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

Thursday, April 9

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Stuffed Monkey and an Ex-Girlfriend" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When CeeCee loses her favorite toy, Mandy and Meemaw (Annie Potts) take it as an opportunity to make some money. Meanwhile, Connor contemplates revisiting an old relationship.

Ghosts - "Michael Jackson Goes to HR" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor lands himself in trouble when an inappropriate gift to a co‑worker forces him into an HR meeting only Jay can handle. Meanwhile, Pete unintentionally sparks drama with Alberta after casually mentioning a surprise visit to his ex.

Animal Control - "Scaredy Cats and Card Sharks" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT)
When Frank and Daisy lose $5,000 in union funds, they try to win the money back by gambling; Shred and Patel cover the late-night shift at the precinct.

Going Dutch - "The Heart Locker" (Fox, 9:32PM ET/PT)
After throwing out his back, the Colonel is ordered to bed rest; the base is sent to sweep for landmines at a local farm, where Major Shah suddenly finds himself in serious danger when he steps on one.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Catch Kerry on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy talks about Scrubs and High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Dany Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) - Dan talks about Big Mistakes on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity dishes on Doc on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/Help Me Help You) - Bryan, Frankie and Jane talk about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8) - NBC's Today has "Head or Tails" with John in the 9am hour.
Billy Magnussen (The Franchise/Made for Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Billy in the 9am hour.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Terry and Rebecca King-Crews revealing for the first time Rebecca's health battle, so check your local listings.
Kenya Barris (blackAF) - Kenya talks about Prime's Jerry West: The Logo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette tells Drew about her current run in Broadway show The Rocky Horror Show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.