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

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!

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

Friday, April 4

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Friday, April 4

Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Watch Ike on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Bill Burr (F Is for Family/Townies) - Bill appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kevin Hart (Lil Kev/Die Hart/The Big House/Undeclared) - Kevin is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Annaleigh Ashford (B Positive) - Annaleigh appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood/Survivor's Remorse/Happily Divorced/Everybody Hates Chris/Martin) and Essence Atkins (Poppa's House/Marlon/Mr. Box Office/Are We There Yet?/Half & Half/Smart Guy/Under One Roof) - Tichina and Essence are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Laurence Fishburne (black-ish) - Laurence talks about The Amateur on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin talks about The Bondsman with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Dulé Hill (The Wonder Years) - Dulé talks about Good American Family with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Lea Michele (The Mayor) - NBC's Today catches up with Lea in the 10am hour.
Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!) - NBC's Today catches up with Alan in the 10am hour.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys), Matt Bomer (Mid-Century Modern) and Nathan Lee Grahm (Mid-Century Modern/LA to Vegas/The Comeback) - The cast of Mid-Century Modern are sitting down with Drew to talk about their hilarious new show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - In a new Weekender Drew, Ross Mathews, and Valerie are sharing their best picks for the perfect weekend on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) and Raven Goodwin (Good Luck Charlie/Just Jordan) - Sarah, Raven and Amber Filey talk about Lifetime's Single Black Female 3: The Final Chapter on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.