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, April 2

The Conners - "Fame, Flying Fists and Cold Feet" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners get a taste of fame when their family restaurant is featured in a reality TV show, which inspires Becky to become an influencer. Meanwhile, Jackie and Dan meet with a lawyer, and Darlene connects with someone at The Lobo Lounge.

Abbott Elementary - "Ava Fest: Tokyo Drift" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Abbott teachers turn their open house into a carwash to help raise money for the school.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Wednesday, April 2

Adam DeVine (The Righteous Gemstones/Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/Workaholics/Modern Family) - Watch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - Michael appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Sinners on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey/Catastrophe) - Rob appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Sasheer and Greta are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
Jennifer Lopez (South Central) and Jamie Foxx (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has interviews with Jennifer and Jamie at 11pm on E!.
Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Chris talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - NBC's Today catches up with Judy in the 9am hour.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - NBC's Today catches up with Glen and Kristin in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) - Tasha, who stars in Netflix's Surival of the Thickest, joins Tamron Hall to discuss how she found her freedom by sharing her story on her own terms and learning to embrace self-love, so check your local listings.
Gabourey Sidibe (Difficult People/The Big C) - Gabourey talks about starring in the new Lifetime movie Give Me Back My Daughter on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) - Seth is joining Drew to tell her all about his new show The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.