Friday, February 05, 2021
Fri-Yay: Has the Sitcom Revival Bubble Finally Burst?; NBC Announces Rest of Spring 2021 Schedule

by Vincent
A few years ago, it seemed like the only way for a sitcom to get greenlit was to be a revival of a previous hit sitcom. In just a few years timespan, we had revivals for Boy Meets World, Full House, Murphy Brown, Will & Grace, One Day at a Time, Roseanne and some others, as well. Now, a few years later, there is just one revival still left on network TV: the Roseanne spin-off The Conners, and its once-robust ratings have taken a huge hit this season. Recently, even the critically acclaimed One Day at a Time reboot, which was widely considered to be the best reboot done yet, was canceled after a two-network run on Netflix and Pop TV. So has the clock finally run out on reboots?
Truthfully, it does seem like reboots tend to follow a trend of high initial interest followed by a gradual decline in popularity. We could clearly see this with the two most-hyped reboots, the Roseanne and Will & Grace reboots. Both shows started with monster ratings, and Roseanne was able to transfer most of its audience to The Conners, as well. But those ratings have taken a huge hit this season, similar to the hit that Will & Grace took in its last few seasons. And while we don't have viewership data for Fuller House, the hype - and the way Netflix seemed to depriortize it after its first few seasons - suggests that it may have followed a similar path. Whether you liked or hated the reboots, it certainly seems as if their time, for now, has come and gone (though some pilot or script orders were ordered for The Wonder Years, Night Court, Kate & Allie and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman). Now there are more drama revivals/reboots on the air, all on CBS/The CW (MacGyver, Magnum P.I., S.W.A.T., Charmed, Dynasty, Nancy Drew, Roswell, Walker and the upcoming The Equalizer & Kung Fu).
NBC is reuniting two of the most popular members of the NYPD in TV history with a must-watch April 1 crossover that will serve as the launch of the highly anticipated new Dick Wolf drama, Law & Order: Organized Crime. A two-hour television event set for Thursday, April 1, this crossover between Law & Order: SVU (9 p.m.) and Law & Order: Organized Crime (10 p.m.) will finally bring back together Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler, played by Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni. The spin-off series will run through May 20, just like SVU. Both series will also encore on Saturdays from 8-10 p.m. beginning April 3 through May 8, before NHL Playoffs take over on May 15. In other scheduling news on the scripted side, Good Girls will make its season four premiere on Sunday, March 7 at 10 p.m. thru June 13 as Beth, Ruby and Annie get together once again as the stakes for everyone gets higher and higher. Manifest is back for season three on Thursday, April 1 at 8 p.m. thru June 24 asking what happened to the passengers on Flight 828. Newly crowned Golden Globe Award nominee Jane Levy and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist returns from their hiatus with a new date and time – Sundays at 9 p.m. beginning March 28 thru May 16. And on the unscripted side, Ellen's Game of Games will shift from Mondays to Sundays beginning March 7 at 9 p.m. before moving to 8 p.m. on March 28 (following a repeat at 7pm) thru May 16.
Comedy wise, with the addition of drama Manifest on Thursdays, this means still no word on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but that series was having issues with production due to COVID-19. Superstore is expected to end its series run at the end of March (tentatively March 25), while Mr. Mayor will wrap its 9 episode run on Feb. 25.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Saturday, July 12
Mind Your Business - "Love Child" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Alfonso and Aaliyah's world is flipped upside down when their mother's secret love child comes into town, while Mia tries to figure out who is sending her gifts every hour on the hour.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)
Friday, July 11
- Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Fairview/Corporate) and Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Aparna and Whitney are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Malachi Barton (Stuck in the Middle) and Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Malachi and Meg discuss Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires and perform on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. They will also be on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton talks about Black Coffee and Ice Water on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - CBS News contributor Lisa Ling talks with Margaret and Joel on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE sitdown with actress/director/author Krysten Ritter who recently released her new thriller/mystery novel Retreat, so check your local listings.
- Maggie Q (Pivoting) - Maggie Q talks about Prime's Ballard on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Tisha Campbell (Act Your Age/Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) and Wendy Raquel Robinson (Poppa's House/The Game/Here We Go Again/The Steve Harvey Show/Minor Adjustments) - Tisha and Wendy chat about their film Operation: Aunties on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings. They will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
- David Zayas (The Bear/Saint George) - David appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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