Friday, December 17, 2021
Fri-Yay: Latest Edition of Live in Front Is Another Delightful Revisiting of Sitcoms Past; TBS Renews American Dad! Through Season 19

by Vincent
Last week, ABC aired its most recent Live in Front of a Studio Audience edition, which celebrated The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes. As is the case with Live in Front, the show reenacted episodes of these classic sitcoms with modern comedy actors. It continues to surprise me the huge names these shows are able to get, with Jennifer Aniston and Jon Stewart among others participating in the The Facts of Life episode and Kevin Hart in the Diff'rent Strokes episode. The Live in Front reenactments also stay really true to the original episodes, and offer a really fun look back at these classic sitcoms.
Overall, Live in Front is a must watch for any classic sitcom fan. However, it also makes me miss the fun of skilled multi-camera on television. It really is something special to see these huge actors recreating classic sitcom moments they grew up with just like we did. With network TV becoming less and less of a reliable delivery method of high quality scripted entertainment, these live celebrations are a nice reminder of when it was at the heights of its powers.
Cable's #3 comedy American Dad! has been renewed by TBS for seasons 18 and 19. Co-creator Matt Weitzman and executive producer Brian Boyle have inked new deals to continue showrunning and executive producing the additional seasons, from 20th Television Animation. The 17th season of American Dad! premieres on Monday, January 24, on TBS at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT.
American Dad! centers on super patriotic CIA agent Stan Smith (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) and the misadventures of his unconventional family in Langley Falls, VA. Stan applies the same drastic measures used in his job at the CIA to his home life, where Stan's blissfully unaware wife, Francine (Wendy Schaal), has an unfaltering loyalty that makes her blind to his unabashed arrogance. His left-wing activist daughter Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane), however, doesn't let him off so easily – and knows just how to push her father's buttons. Hayley's brother is the geeky-yet-confident Steve (Scott Grimes), a kid who spends his time playing video games and obsessing about the opposite sex. The Smith cabinet is rounded out by two rather unconventional members: Roger (MacFarlane), a sassy, sarcastic and routinely inappropriate space alien, and Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker), an attention-starved goldfish with the brain of a German Olympic skier.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, February 13
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A House Divided" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Audrey and Mary go to war over CeeCee and Georgie, and Mandy can’t help but take sides. Young Sheldon stars Zoe Perry and Matt Hobby guest star as Mary and Pastor Jeff, respectively.
Ghosts - "It’s the End of the World as We Know It and What Were We Talking About?" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Flower interferes with the opening of Jay’s restaurant based on a prophecy from her old cult leader.
Animal Control - "Buffalo and Beavers" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank's ongoing prank war with Templeton reaches new heights; Victoria intervenes when Emily tries to get closer on her relationship with Rick; Patel's job as interim supervisor goes sideways.
Going Dutch - "When You Wish Upon a Star" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Gen. Davidson arrives at Stroopsdorf to receive his second star; the colonel eagerly desires a promotion and needs Capt. Quinn's help to charm Gen. King; Maj. Shah dips his toes back into the dating pool.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 10)
Thursday, February 13
- Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Catch Tom on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Vanessa Lachey (Truth Be Told/Dads) - E! News has interviews with Vanessa and Nick Lachey at 11pm on E!.
- Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal) - Anthony talks about Captain America: Brave New World on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Monica Barbaro (FUBAR) - Monica chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Yvette Nicole Brown (Act Your Age/The Odd Couple/Community/The Big House) - Yvette sits down for an EXCLUSIVE conversation about her journey to the altar with her longtime friend, actor Tony Davis, who joins her later on in the show on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie will be on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris tells Sherri about the new season of Watson on CBS on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Gabriel Iglesias (The Santa Clauses/Mr. Iglesias/Cristela) - Gabriel talks about A&E's WWE Rivals on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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