Friday, February 19, 2021
Fri-Yay: Young Rock Delivers Promise for Sitcom Ratings; The Moodys Returns April 1 on Fox Replacing Call Me Kat

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.
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
Friday, February 7
Happy's Place - "Mama Drama" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Isabella's mom, Maritza, arrives, Bobbie tells the crew she's forgiven her for what happened with Happy, only to realize Maritza holds a grudge against her; Emmett and Takoda try to find out why Steve can't return to his home in Colombia.
Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Lockout" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
A once-estranged father and daughter navigate dysfunction, reconnection and all the headaches and joy in between as they make up for lost time like only they can -- with the rest of their unique, offbeat family by their side.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Abraca-Disaster!" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Billie uses her magic to help Winter impress the school's Magic Club. But soon, Billie learns she shouldn't overstep to help a friend.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Hit Me With Your Best Bot" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Billie can't join Roman and Winter's team for a robotics competition, she enlists Milo and uses magic to design an over-the-top robot of their own with disastrous results.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 3)
Friday, February 7
- Laverne Cox (Clean Slate) and George Wallace (Clean Slate/The Parkers/Arli$$/Tall Hopes) - Laverne and George chat with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana is chatting with Drew about her new movie Love Hurts on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. She will also be on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - Jennie discusses her I Choose Me, Los Angeles live event on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Olivia Holt (I Didn't Do It/Shake It Up) - Olivia and Mason Gooding talk about their film Heart Eyes on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
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