Friday, May 28, 2021
Fri-Yay: Friends Reunion Special Thoughts; Breeders Renewed for Season 3 on FX

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, 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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, May 16
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 12)
Friday, May 16
- Lunell (Lopez) - Watch Luenell on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:39am.
- Benito Skinner (Overcompensating) - Benito appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) and Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Do Not Disturb/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Mayan and Jerry are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Luke Kirby (Étoile) and Gideon Glick (Étoile/The Other Two) - Luke and Gideon talk about Étoile on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley talks about his new series Tucci in Italy with GMA co-anchor Michael Strahan on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. He will also be on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Howie talks about America's Got Talent on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your local listings) and on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your lcoal listings.
- Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa talks about her latest project Mama I'm a Big Girl Now on Sherri, 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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