Fri-Yay: Friends Reunion Special Thoughts; Breeders Renewed for Season 3 on FX

Friday, May 28, 2021

Fri-Yay: Friends Reunion Special Thoughts; Breeders Renewed for Season 3 on FX

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!

Friends: The Reunion

by Vincent

This week, HBO Max premiered the long awaited Friends reunion special. It was originally supposed to be released alongside HBO Max's release in May 2020 a year ago, but COVID production delays pushed it back to May 2021. Still, the hype and buzz was very much there. Articles on the Friends reunion dominated the internet this week. Was it worth the hype? Well, that depends on how much of a Friends fan you are. For the casual viewer, the Friends reunion is just a bunch of actors talking with each other. For a diehard fan, seeing the cast together again discussing behind the scenes secrets and their experiences is exactly what you were asking for.

The Friends reunion is the most hyped sitcom reunion in a while, not including revivals (where the series is actually revived). Last year, casts of sitcoms like The Office, Community and Happy Endings got together and discussed their shows with each other, and sitcom stars are reuniting on podcasts or YouTube channels all of the time. But this is the first hyped special launched reunion special in a while (since The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion last holiday season). And there is an art and a fun to these specials, something sweet about seeing these people in the same room again after all these years. It wasn't mind blowing TV, but for a Friends super fan, it's a fun way to spend an evening for sure.

Breeders

Breeders, the comedy series that explores the challenges of modern parenting, has been renewed for a third season on FX. The series starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard, which recently completed its second season, is set to return next year. Breeders explores the parental paradox that you'd happily die for your children, but quite often also want to kill them.

In season two, now available to stream on FX on Hulu, "Luke" (Alex Eastwood) is now 13 years old and "Ava" (Eve Prenelle) is 10, serving up brand new parenting challenges for "Paul" (Martin Freeman) and "Ally" (Daisy Haggard). Luke's increasing anxiety and Ava's growing independence add some new and uncharted complications into the existing chaotic mix of stretched resources, lack of time and the fine art of winging it while looking like you know what you're doing. Paul's parents, "Jackie" (Joanna Bacon) and "Jim" (Alun Armstrong) are older too, as is Ally's mother "Leah" (Stella Gonet), leading Paul and Ally to find that they now have to parent the generation above them as well as the generation below. And at the center of all this is Paul and Ally's relationship. Can they survive the new pressures as they just-about survived the old ones? Or is there a finite number of ropes you can find yourself at the end of?

Breeders is produced by Avalon (Starstruck, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Everything's Gonna Be Okay, Flatbush Misdemeanors) and FX Productions for FX Networks and Sky Originals. Academy Award(R)-nominee and double Emmy(R) Award-winner Simon Blackwell is showrunner. Breeders is created by Blackwell, double Emmy Award and Directors Guild of America Award winner Chris Addison and Emmy and BAFTA(R)-winning Martin Freeman, who also stars alongside Daisy Haggard. Executive producers are Blackwell, Addison, Freeman, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, David Martin, Jon Thoday, Toby Welch and Michael Wiggs. Ben Palmer is co-executive producer.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, March 22

The Conners - "Of Missing Minds and Missing Fries" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
It’s Thanksgiving at the Conners and Jackie must come to terms with her mother, Beverly, becoming ill. Meanwhile, Darlene is on the job hunt which proves to be more difficult than anticipated.

The Conners - "Crumbs and Couch Surfers" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene, Ben, Becky and Beverly Rose move into the new house, where Darlene implements a new set of rules. Meanwhile, Harris welcomes a guest at Dan and Louise’s.

Abbott Elementary - "Fight" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
During a day of touchdowns and missed plays, the Abbott Elementary faculty find themselves learning lessons in teamwork. Two of Janine’s students aren’t getting along in class, leading her to seek advice from her colleagues on how to help repair their friendship. Meanwhile, Melissa and Ava plot to bring down Mr. Johnson in fantasy football.

Not Dead Yet - "Pilot" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Nell attempts to restart her life in a new place with a new job and a new roommate. She begins writing obituaries at the local paper and starts getting life advice from an unlikely source.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Like New Money" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Curtis suspects his food truck was blown up intentionally, and he starts investigating the incident; Calvin must get to the bottom of Calvin Jr.'s mischievous deeds.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "I Believe" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Philip learns about being accountable for one's actions and putting life's obstacles in perspective; Reginald must pick himself up out of his slump and find the strength to believe in love again.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 20)

Wednesday, March 22

Molly Shannon (I Love That for You/The Other Two/Divorce/Kath & Kim) - Watch Molly on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Giancarlo Esposito (Bakersfield P.D.) - Giancarlo is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Al Franken (LateLine) - Al guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Jennifer chats about the highly anticipated sequel Murder Mystery 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Mae Whitman (Up Here) - Mae catches up with the hosts to talk about her role in the upcoming Hulu series Up Here on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Zach Braff (Scrubs/Alex, Inc.) - Zach chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) - Jameela chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Do Not Disturb/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Jerry will be on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Coco Jones (Good Luck Charlie) and Skai Jackson (Bunk'd/Jessie) - Coco and Skai are guests on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood/New Girl/Modern Men) - Max talks about his children's book on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew discusses the mystery of menopause on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men/Togetherness) - Melanie talks about Yellowjackets on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Kelly Hu (In Case of Emergency) - Kelly discusses her roles on two television series BMF on Starz and East New York on CBS on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra discusses the film Space Oddity on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Reboot/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael talks about The Super Mario Bros. Movie on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am. Keegan-Michael and Cecily Strong talk about Schmigadoon! in the 9am hour.
Sophia Hammons (Up Here) - Sophia talks about Hulu's Up Here on WPIX in New York at 8:50am.