Fri-Yay: Marvel's WandaVision Is a Delightful Tribute to Sitcoms; Cristin Milioti HBO Max Comedy Series Trailer

Friday, March 05, 2021

Fri-Yay: Marvel's WandaVision Is a Delightful Tribute to Sitcoms; Cristin Milioti HBO Max Comedy Series Trailer

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

If you haven't heard about the buzzy Marvel series on Disney+ WandaVision, I'm, frankly, surprised - it seems to be all many people have been talking about the past few weeks. The show's mystery format and tie-ins to the wildly popular Marvel film series have made it one of the most buzzed about TV shows of recent memory. And while many love WandaVision for its deep exploratioion of Wanda (from the Avengers movie series) or the fun Easter Eggs and hints about past and upcoming Marvel films, sitcom fans may have a different reason to love it: the show is basically a long tribute to sitcoms and TV comedies, using their format to tell an intriguing and action-packed story about superheroes, grief, and love.

I don't want to give too much away because WandaVision, like other mystery-box series such as LOST, is experienced best unspoiled. The show's weekly format (unlike Netflix, Disney+ drops its episodes on a traditional weekly schedule) has led to a lot of fun speculation that wouldn't be possible if spoilers were as rampant as they are with all-at-once drops. But essentially, WandaVision sees titular characters Wanda and Vision in a different type of sitcom every week, usually specific to whatever decade the "show within the show" is taking place in that week. In the show's first 8 episodes (the finale drops Friday night), there have been odes to sitcoms as diverse as The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Donna Reed Show, Bewitched, The Munsters, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Brady Bunch, Family Ties, Growing Pains, Full House, Malcom in the Middle, The Office, Modern Family and Happy Endings. The show is a TV (and sitcom specifically) lover's dream, but it also packs in plenty of the action and wit we have come to expect from the Marvel series. If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend checking it out - even if you're not usually a superhero fan, there's just as many TV Easter Eggs as Marvel Easter Eggs. It's a treat, and I'm both excited and bummed it'll be wrapping up this week.

Made for Love

Max Original comedy Made for Love debuts this April on HBO Max. The comedy series is a darkly absurd and cynically poignant story of love and divorce. It follows Hazel Green (Cristin Milioti, How I Met Your Mother), a thirty-something woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen), a controlling tech billionaire. Soon she discovers that her husband has implanted a monitoring device - the Made for Love chip - in her brain, allowing him to track her, watch her, and know her "emotional data" as she tries to regain her independence. Through the chip, Byron's able to watch Hazel's every move as she flees to her desert hometown to take refuge with her aging widower father Herbert (Ray Romano) and his synthetic partner, Diane. i>Made for Love stars Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen, Dan Bakkedahl, Noma Dumezweni, Augusto Aguilera and Ray Romano. Recurring guest stars include Caleb Foote, Kym Whitley, Nyasha Hatendi and Patti Harrison, and additional guest stars include Ione Skye, Jon Daly, Matty Cardarople, Mel Rodriguez and Sarunas Jackson. 10 half-hour episodes have been ordered. Trailer has been relased, but no premiere date just yet

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 30

Abbott Elementary - "Costume Contest" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Saved by the Spell" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
On her first day of school, Billie uses magic to impress Roman's best friend; when a jealous Roman steals Billie's wand, he falls into the grasp of a wizard-hunting phantomus.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Something Wizard This Way Comes" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On Halloween, Billie tells Roman about Pumpkin Belly, a ghoul who eats anyone whose house isn't spookily decorated; Justin, Milo and Giada defend the home from pranksters.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 28)

Wednesday, October 30

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Watch Sheryl on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kieran Culkin (Solar Opposites/Go Fish) - Kieran is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty talks about improvising scenes on the hit show The Bear and how he started his career in restaurants on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is chatting with Drew about directing her first film Woman of the Hour, the crazy serial killer case the movie is based on, finding boundaries in her life, turning 40 and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan discusses her sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talks about NBC's Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.