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

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

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

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.

Damon Wayans Jr.

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

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.