Friday, March 19, 2021
Fri-Yay: Evaluating the 2020-2021 Freshman Sitcom Class; Damon Wayans Jr. to Star in TBS Pilot Kill the Orange-Faced Bear

by Vincent
Believe it or not, in just a few short months we will be at the end of the 2020-2021 TV season. It's certainly been a non-traditional season, and while the TV season has long been a window of time that's evaportated someone in the advent of cable and streaming services, it feels even less relevant in the time of COVID, where most shows were delayed and some shows, indeed, still haven't returned. Still, it seems like a good time to evaluate the freshman class of sitcoms. And, frankly, it's a fairly uninspiring class. Some of it could be blamed on COVID causing less pilots to be finished in time to be picked up to series. Still, the new sitcoms on broadcast TV this fall don't inspire a lot of long-term confidence.
The buzziest new shows belong to NBC, as Young Rock and Kenan both come from established names. Unsurprisingly, Young Rock in particular has drummed up the most interest of any new sitcom - and yet still, the show's ratings and buzz have fallen quite a bit from where they premiered several weeks ago. Other freshman series include Call Your Mother on ABC and Call Me Kat on FOX. Call Me Kat attracted some eyeballs early on, but like Young Rock, those ratings have largely faded. And Call Your Mother has not done particularly well, either, and has attracted very little critical acclaim or buzz.
Overall, it's yet another disappointing year for broadcast TV sitcoms. With broadcast television increasingly relying more and more on unscripted hits to weather the tide of falling TV ratings, we are desperately in need for a well-made sitcom to steer the changing tides.
TBS announced that it has cast Damon Wayans Jr. (Happy Endings, Let's Be Cops), Jessy Hodges (Indebted, Barry), Alex Karpovsky (Homecoming, Girls), and Nate Torrence (Hello Ladies, Weird Loners) in its upcoming scripted comedy pilot, Kill the Orange-Faced Bear. The pilot is scheduled to begin shooting in Portland in May. Kill the Orange-Faced Bear is a comedy pilot about one man's epic revenge journey after a bear eats his girlfriend. Damon Wayans Jr. will play Hank, the charming, funny and grieving man who's hell-bent on tracking down the bear who attacked his girlfriend on a camping trip. We'll follow his side of the story as well as the bear's, who is just trying to move on from the incident and navigate the other idiot bears in her life. Jessy Hodges will play Stacy, Hank's late girlfriend, as well Jamie, her twin sister with a confusing secret. Alex Karpovsky is Ronnie, an oddball park ranger who has a score to settle with Hank. Nate Torrance is Murray, Hank's best friend and boyfriend to Jamie, who is just trying to keep everyone together.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, October 9
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Big Decisions" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tensions rise when Georgie finds out the truth about Mandy’s boss, and Georgie does all he can to buy the tire store before Jim sells it.
Ghosts - "The Devil Went Down to Woodstone" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam and Jay host a big party for the launch of Sam and Isaac’s vampire book.
English Teacher - "Lake Trip" (FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Evan and Malcolm take a vacation while the other teachers administer standardized tests back at school.
English Teacher - "Accreditation" (FX, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The teachers get evaluated by outside observers in an effort to earn the school a better rating.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 6)
Thursday, October 9
- Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The Mick) - Catch Kailtin on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Ryan is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere) and Heather Dubrow (Stark Raving Mad/Jenny/Life with Roger) - Andy Cohen interviews Bridget and Heather on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
- Greta Lee (HouseBroken/Russian Doll) - Greta talks about Tron: Ares on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am, on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm, and on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Kenzi Richardson (Vampirina: Teenage Vampire) - Kenzi talks about Vampirina: Teenage Vampire on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Chloe Fineman (Big Mouth/Search Party) - Chloe chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jennifer Lopez (South Central) - Co-host Gayle King sits down with Jennifer on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Maya Rudolph (Loot/Bless the Harts/Forever/Up All Night) - Maya talks about Loot on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- John Corbett (And Just Like That.../Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/United States of Tara/Lucky/Sex and the City) - John and DeVon Franklin tell Sherri about their new film Soul In Fire on Sherri, so check your local listings.
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)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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