Friday, October 16, 2020
Fri-Yay: COVID-19 Storylines on TV, Will Viewers Watch?; Antenna TV's 70 Episode Jack Benny Marathon for 70th Anniversary

by Vincent
This past week, NBC premiered the first new sitcom since the COVID-19 pandemic began: Connecting..., a sitcom shot remotely about a group of friends meeting through video chats during quarantine. If you haven't heard of it, you might not be some: the show attracted just a bit over 1 million viewers for its premiere, low numbers even in a world where broadcast ratings continue to drop. The show will likely finish out its 8-episode order, but there's no doubt that it didn't attract much interest. Which leads me to wonder: how much will viewers want to watch the pandemic reflected back at them?
It's a fair question given many shows are planning to incorporate COVID-19 into their storylines this year, from Connecting... to Superstore to black-ish, as well as dramas like Grey's Anatomy, The Good Doctor. And yet, I personally think people watch TV shows as a means of escape, which includes escaping from our anxiety-ridden reality. Will viewers think the same thing? That could be part of why they didn't connect with Connecting... (despite the show actually being pretty solid, as noted in our review). As more and more shows premiere and cover COVID-19, it will be interesting to see whether viewers embrace the real life stories or whether they prefer to forget.
Antenna TV will air 70 back-to-back episodes of The Jack Benny Program starting next Saturday, October 24 to mark the program's 70th television anniversary. The 70-episode marathon will feature the best gags, guests and glares from The Jack Benny Program. First a radio program, the show's cast regularly broke the fourth wall to interact with the audience and included running jokes such as Benny's age, forever frozen at 39. The Jack Benny Program 70th anniversary marathon starts Saturday, October 24 at 10 a.m. ET and continues through 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 25.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Wednesday, April 21
The Goldbergs - "The Dating Game" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Trying to move on from their breakup, Erica goes on a date with a guy from the coffee shop while Geoff ends up on an episode of “The Dating Game,” which winds up making things even more difficult for them both. Meanwhile, Beverly is thrilled to learn that Murray has spontaneously purchased a shore house until she realizes it’s not quite the luxury home she imagined.
Home Economics - "Bounce House Rental, $250" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Connor invites all the cousins over for an epic sleepover to cheer up his daughter, Gretchen. Meanwhile, Tom is determined to prove he can be a fun uncle too.
The Conners - "Cheating, Revelations and a Box of Doll Heads" (ABC,
9:00PM ET/PT)
Mark is stressed and exhausted from studying for an important entrance exam so Darlene steps in to help, but her plan backfires.
Call Your Mother - "Save the Date" (ABC,
9:30PM ET/PT)
After Danny’s divorce is finalized, he asks Jean to go out on an official first date with him, but things go awry on the date once Jean realizes it’s the same day as another special day in her life. Meanwhile, Freddie and Jackie fight over who should get to keep Jean’s old engagement ring.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 19)
Wednesday, April 21
- Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls/The Office) - Watch Ed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory/Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Christine is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Scott Foley (The Goodwin Games/A.U.S.A./Scrubs) - Scott will be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Jane Levy (Suburgatory) - Jane is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Topher Grace (Home Economics/That '70s Show) - Topher appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Tony Hale (Veep/Arrested Development) - Tony gives the scoop on his animated children's show and his role in the upcoming film about I Love Lucy on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-April)
01/22 - Corporate - Season 2
01/22 - Corporate - Season 3
02/02 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - The Complete Series (2021 Retail Release)
02/16 - Fam - The Complete Series
02/23 - Betty White's Pet Set - The Complete Series
03/02 - Blue Mountain State - The Complete Series
03/02 - Happy Together - The Complete Series
03/02 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-4 (DVD) (Blu-ray)
04/20 - 'Til Death - The Complete Series
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