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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, March 12

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Big Birthday and Tequila Shots" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mandy struggles to celebrate Georgie’s 21st birthday after hitting a rough patch in her career.

Ghosts - "St. Hetty’s Day 2: The Help" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
A St. Patrick’s Day staffing emergency gives Hetty the chance to step into an unlikely role at the restaurant as she regains her once-a-year ability to be seen and heard by the living. Meanwhile, Kyle returns to watch over the ghosts and finds himself caught in an amusing supernatural dynamic.

Animal Control - "Squirrels and Fat Cats" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank uncovers Emily and Shred's secret romance during a break-in at city supply; Victoria and Patel confront his daughter's school bully.

Going Dutch - "Tinker, Tailor, Colonel, Spy" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Rick takes a sabbatical from the CIA and returns to the base, hoping to rekindle his strained relationship with Capt. Maggie; paranoia runs high when a mole is suspected to be operating inside the base.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 9)

Thursday, March 12

Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Catch Will on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Robert stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jennifer Tilly (Out of Practice) - Andy Cohen interviews Jennifer on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan talks about Broadway's Death of a Salesman with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana joins Tamron to talk about her fashion evolution and her role in the all-star cast of the new series Scarpetta on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Lauren Graham (The Z-Suite/M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren talks about Reminders of Him on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - NBC's Today catches up with Valerie in the 10am hour.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil and Lily Rosenthal join Drew for a taste test of weird foods and talk about their children's book Just Try It! Someplace New! (A Phil & Lil Book) on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.