Friday, January 22, 2021

Fri-Yay: The Network Sitcom Is In Crisis - Can It Be Saved?; TBS Announces Dates for New Series Chad and Return of American Dad!

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 Conners

by Vincent

For many years, the network sitcom has been a staple of TV. Even now, in our streaming age, streaming services are filled with network sitcoms from present and past, and often, in the case of shows like The Office, Seinfeld, and Friends, they're among the most popular shows of their respective streaming services. And yet, on network TV, there is a serious lack of hit network sitcoms. Even reliable hits from past years, like The Conners, The Goldbergs and Big Bang Theory spin-off Young Sheldon, have dropped to series lows this year. While ratings in general continue to slide downwards, ratings for network sitcoms are falling faster than network averages. There are some genuine drama hits on network TV, from established series like This Is Us, Grey's Anatomy and NBC's Chicago trilogy to newer favorites like 9-1-1 and Station 19. And that's not even including reality and game shows, where Fox's The Masked Singer is reigning as the most popular show on TV. But as of right now, there is no big, landmark sitcom on network television. There's no Big Bang Theory or Modern Family or The Office that stands as a hallmark of the network that props all other shows up. There's some modestly-rated, decent-sized hits (like the aforementioned shows), but no major smashes. And even if you take critical acclaim into account, nothing is drawing raves the way shows like The Good Place did just a few years ago.

So will this continue? I have to imagine there will be a landmark show to break through sooner or later. Sitcoms have gone through rough patches before - most recently in the time between Friends ended and The Big Bang Theory and The Office took off to new heights, there was no real smash hit sitcoms, just some modest hits. Still, the TV landscape has changed so much that the next sitcom hit might not look like the hits of the past. Perhaps it will be a streaming series - there have been some successful sitcoms on streaming services, like Grace and Frankie and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but nothing blockbuster to the levels of the biggest streaming shows. The closest has been possibly Schitt's Creek, which is actually a cable sitcom (Pop TV) but took off on Netflix. So what will be the next big sitcom hit? The networks certainly hope it'll be one of their own. But has TV changed too much for a broad, hit comedy to make it? Only time will tell.


Chad

TNT, TBS and truTV unveil March and April premiere dates for three new and two returning shows. The programming slate includes TBS' new single-camera comedy Chad (April 6) and returning top-rated animated comedy American Dad! (April 19). Two new series join truTV's line-up, including limited series Double Cross with Blake Griffin (March 19-20) and magic prank show Big Trick Energy (April 15). Rounding out April, as previously announced, the 27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R) will be simulcast on April 4 on both TNT and TBS. Chad, a single-camera comedy, follows a 14-year-old pubescent Persian boy (Nasim Pedrad) as he navigates his first year of high school on a mission to become popular. Chad's friendships and sanity are pushed to the limits as he uses every tactic at his disposal to befriend the cool kids, while enduring his mother's new dating life and reconciling with his cultural identity. Pedrad, who first made her mark on Saturday Night Live, is also creator, writer, executive producer and showrunner on Chad. The series will air Tuesdays at 10:30pm.

American Dad!

American Dad! centers on super patriotic CIA agent Stan Smith (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) and the misadventures of his unconventional family in Langley Falls, VA. Stan applies the same drastic measures used in his job at the CIA to his home life, where Stan's blissfully unaware wife, Francine (Wendy Schaal), has an unfaltering loyalty that makes her blind to his unabashed arrogance. His left-wing activist daughter Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane), however, doesn't let him off so easily - and knows just how to push her father's buttons. Hayley's brother is the geeky-yet-confident Steve (Scott Grimes), a kid who spends his time playing video games and obsessing about the opposite sex. The Smith cabinet is rounded out by two rather unconventional members: Roger (MacFarlane), a sassy, sarcastic and routinely inappropriate space alien, and Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker), an attention-starved goldfish with the brain of a German Olympic skier. The series will air Mondays at 10pm.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, April 11

