - ABC Winter 2024 Schedule; CBS Celebrates 98th Birthday of Dick Van Dyke
11/16 - Whoa Mama! Urkel Is Back for the Holidays!; Hulu Gets Such Brave Girls Comedy
11/15 - COZI TV's A Very COZI Christmas Schedule; Young Sheldon to End This Season on CBS
11/14 - CBS Winter 2024 Schedule; The CW Pulls 2 Comedies
11/13 - Antenna TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule; Rewind TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule
11/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 13, 2023)
11/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: SAG-AFTRA Strike Finally Ends; New Digital TV Broadcast Networks Coming
11/10 - AXS TV's The Partridge Family Thanksgiving Marathon; AspireTV Holiday Programming