Friday, January 07, 2022
Fri-Yay: ABC's Abbott Elementary Is a Solid and Promising New Sitcom; Fast Foodies Brings More Comedic Guests for Season 2
by Vincent
This week, ABC premiered Abbott Elementary, one of the more anticipated comedies of the year for me. I watched the premiere last night after the show's pretty extensive marketing campaign (and solid ratings so far for the preview episode in December and even higher this week for its premiere), and I thought it was a really promising new comedy with an interesting premise. While it's far from perfect, it was refreshing to see a workplace comedy surrounded around a school, something we haven't seen depicted as often as some other workplaces like offices, TV shows or police forces.
Abbott Elementary is a "mockumentary," in the vein of The Office, Modern Family and Parks and Rec. It's a sitcom format that was huge in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but hasn't gotten as much play lately, so it's an interesting stylistic choice, and one that does play for a lot of laughs. The characters are also funny, although it will be interesting to see them graduate beyond roles such as "desperate white ally" or "incompetent principal." All in all, Abbott Elementary is a very promising new show and I'm really excited to see where it goes next.
truTV is bringing new mouthwatering delights for the second season of the hit cooking reality series, Fast Foodies, returning on Thursday, January 27 to truTV at 10PM. The 12-episode season brings a raucous slew of fresh celebrity guests with fast food cravings. New guests in the deliciously fun cooking competition series include Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street), Keith and Kenneth Lucas (Just for Laughs), Adam Pally (Happy Endings),”), Jon Gabrus (Game Over, Man!) Horatio Sanz (Saturday Night Live) and returning fan-favorite foodie Joel McHale (Community). Previously announced guests included Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), NBA legend Baron Davis, Nikki Glaser (FBOY ISLAND), Chris Jericho (AEW), Reggie Watts (The Late Late Show with James Corden), Natasha Leggero (The Honeymoon Stand Up Special), Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live) and more.
In Fast Foodies, Top Chef winners Kristen Kish, Jeremy Ford and Iron Chef winner Justin Sutherland compete to perfectly recreate and then skillfully reimagine a celebrity guest’s favorite fast-food dish. These culinary masters come prepared to showcase their love of pop culture, fast-food legends and their expert skills to win the "Chompionship Trophy." The inaugural season reached over 20 million viewers across linear and digital platform to date and featured Joel McHale, James Van Der Beek (Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23), Andy Richter (Conan), Amanda Seales (Insecure), Ron Funches (Top Secret Videos), Charlotte McKinney (Fantasy Island), Kevin Heffernan & Steve Lemme (Tacoma FD), Fortune Feimster (Sweet & Salty), GaTa (Dave), and Bobby Lee (Splitting Up Together).
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, March 29
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 25)
Friday, March 29
- Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - Watch Michael on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Ramy Youssef (Ramy/See Dad Run) - Ramy appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Sarah Paulson (Leap of Faith) - Sarah is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Bowen Yang (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) - Bowen appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Lauren Lapkus (Crashing/Clipped/Are You There, Chelsea?) - Lauren is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim talks about Mother Play on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Frank Grillo (Battery Park) - Frank talks about his new film Lights Out on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local lisitngs.
- Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek/Greg the Bunny/Hiller and Diller) - Eugene is telling Drew about working with his two children on Schitt's Creek, joining season four of Only Murders in the Building and traveling around the world for his new show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
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