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
![Connecting](https://www.sitcomsonline.com/photos/connecting1016.jpg)
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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, July 26
The Conners - "Keep on Truckin'" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before.
The Conners - "Tangled Up in Blue" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene gets one surprise after another when David introduces his girlfriend at a parent-teacher conference and mentions that Mark & Harris will be spending the weekend with them.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 22)
Friday, July 26
- Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Watch Nick on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) - Michael appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Burning Love/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Corporate) - Sasheer, Joe and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - Jennie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. NBC's Today catches up with Jennie in the 10am hour.
- Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus talks about his coming-of-age film How I Learned to Fly on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Delroy Lindo (UnPrisoned) - Delroy talks about UnPrisoned on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Dylan Sprouse (The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody/Grace Under Fire) - Dylan talks about Lionsgate's The Duel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
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)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season / The Complete Series
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
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