Fri-Yay: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Ending After 8 Seasons; HBO Max Orders Comedy from Issa Rae

Friday, February 12, 2021

Fri-Yay: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Ending After 8 Seasons; HBO Max Orders Comedy from Issa Rae

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

Well, it's official: Brooklyn Nine-Nine will be ending after its 8th season. In a way, this news isn't surprising, considering NBC seems to be moving in a new direction with its comedy series - Superstore was previously announced as ending, and the two shows had very similar vibes and ratings. Additionally, unlike when Fox abruptly cancelled the show after Season 5, the shows' creators seem to be amically ending the series along with the network, feeling that the show has run its course. Both creatively and commercially, it's an understandable decision. Brooklyn Nine-Nine was still a great show, but it was clear that it was starting to lose some ideas for its main characters, with each character beginning to reach a natural endpoint. And after a solid-rated Season 6, the ratings dropped in Season 7. Plus, after the turmoil of 2020, it's questionable whether or not people still want to laugh at a sitcom about police officers.

Still, Brooklyn Nine-Nine ending means one less network sitcom in a world that's already getting a bit short on them. With both Superstore and Brooklyn Nine-Nine gone soon, the future is a question mark for acclaimed and fan beloved network comedies. Will anything step up to take their place? There are some solid new sitcoms on broadcast TV still, but none really rise to the level that either of those two hit. Mr. Mayor shows promise, but isn't there yet - and will it even be a part of NBC's new regime? Still, I'm interested to see where Brooklyn Nine-Nine takes its characters in its final season. Will it address the policing controversies of 2020? How will things end up for the characters? Hopefully, all of those questions will be answered in the final run of 10 episodes, which has been delayed until the 2021-2022 season (the pandemic means Brooklyn Nine-nine will sit the 2020-2021 TV season out completely.)

Issa Rae

HBO Max has given an eight-episode order to the half-hour comedy series Rap Sh*t (working title) from Issa Rae (HBO's Insecure and A Black Lady Sketch Show), with Syreeta Singleton (Insecure, Central Park) serving as executive producer and showrunner, and hip hop duo Yung Miami and JT of City Girls serving as co-executive producers. Rap Sh*t (wt) follows two estranged high school friends from Miami who reunite to form a rap group. Rap Sh*t (wt) will be executive produced by Issa Rae and Montrel McKay (A Black Lady Sketch Show, Road Trippp) for HOORAE, as well as Jonathan Berry (Insecure) and Dave Becky (Master of None, Russian Dolls) for 3 Arts Entertainment, along with showrunner Syreeta Singleton, with Rae also writing the pilot. Hip hop duo Yung Miami and JT of City Girls serve as co-executive producers, along with Kevin "Coach K" Lee and Pierre "P" Thomas for Quality Control Films and Sara Rastogi for HOORAE. Rae's audio content company Raedio will handle music supervision for the series. Casting is currently underway. Production is scheduled to begin this summer.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, October 2

The Simpsons - "Pixelated and Afraid" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Homer and Marge are lost in an icy wilderness, they must push themselves to their limits to survive.

Bob's Burgers - "Frigate Me Knot" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Linda encourages Teddy to attend a farewell ceremony for the ship on which he served in the Navy, but it means confronting his Navy pals and his past.

The Simpsons - "One Angry Lisa" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Lisa gets called for jury duty; Marge becomes obsessed with her exercise bike.

The Great North - "Cillian Me Softly Adventure" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
During Lone Moose's Disaster Day event, Wolf and Honeybee have their very first fight.

Bob's Burgers - "The Reeky Lake Show" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The family's Labor Day lake trip takes a turn when the Belchers find themselves trapped in their cabin, hiding from what lurks outside.

Family Guy - "Bend or Blockbuster" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Resolved to enjoy a family movie night, the Griffins take a road trip to Bend, Ore., to rent a VHS from the last Blockbuster in existence.

The Villains of Valley View - "Havoc-Ween" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Amy brings her mischievous body-snatching Grandma to a party. Vic and Eva scam kids out of their candy untill they come across a villain even bigger than themselves.

Raven's Home - "The Girl Who Cried Tasha" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Alice uses a spell to bring her doll, Tasha, to life; when Tasha refuses to return to being a doll, Alice must enlist the help of Booker, Ivy and Neil.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 26)

Friday, September 30

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Quinta is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Kevin appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Alison Brie (GLOW/Community) - Alison will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
David Alan Grier (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Cool Kids/The Carmichael Show/Bad Teacher/Life with Bonnie/DAG) - David appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Topher Grace (Home Economics/That '70s Show) - Topher is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy stops by to chat and play a rousing game of Never Have I Ever with a twist on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jim Rash (Community/Help Me Help You/Thanks/Katie Joplin) - Jim appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jason Alexander (Seinfeld/Bob Patterson/Listen Up!/Hit the Road) - Jason shares stories from his hit sitcom on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso dishes about the new season of Dancing with the Stars on Disney+ on Sherri, so check your local listings. He will also be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick talks about Don't Worry Darling and Little Big Boys on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show/The Good Life) - Drew is a guest on Sherri, so check your local listings.