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Friday, April 11

  • Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Watch Britt on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Paul W. Downs (Hacks/Broad City) - Paul talks about Hacks on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Liz Gillies (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/Victorious) - NBC's Today has the Citi Concert Series: Liz Gillies and Milo Manheim from Little Shop of Horrors in the 9am hour.
  • Tamela Mann and David Mann (Tyler Perry's Assisted Living/Mann & Wife/Meet the Browns) - Tamron Hall has A DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with award-winning power couple Tamela and David Mann, who are talking about their hit comedy Tyler Perry's Assisted Living and kicking off their Live Breathe Fight Tour, so check your local listings.
  • D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Reservation Dogs) - D'Pharaoh talks about Warfare on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.


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


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

04/11 - Bounce TV Renews Mind Your Business; AMC Networks 2025 Upfront Highlights
04/10 - David Spade's Prime Video Comedy Special; Brett Goldstein's HBO Comedy Special Filmed in New Jersey
04/09 - Paramount+ Orders Season 3 of Colin from Accounts; FX's Adults Premieres May 28
04/08 - Prime Video's New Comedy Overcompensating; Nine Perfect Strangers Returns on Hulu in May
04/07 - NBC Celebrates Joan Rivers with Special; Remembering Jay North of Dennis the Menace
04/06 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of April 7, 2025)
04/05 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Renews Three Animated Series and Brings Back a Fourth for Four More Seasons; ABC Renews Shifting Gears
04/04 - ABC 2025-26 Season Renewals for Scripted Series; New Season of Phineas and Ferb Returns June 5
04/03 - Fox Renews Animated Hits for 4 Additional Seasons and American Dad! Returns; South Park Season 27 Premieres July 9
04/02 - Rick and Morty Season 8 Premieres May 25; Netflix's Tires Returns June 5
04/01 - Disney Renews Wizards Beyond Waverly Place for Season 2; Prime Video Details Final Season of The Summer I Turned Pretty
03/31 - Prime Video's Dance-World Comedy Étoile; Netflix's Tom Segura Dark Comedy Bad Thoughts
03/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 31, 2025)
03/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Gives Pilot Order to A Different World Sequel; Malcolm in the Middle Reboot Recasts Role of Dewey
03/28 - Pat Sajak's Final Spin on Wheel and Return of Jeopardy! Masters; Remembering George Foreman and Wings Hauser
03/27 - IFC Renews SisterS for Season 2; Netflix Orders Live-Action Scooby-Doo Series
03/26 - Hulu Spring 2025 Slate; The Making of The Americas Special Narrated by Tom Hanks on NBC
03/25 - Deli Boys Now Streaming All Episodes on Hulu; Heartland Season 18 on UP Faith & Family
03/24 - Peacock April Highlights Include Three's Company; Antenna TV's 50 Years on the Beat Barney Miller Anniversary Marathon
03/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 24, 2025)
03/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* Coming to DVD; American Dad! Moving Back to Fox
03/21 - Big Mouth Final Season; The Four Seasons Premieres in May on Netflix
03/20 - HBO's Brett Goldstein Comedy Special; Disney+ Adds The Simpsons 24/7 Stream
03/19 - Solar Opposites Final Season This Fall; NBC to Move Grosse Pointe Garden Society to Fridays
03/18 - Game Show Network New Shows Launch April 14; NBC Picks Up 3rd Comedy Pilot, While Bobby Moynihan Joins Tracy Morgan Pilot
03/17 - It's True! Ted Lasso Renewed for Season 4; Jane Goodall Returns for Jane Season 3
03/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 17, 2025)
03/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Neighborhood Renewed for Eighth and Final Season; NBC Picks Up New Cheerleading Comedy
03/14 - NBC Comedy Pilots Wheeling & Dealing; Hulu's Got to Get Out
03/13 - Prime Video Comedy Series Overcompensating Premiere Date; Eric Stonestreet Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/12 - Hacks Season 4 Premieres April 10; Nickelodeon Orders Wylde Pak
03/11 - The Neighborhood Renewed for Final Season; Max's The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast