Fri-Yay: Young Rock Delivers Promise for Sitcom Ratings; The Moodys Returns April 1 on Fox Replacing Call Me Kat

Friday, February 19, 2021

Fri-Yay: Young Rock Delivers Promise for Sitcom Ratings; The Moodys Returns April 1 on Fox Replacing Call Me Kat

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

This past week on Tuesday, NBC debuted a pair of sitcoms, Young Rock and Kenan. They premiered with a lot riding on them, as NBC's future comedy identity may be wrapped up in their success or their failure. And so far, there seems to be more promise of success than failure, particularly for Young Rock, which debuted to better ratings than nearly any sitcom has consistently pulled this year and NBC's highest rated sitcom premiere in over 3 1/2 years, delivering a 1.0 A18-49 rating in Live+Same Day.

Young Rock is especially promising as it debuted to generally strong reviews and is from a respected sitcom producer Nahnatcha Khan, who was behind the successful Fresh Off the Boat and the excellent Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, both airing on ABC. With a big star like The Rock at the helm, there's hope this could be the next big sitcom, and a resurrection of network comedy in what's been a very tough year for the medium, with declining Live+Same Day ratings for nearly all comedies including the big guns of The Goldbergs, The Conners and Young Sheldon.

The Moodys

Fox comedy The Moodys returns for a second season and will premiere with two back-to-back episodes Thursday, April 1 from 9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT and 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT on Fox. The series will then make its time period premiere Thursday, April 8 at 9:30 PM ET/PT. Starring and executive-produced by Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominees Denis Leary (Rescue Me) and Elizabeth Perkins (Sharp Objects). Season 1 aired during three nights during the 2019 holiday season with 6 episodes airing. The Moodys replaces Call Me Kat, which wraps up its 13 episode run on March 25. Last Man Standing will slide over to 9pm on April 8, while The Moodys airs at 9:30pm. Last Man Standing will likely have a one-hour series finale on May 20. The Moodys should wrap up by May 13, as the series follows a tight-knit, but slightly dysfunctional, family through their misadventures. The Moody family includes SEAN SR. (Leary); his wife, ANN (Perkins); and their three grown children - DAN (Francois Arnaud, "The Borgias"), the youngest of the siblings and the "creative one"; BRIDGET (Chelsea Frei, "Sideswiped"), the middle sister and the "overachiever"; and SEAN JR. (Jay Baruchel, the "How to Train Your Dragon" franchise), the oldest sibling and the "failure-to-launch."

The series picks up with Sean Sr. contemplating retirement - road trips across the country in an RV with Ann, while Sean Jr. takes over the family HVAC business. In reality, however, Ann has no intention of leaving her new psychology practice, and Sean Jr. continues to brew up schemes to get rich quick. Bridget, who is in the midst of a divorce, returns home while her fancy new townhouse is being renovated; and Dan leaves Brooklyn for Chicago to live with his girlfriend, Cora (guest star Maria Gabriela de Faria, Deadly Class), only to realize the relationship is moving too quickly. Once again, the Moodys are all under the same roof. Yep, one big, happy family. Season Two guest stars include Gerry Dee (Mr. D), Josh Segarra (Arrow) and more.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, April 24

The Conners - "Manifesting, Marriage Testing and Cheeseballs" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners relish national cheeseball day as a family. Meanwhile, Harris falls behind in her work duties at the Lunch Box, and Darlene and Ben must figure out how to spend time together despite their two separate schedules.

Not Dead Yet - "Not the End Yet" / "Not a Ghost Yet" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Nell finds out that Duncan is selling the SoCal Independent, so she takes matters into her own hands to save her job when Lexi seems unwilling to help. Then, Nell navigates an unexpected incident that leaves the sale of the newspaper on hold.

Animal Control - "Skunks and Swans" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Shred take on an aggressive swan; Shred has a meet-cute with a mysterious woman; Emily makes a mistake that results in Victoria having very little time to prepare for her big exam; Patel gets his father to help Victoria cram for the test.

Family Guy - "A Stache From the Past" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Peter loses the Griffins' home in a reverse mortgage, he and Mayor West travel to confront the man advertising the scheme, Tom Selleck; Stewie and Brian open a booth at the flea market, leading to a rivalry with Bruce.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 22)

Wednesday, April 24

Carol Burnett (Palm Royale/Mad About You/Mama's Family) - Watch Carol on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Nicole Richie (Great News) - Nicole is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits in with The 8G Band on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) and Michaela Watkins (Dinner with the Parents/Search Party/The Unicorn/Casual/Trophy Wife) - Lisa and Michaela are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
John Early (Search Party) - John appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - E! News has an interview with Tiffany at 11pm on E!.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny guest co-hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew will be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Jerry talks about Unfrosted on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan talks about NBC's Lopez vs Lopez on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie, a fan-favorite on The Good Wife, tells Sherri about her new show Elsbeth on Sheri, so check your local listings.
Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry has a cooking demo on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.