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
Thursday, June 30
Young Sheldon - "A Pink Cadillac and a Glorious Tribal Dance" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sheldon attends his first comic book convention; Mary tries selling makeup.
United States of Al - "Punch / Musht" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Hazel gets in trouble at school, Riley and Vanessa disagree on how to handle the issue.
Ghosts - "Farnsby & B" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
As Sam and Jay await the arrival of their first official bed-and-breakfast guests, they face obstacles triggered by a Norse curse placed upon them by Thorfinn; Isaac takes a huge, centuries-in-the-making step in his personal life.
B Positive - "Payroll, a Waterwall and Valley Forge" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Gina struggles to keep Valley Hills running smoothly after Mrs. Ludlum quits and starts work at a rival assisted living facility. Also, Drew wonders whether he should go on another road trip adventure or stay close to Gina.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 27)
Thursday, June 30
- Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Craig Robinson (Killing It/Ghosted/Mr. Robinson/The Office) - Craig chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jim Carrey (Kidding/The Duck Factory) - Jim appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Idris will be on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- The Jonas Brothers (Jonas) - The Jonas Brothers are guests on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) - Dakota appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Kym Whitley (Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) and Finesse Mitchell (Outmatched/A.N.T. Farm) - Kym and Finesse guest co-host a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric is a guest on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason appears on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
- Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building/Wizards of Waverly Place) - Selena is a guest on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
- Steve Carell (Space Force/The Office/Come to Papa/Watching Ellie) - Steve appears on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
- Michelle Buteau (Enlisted/China, IL) - Michelle will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) - Cristela talks about Netflix's Middle Classy on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
- Page Kennedy (Blue Mountain State) - Page is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
- Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai talks about executive producing Saturdays on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (March-June)
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season Eight
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/15 - Head of the Class - The Complete Fourth Season
03/15 - The Proud Family - The Complete Original Series - Anniversary Collection
03/22 - The Honeymooners Specials - The Complete Collection
03/29 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-5 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/29 - Young Rock - Season One
04/05 - Up All Night - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
04/26 - The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy) - The Complete Fourth Season
04/26 - Jackie Gleason TV Treasures - 70th Anniversary Collection (including Honeymooners Rarities)
05/03 - No Activity - Season Three
05/13 - The Donna Reed Show - The Complete Seasons 1-5 (Time Life)
05/31 - Becker - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
06/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Eleventh Season
06/14 - Hacks - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/14 - Rutherford Falls - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season One / Season Two / Season Three (07/26) / Season Four (07/26)
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