Friday, November 20, 2020

Fri-Yay: Thoughts on Fresh Prince Reunion on HBO Max; Nick at Nite Renews Friends in Multi-Year Deal

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!

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

by Vincent

This past week, HBO Max released a Fresh Prince reunion special. It's a really great watch for anyone who's a fan of the series, as it reunites nearly all of the cast (who could be reunited - unfortunately James Avery passed away in 2013). It revisits some of the cast's best moments and features some candid talk between the stars of the series. Still, one of the more interesting aspects of the reunion was the meeting of the show's two "Aunt Vivs," and the reconciliation of Will Smith and original Aunt Viv Janet Hubert.

For years, conventional wisdom was that Janet had been fired due to a feud with Smith. However, the reunion revealed that wasn't exactly the case. Hubert cites personal reasons as well as a pay disagreement with the producers as the reason her role was recast. Smith did admit that he also contributed to a difficult environment on set because he wasn't "perceptive" about what she was going through at home. Hubert talked very openly about the conflict and even met with her "replacement," Daphne Reid. It seems the "drama" between Smith and Hubert is firmly in the past. Still, even putting aside the feud, it was a lot of fun watching the cast talk candidly and openly about their time on Fresh Prince, and I highly recommend even casual fans of the show check it out.


Friends

Nickelodeon announced the renewal of the Emmy(R) Award-winning series Friends, from Warner Bros. Television, for its nighttime programming block Nick at Nite. The agreement was part of a multi-year, multi-series deal that included several renewals of top-rated syndicated series from Warner Bros. Television that air across ViacomCBS' portfolio of cable networks. Also included in the deal were the off-network cable premiere rights to Young Sheldon, scheduled to begin on Nick at Nite on Monday, Nov. 30. Year to date, Nick at Nite ranks as cable's top network with Women 18-49 and is also currently delivering its highest share of Adults 18-49 since 2017. The highly successful NAN programming block of family comedies where Friends and Young Sheldon will air, also includes popular Warner Bros Television series such as Mom and Full House.

Beginning Monday, Nov. 23, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), fans can celebrate Thanksgiving with their favorite friends as Nick at Nite presents "Super-Stuffed Friends-Giving," featuring a lineup of classic Friends episodes with beloved funny moments from the series airing throughout the week, and a marathon of Thanksgiving-themed episodes on Thursday. Friends, which debuted in 1994, follows the lives and loves of a close-knit group of friends while they navigate their way through their twenties living in New York City: siblings Ross (David Schwimmer) and Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), along with friends Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston).


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, May 2

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 28)

Friday, May 2

  • Jon Hamm (Grimsburg/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Watch Jon on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Tim Robinson (Detroiters) - Tim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Sunita Mani (Government Cheese/No Activity/GLOW) - Sunita is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Cheech Marin (Rob/The Golden Palace) and Tommy Chong (That '90s Show/That '70s Show) - Cheech and Tommy are guests on Real Time with Bill Maher at 10pm on HBO.
  • Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - Kelsey talks about his new book Karen: A Brother Remembers on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about Shadow Force on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie talks about The Motherhood on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am. NBC's Today catches up with Connie in the 9am hour.
  • Liza Lapira (9JKL/Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life/Super Fun Night/Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23/Traffic Light) - Liza talks about The Equalizer on CBS Mornings Plus sometime between 7-9am.
  • Adam DeVine (The Righteous Gemstones/Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/Workaholics/Modern Family) - Adam talks about The Righteous Gemstones on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer discusses the NCIS finale on CBS and his memoir, An American Story: Everyone's Invited, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Denis Leary (Going Dutch/No Good Deed/Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/The Job) - Denis is telling Drew about his new comedy Going Dutch and working with his son on it on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Drew also has a surprise for Denis in celebration of 25 years of his organization, The Leary Firefighters Foundation.
  • Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Ken co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

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

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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