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

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

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 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.

The Jack Benny Program

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

Tuesday, February 7

Night Court - "The Apartment" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
In desperate need of a new apartment, Abby turns to Gurgs and her unconventional real estate skills; Dan helps Olivia prepare for the biggest case of her career and a shot at redemption.

American Auto - "Celebrity" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Payne loses their spokesperson, Katherine and the team go to great lengths to woo a new celebrity -- Andy Richter -- only to have second thoughts.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 6)

Tuesday, February 7

Salma Hayek Pinault (30 Rock/The Sinbad Show) - Catch Salma on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Your Place or Mine on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Paula Pell (Girls5eva/Mapleworth Murders/A.P. Bio) - Paula will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Good Place/Barry/Downward Dog) - Kirby appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Elon Gold (Stacked/In-Laws) - Elon is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Ashton Kutcher (The Ranch/Two and a Half Men/That '70s Show) - Ashton will be interviewed on E! News on E! at 11pm.
Alison Brie (GLOW/Community) - Alison is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Fortune Feimster (Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune joins Tamron to chat about her Netflix comedy special Good Fortune and her new tour Live Laugh Love! on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!/God, the Devil and Bob) - Alan is talking to Drew about his new show and the time he swam in Drew's pool when she wasn't home on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Yvette Nicole Brown (The Mayor/The Odd Couple/Community) - Yvette will be on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Ron Funches (Loot/Poweless/Undateable) - Ron appears on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew is a guest on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am. She will also be interviewed on E! News on E! at 11pm.
Zoe Chao (The Afterparty/Love Life) - Zoe talks about Your Place or Mine on ABC's Good Mornning America some time between 7-9am.
Nick Jonas (Jonas) - NBC's Today catches up with Nick in the 9am hour.