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, May 8
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Ladies Love Brunch" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie tries to juggle his mom, his mother-in-law and Mandy on Mother’s Day. Meanwhile, Audrey wants to meet Connor’s girlfriend.
Ghosts - "The Devil Went Down to Woodstone" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sam and Jay host a big party for the launch of Sam and Isaac’s vampire book. Mary Holland (Patience), Punam Patel (Bela) and Matt Walsh (Elias Woodstone) return as guest stars.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)
Thursday, May 8
- Paula Poundstone (Home Movies) - Paula performs stand-up comedy on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) - Natasha appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle talks about Netflix's Survival of the Thickest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) and Doug Benson (You're the Worst) - Maria and Doug are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- John Benjamin Hickey (HouseBroken/The Big C/It's All Relative) - John stops by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11:15pm on Bravo.
- Patricia Clarkson (Davis Rules) - Patricia is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11:15pm on Bravo.
- Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - E! News has an interview with Kerry at 11pm on E!. Kerry and Omar Sy discuss their highly anticipated new film Shadow Force on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel chats about Juliet & Romeo on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - In A Little Bit Extra Valerie and Ross Mathews are sharing more of their conversation with Al Roker in Charleston at the Food & Wine Classic on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) and Randall Park (Young Rock/Blockbuster/Fresh Off the Boat/Veep/Supah Ninjas) - Morris and Randall talk about Watson on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts