Friday, April 09, 2021

Fri-Yay: Fox Cancels Bless the Harts, Leaving Questions About Animated Block; Variety and Lifetime Presents Power of Women Comedians

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!

Bless the Harts

by Vincent

It's not May just yet, but we're already getting some renewals and cancelations as networks begin looking towards the 2021-2022 TV season. And the most recent cancelation was Bless the Harts, the sophomore Fox comedy series that has been occupying the much-maligned 7:30 slot this spring. Bless the Harts was a so-so ratings performer last year but won a second season renewal as it managed to maintain a decent enough audience, and Fox is likely looking for possible future animated anchors in the case that long-running The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob's Burgers decide to end their run. Fox's Animated block is still a valuable piece of network TV real estate, drawing decent young male viewership and being very popular in cable syndication.

Still, it seems Bless the Harts will not be part of that block any longer. While the series never quite became what I'd call "great," it was enjoyable enough with some flashes of promise. Fox seems to be much more confident in The Great North, a freshman comedy series from Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard. Bouchard now produces two of Fox's animated sitcoms, and perhaps Fox is trying to turn him into what Seth MacFarlane was for the network back in the 2000s and early 2010s, when he had Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show all in the animated block. It's too bad Bless the Harts couldn't stick around longer and pave the way of the animated block's future, but it'll be interesting to see if there's any more shifts in one of the last reliable blocks of network comedy left on TV.


Lifetime Presents Variety's Power of Women The Comedians

Variety and Lifetime announced the one-hour special Lifetime Presents Variety's Power of Women The Comedians which will premiere on Monday, May 10 at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime. The special will be timed to Variety's Power of Women issue, which hits newsstands on Wednesday, May 5. The honorees will all appear on the cover of the issue. Additional content from the special will air on Variety.com and social media channels. The special will honor the comedic impact of Emmy nominated Writer, Actor and Producer Mindy Kaling, Multiple Emmy Award-Winning Actor and Saturday Night Live legend Maya Rudolph, Multiple Emmy and Golden Globe-Winning Actor and Producer Julia Louis-Dreyfus, SAG Award-Winning and Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated Actor Sofía Vergara, BAFTA Award-Winning Actor, Writer, Director and Producer Michaela Coel, and Emmy Award-winning Saturday Night Live Actor Kate McKinnon. Each honoree will be interviewed by a close family member or friend - including Aidy Bryant, Bowen Yang, Nastasha Lyonne, Luis Balaguer, and Charlie Hall.

Previous Power of Women honorees include Cate Blanchett, Patti LuPone, Janelle Monae, Brie Larson, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Aniston, Laverne Cox, Jennifer Garner, Tiffany Haddish, Gigi Hadid, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Nicole Kidman, Blake Lively, Helen Mirren and Natalie Portman, among others.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, April 27

The Simpsons - "Abe League of Their Moe" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
After Grampa and Moe recruit a Macedonian slugger to play in Springfield, it strains their friendship and the very integrity of baseball.

Family Guy - "A Real Who's Who" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Griffins spoof "Only Murders in the Building," "The Dropout," and "The Bear."

Krapopolis - "Stavros Live and in Concert" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ty's favorite singer Stavros is in town, but he also happens to be the favorite singer of Athena and her radical followers; Deliria goes on a little getaway.

The Great North - "Ham to Lose a Guy Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Judy and Beef interfere with Ham's personal life; Wolf and Honeybee go on a quest to squash a rumor going around town that Wolf eats worms.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 21)

Friday, April 25

  • Kathy Bates (Disjointed) - Watch Kathy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Girlfriends) - Tracee appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Paul and Greta are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Yvonne Orji (Insecure) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Yvonne who is now hosting Pop The Balloon Live on Netflix, so check your local listings.
  • Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew and Valerie are joined by Carla Hall in the kitchen to whip up some delicious cozy food on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Amy Schumer (Life & Beth), Jillian Bell (Bless the Harts/Idiotsitter/Eastbound & Down/Workaholics) and Brianne Howey (Dollface) - The cast of the new movie Kinda Pregnant join Drew to dish on their new film on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel talks about Bravo's Love Hotel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

04/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Cancels Poppa's House; Final Season 50 Hosts for Saturday Night Live Set
04/25 - Classic TV's Biggest Auction; Remembering Will Hutchins and Wink Martindale
04/24 - Jerrod Carmichael's 4th HBO Comedy Special; HBO's Pee-wee as Himself Premieres May 23
04/23 - Apple TV+ Announces Comedy Series Prodigies; ABC Renews Unscripted Series Slate
04/22 - Hallmark Channel's May For Moms Month; Prime Video Gets Korean Comedy Action Series
04/21 - Peacock's Twisted Metal Returns July 31; Poker Face Lines Up Big Guests for Season 2
04/20 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of April 21, 2025)
04/19 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Clueless Reboot in the Works at Peacock; King of the Hill Cast Reunion and Revival Preview at ATX TV Festival Next Month
04/18 - 2025 TIME100 on ABC; Atsuko Okatsuka: Father Premieres June 13 on Hulu
04/17 - BET+ Orders Martin Spinoff Varnell Hill; It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Returns in July
04/16 - And Just Like That... Season 3 on Max This May; MGM+ Comedy Series Adds Big Stars
04/15 - HBO's Harry Potter Series; Classic TV Comes to Life in NYC
04/14 - TV Stars Lineup for Summer of 69 Hulu Film; Jessica Kirson Comedy Special
04/13 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of April 14, 2025)
04/12 - SitcomsOnline Digest: FX Sets Premiere Date for Adults; Netflix Picks Up Monopoly Themed Reality Competition Series
04/11 - Bounce TV Renews Mind Your Business; AMC Networks 2025 Upfront Highlights
04/10 - David Spade's Prime Video Comedy Special; Brett Goldstein's HBO Comedy Special Filmed in New Jersey
04/09 - Paramount+ Orders Season 3 of Colin from Accounts; FX's Adults Premieres May 28
04/08 - Prime Video's New Comedy Overcompensating; Nine Perfect Strangers Returns on Hulu in May
04/07 - NBC Celebrates Joan Rivers with Special; Remembering Jay North of Dennis the Menace
04/06 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of April 7, 2025)
04/05 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Renews Three Animated Series and Brings Back a Fourth for Four More Seasons; ABC Renews Shifting Gears
04/04 - ABC 2025-26 Season Renewals for Scripted Series; New Season of Phineas and Ferb Returns June 5
04/03 - Fox Renews Animated Hits for 4 Additional Seasons and American Dad! Returns; South Park Season 27 Premieres July 9
04/02 - Rick and Morty Season 8 Premieres May 25; Netflix's Tires Returns June 5
04/01 - Disney Renews Wizards Beyond Waverly Place for Season 2; Prime Video Details Final Season of The Summer I Turned Pretty
03/31 - Prime Video's Dance-World Comedy Étoile; Netflix's Tom Segura Dark Comedy Bad Thoughts
03/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 31, 2025)
03/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Gives Pilot Order to A Different World Sequel; Malcolm in the Middle Reboot Recasts Role of Dewey
03/28 - Pat Sajak's Final Spin on Wheel and Return of Jeopardy! Masters; Remembering George Foreman and Wings Hauser
03/27 - IFC Renews SisterS for Season 2; Netflix Orders Live-Action Scooby-Doo Series
03/26 - Hulu Spring 2025 Slate; The Making of The Americas Special Narrated by Tom Hanks on NBC