Friday, October 30, 2020
Fri-Yay: The Best Sitcom Halloween Episodes; CBS All Access Renews No Activity for 4th Season

by Vincent
This weekend is Halloween, and whether you're spending the weekend participating in Halloween festivities or not, you can make the weekend a little more festive with these highlight sitcom Halloween episodes.
The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror V (Available on Disney+)
Any Treehouse of Horror installment from the Simpsons' first 10 seasons is a genuine candidate for this list, but the very best is the entry from the show's 6th season, most notable for the show's classic Shining parody. It perfectly balances creepy and funny, and is still, in my mind, the gold standard of a horror episode of a sitcom, animated or not.
Bob's Burgers - Fort Night (Available on Hulu)
Bob's Burgers is another series that has made Halloween a special time of year, and nearly all of its Halloween episodes are delightful. But the very best Halloween episode is probably Season 4's Fort Night, which introduces the character of Millie. Similar to the Simpsons episode listed, Fort Night is actually genuinely creepy, as the childrens' fate is left up to the wildly unstable Millie character. It's also just a great time seeing all of the Belcher kids together in one place.
Parks and Recreation - Halloween Surprise (Available on Hulu and Peacock)
This Parks and Rec episode isn't quite like your typical Halloween episodes, as it centers around Ben proposing to Leslie, but it's nevertheless a sweet and surprising episode that makes great use of the holiday. It's rare to call a Halloween episode "sweet", but this episode definitely gets that honor. And it's no surprise that Parks and Rec would take the darkest holiday of the year and make it heartwarming.
Happy Endings - Spooky Endings (Available on Hulu)
Maybe the all-out funniest episode of the list, Happy Endings' sole Halloween episode is a hysterical laugh riot from start to finish. There is pretty much a joke every other second in this episode, which has a simple premise (the gang goes to a costume party while Jane and Brad house sit in the suburbs) but fills that premise with so many jokes that you'll find yourself endlessly laughing for the entire 22 minutes.
Boy Meets World - And Then There Was Shawn (Available on Disney+)
Technically this isn't a Halloween episode, but it's a horror movie send up that fits in perfectly with the season, as the show pokes fun at slasher films. It's a really funny episode and a fairly early example of a live action sitcom experimenting with its genre and form. You don't typically expect it from TGIF sitcoms, but Boy Meets World did a great job with it.
Community - Epidemiology (Available on Netflix and Hulu)
Community spoofed zombie films with its second season Halloween episode, and if you can get past the fact that parts of this episode is about the school being quarantined due to the outbreak of a "zombie" virus (yes, it hits a little close to home, minus the zombie part), this is an extremely funny parody of horror movies that's one of Community's most imaginative and fun concept episodes.
CBS All Access, ViacomCBS' digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, announced the fourth season renewal for its original, half-hour comedy series No Activity. In a departure from previous seasons, the fourth season will feature all the fan favorite No Activity. characters in animated form. This season will find Special Agent Nick Cullen (Patrick Brammall) realizing his dream of joining the FBI, but he will soon discover that being an FBI agent isn’t that special after all. After being assigned to a seemingly dull observation detail, he finds a potential career case in the form of an emerging cult. A large scale operation soon takes aim at the cult but it's unclear which side will break first. Despite the promotion, Cullen's path continues to cross with former partner Judd Toldbeck's (Tim Meadows), who adjusts to life with a new partner of his own.
No Activity's third season found demoted detectives Cullen and Tolbeck back in uniform with a revolving door of quirky new partners and even quirkier criminals, while robots - and Dylan McDermott - tried to take over Janice and Fatima's jobs in dispatch. Season three starred Brammall, Meadows and a stellar guest cast, including Beth Behrs, Joe Keery, Keegan-Michael Key, Sunita Mani, Jason Mantzoukas, Dylan McDermott, Paula Pell, Amy Schumer, Amy Sedaris and J.K. Simmons. No Activity is produced by CBS Studios in association with Funny Or Die, Jungle, and Gary Sanchez Productions, and is based on the Stan original series produced by Jungle. The series is co-developed and executive produced by Brammall and Trent O'Donnell, alongside executive producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Joe Farrell, Mike Farah, Joe Hardesty and Jason Burrows. Nina Pedrad, Steve Toltz, and Becca Kinskey serve as co-executive producers. As in previous seasons, O'Donnell will direct all episodes. Flight School Studio serves as the animation studio for the upcoming season.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, April 2
The Conners - "Fame, Flying Fists and Cold Feet" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners get a taste of fame when their family restaurant is featured in a reality TV show, which inspires Becky to become an influencer. Meanwhile, Jackie and Dan meet with a lawyer, and Darlene connects with someone at The Lobo Lounge.
Abbott Elementary - "Ava Fest: Tokyo Drift" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Abbott teachers turn their open house into a carwash to help raise money for the school.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)
Wednesday, April 2
- Adam DeVine (The Righteous Gemstones/Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/Workaholics/Modern Family) - Watch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - Michael appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Sinners on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey/Catastrophe) - Rob appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Sasheer and Greta are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
- Jennifer Lopez (South Central) and Jamie Foxx (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has interviews with Jennifer and Jamie at 11pm on E!.
- Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Chris talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - NBC's Today catches up with Judy in the 9am hour.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - NBC's Today catches up with Glen and Kristin in the 10am hour.
- Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) - Tasha, who stars in Netflix's Surival of the Thickest, joins Tamron Hall to discuss how she found her freedom by sharing her story on her own terms and learning to embrace self-love, so check your local listings.
- Gabourey Sidibe (Difficult People/The Big C) - Gabourey talks about starring in the new Lifetime movie Give Me Back My Daughter on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) - Seth is joining Drew to tell her all about his new show The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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