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
Wednesday, March 3
The Goldbergs - "Mr. Ships Ahoy" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
As William Penn’s new Quaker Warden, Beverly is thrilled to have co-workers for the first time and sets out to make them all love her. To her dismay, it’s more difficult to win them over than she anticipated, as her reputation of being a difficult school parent precedes her. Meanwhile, Geoff competes in the “Mr. Ships Ahoy” beauty pageant to prove to Erica that he can be seen as desirable by other women.
American Housewife - "The Guardian" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Katie and Greg secretly put Kathryn (Wendie Malick) through a series of tests to see if she would make a good guardian for Anna-Kat in the unlikely event something should happen to them. Meanwhile, after tracking down J.D.’s (Jake Choi) potential egg donors, Tami (Holly Robinson Peete) and Katie scheme to learn more about them.
The Conners - "A Stomach Ache, a Heartbreak and a Grave Mistake" (ABC,
9:00PM ET/PT)
Mark is stressed out and feeling sick, convinced he has COVID-19. Meanwhile, Becky and Harris team up to confront Josh who has been “ghosting” Harris; and when Jackie visits Roseanne’s grave, she finds an appalling headstone right next to it and sets out to make it right.
Call Your Mother - "Feelings" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jean and Danny’s relationship grows complicated emotionally and physically as they try to resist their feelings for one another until his divorce is final. As Celia is moving into Freddie’s apartment, Freddie is disappointed to learn that Celia plans to keep her place as a backup plan, causing some hard conversations between the two.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 1)
Wednesday, March 3
- Ben Schwartz (Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - Watch Ben on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. He will also be on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Annaleigh Ashford (B Positive) - Annaleigh appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 3:30am on Bravo.
- Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio talks about Coming 2 America on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Kristen Bell (The Good Place) and Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Kristen and Dax are guests on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Jermaine Fowler (Superior Donuts) - Jermaine will be on The Real, so check your local listings.
- Awkwafina (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) - Awkwafina appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Hillary Duff (Younger/Lizzie McGuire) - Hillary talks about My Brave Little Girl on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (October-February)
10/13 - The Jetsons - The Complete Series (Diamond Collection)
10/13 - Our Cartoon President - Season Two
10/23 - Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em - The Complete Collection
10/27 - The Flintstones - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/27 - Head of the Class - The Complete Second Season (WBShop.com)
11/10 - Letterkenny - Seasons 5 & 6
11/10 - The Office - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/10 - Schitt's Creek - The Complete Collection
11/17 - Carol's Second Act - The Complete Series
11/17 - Robbie - Season 1
11/24 - Corporate - Season 1
11/26 - Man with a Plan - Season Four
12/01 - The Neighborhood - Season Two
12/15 - Avenue 5 - The Complete First Season
01/22 - Corporate - Season 2
01/22 - Corporate - Season 3
02/02 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - The Complete Series (2021 Retail Release)
02/16 - Fam - The Complete Series
02/23 - Betty White's Pet Set - The Complete Series
03/02 - Blue Mountain State - The Complete Series
03/02 - Happy Together - The Complete Series
03/02 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-4 (DVD) (Blu-ray)
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