Friday, March 05, 2021
Fri-Yay: Marvel's WandaVision Is a Delightful Tribute to Sitcoms; Cristin Milioti HBO Max Comedy Series Trailer

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.
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
Saturday, June 10
Act Your Age - "Bahama Drama" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Angela and Keisha's differences come to a head as a storm threatens their tranquil Bahamian vacation; back at the penthouse, Olivia's alone time with Jacob is interrupted by an invited guest.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 5)
Friday, June 9
- Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) - Watch Marc on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Martin Short (Mulaney/The Martin Short Show) - Martin is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi is a musical guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Sandra Bullock (Working Girl) - Sandra appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Zach Braff (Scrubs/Alex, Inc.) - Zach is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris guest co-hosts a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Jay Ellis (Insecure/The Game) - Jay discusses the motivation behind their new true-crime podcast Freeway Phantom on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig is telling Drew about working with Reese Witherspoon on their new film and the latest season of The Morning Show on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso will be on a repeat of The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
- Daniel Wu (American Born Chinese) - Daniel talks about his role on the Disney+ series American Born Chinese on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) and Jason Alexander (Listen Up!/Bob Patterson/Seinfeld/Everything's Relative/ E/R) - Eric and Jason talk about The Cottage on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Reba McEntire (Reba/Malibu Country) - Reba will be on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Geena Davis (The Geena Davis Show/Sara/Buffalo Bill) - NBC's Today catches up with Geena in the 9am hour.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
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