Happy New Year!; Murphy Brown Star Heads to The Conners

Friday, January 01, 2021

Happy New Year!; Murphy Brown Star Heads to The Conners

Happy New Year to everyone out there! Good riddance to 2020 and hello 2021! Hopefully this year is a little better and things start to get back to normal in the world. Anyway, we have some sitcom news to start the year off! Don't forget to view some New Year's Day marathons such as IFC's Three's Company marathon on today from 2pm-12am!

Candice Bergen - The Conners

5-time Emmy Award-winning television legend Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown) will be guest starring on ABC's The Conners in the of role Barb, the mother of Jay R. Ferguson's Ben. Barb is Ben's mother, and their relationship can best be described as cool. Despite being from Lanford, Barb has a superior air and a sharp tongue, but she's much more agreeable when she's had a few drinks. She's judgmental about Ben's relationship with Darlene, and describes the Conner house as, "Like one of those places they break into on that program Cops." Bergen will first appear on The Conners on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 when the series returns with new episodes for its mid-season premiere as TV's #1 Comedy in Adults 18-49. During its fall run, the series also ranked #1 in Total Viewers its new Wednesday 9pm half-hour timeslot. The Conners airs Wednesdays at 9|8c on ABC.

Candice Bergen shined as the feisty eponymous broadcast news legend of the critically acclaimed CBS comedy series Murphy Brown, for which she received five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards over the 10 year run. She served as an executive producer when she returned to that iconic role in the CBS revival in the fall of 2018. She starred that same year in the box office hit The Book Club alongside Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, and Mary Steenburgen. She is currently starring alongside Meryl Streep and Dianne Wiest in the HBO Max film Let Them All Talk directed by Steven Soderbergh.

The Conners continue to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford. This iconic family – Dan, Jackie, Darlene, Becky and D.J. – grapples with parenthood, dating, financial pressures and aging in working-class America. Through it all – the fights, the coupon cutting, the hand-me-downs, the breakdowns – with love, humor and perseverance, the family prevails. The series stars John Goodman as Dan, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie, Sara Gilbert as Darlene, Lecy Goranson as Becky, Michael Fishman as D.J., Emma Kenney as Harris, Ames McNamara as Mark, Jayden Rey as Mary and Jay R. Ferguson as Ben. The Conners is executive produced by Tom Werner, along with Sara Gilbert, Bruce Helford, Dave Caplan, Bruce Rasmussen and Tony Hernandez. The series is from Werner Entertainment.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, December 13

Happy's Place - "Dear Jack" (NBC, 9:15PM ET/PT)
When Bobbie catches Isabella doing a slow-fade breakup with her long-distance boyfriend, she convinces her to send a Dear John letter; Steve brings in a review praising Chef Emmett's cooking and acknowledging the tavern's bartender, "Abby."

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Dateline" (NBC, 9:45PM ET/PT)
When George's controversial new appliance turns up dead, he mounts a true-crime investigation; Chance tests the bounds of honesty with his family.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Splitting the Hairs" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob, Douglas and Christina try to get Dottie to make a will; Abishola and Kemi's friendship is tested after Abishola catches Kemi in a lie.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "There's My Nigerians" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
While Bob and Abishola struggle to pull Dottie out of her depression, Auntie Olu and Uncle Tunde come over to lift her spirits.

Children Ruin Everything - "Bedtime" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When James finds an old game console, he and Astrid attempt to find free time to play; but a bedtime routine threatens to eat up all the time between when the kids are supposed to be in bed and when Astrid and James have to go to bed themselves.

Children Ruin Everything - "Drama" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Astrid and James struggle to hold onto their identities while raising their two young children in the city.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 9)

Friday, December 13

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Watch Kerry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jimmy O. Yang (Interior Chinatown/Space Force/Silicon Valley) - Jimmy appears on repeats of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC and on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kristin Chenoweth (Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Milana Vayntrub (Other Space), Jessica Lowe (Wrecked) and Jason Ritter (Another Period/The Class) - Milana, Jessica and Jason are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Richard Kind (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Spin City/Mad About You) and Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - NBC's Today catches up with Richard and Fred in the 9am hour.
Zosia Mamet (Laid/Girls) - Zosia talks about Laid on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Christian Slater (Breaking In) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) - Christian and Sarah are sitting down with Drew to talk all about working together on Dexter: Original Sin on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Lisa Kudrow (No Good Deed/HouseBroken/Web Therapy/The Comeback/Friends/Mad About You) - Lisa talks about chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Tom Selleck (The Closer) and Donnie Wahlberg (Return of the Mac) - Tom and Donnie discuss the series finale of Blue Bloods on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Nancy McKeon (The Facts of Life/Can't Hurry Love) - Nancy will be on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.