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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, May 20
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 19)
Tuesday, May 20
- Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) - Catch Sarah on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Paul W. Downs (Hacks/Broad City) - Paul appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Isabela Merced (100 Things to Do Before High School/Growing Up Fisher) - Isabela is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Meghann Fahy (Sirens) - Meghann stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Elizabeth Banks (30 Rock/Scrubs) - Elizabeth and Jessica Biel talk about The Better Sister on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. Elizabeth will also be on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your local listings) and on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Murray Bartlett (Physical/Looking) - Murray, Nicole Kidman and Henry Golding discuss Nine Perfect Strangers on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Benito Skinner (Overcompensating) - Benito talks about Overcompensating on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- John Krasinski (The Office) - John talks about Fountain of Youth on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Ilana Glazer (Broad City) and Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - It's the Breast Show Ever with Drew dedicating the entire show to tackling all breast related topics including the right bra fitting, the best breast products and more on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, 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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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