Monday, January 03, 2022
Fri-Yay: Networks Have a Few Promising Comedies for 2022; Betty White Tribute Marathons on CMT, MeTV, TV Land, Decades, Hallmark, etc.
by Vincent
This TV season, there were a handful of new sitcoms on network TV that I was looking forward to. However, nearly all of them (with the exception of CBS' Ghosts) were held for mid-season, as the networks seem to be prioritizing unscripted shows over sitcoms again. That said, there are two sitcoms that I'm interested in: NBC's American Auto and ABC's Abbott Elementary (both had special preview premieres in December).
American Auto technically already premiered (in a preview role), and the first two episodes have been entertaining. The show is very much in vein of Superstore (which it shares a creator with), and like that show, I expect a few episodes for it to really find its voice. I still miss Superstore and felt it really had another good season or two left in it, so if American Auto can take after it, I'd be very happy. The show does need to find its own identity beyond just being "the new Office/Superstore," but solid performances from its promising cast make it one to keep an eye on.
I'm also very interested in Abott Elementary (which also had its preview premiere in December, that encores tonight at 10pm, episode two premieres tommorow at 9). There have been few sitcoms to take place in elementary schools, so it seems like an interesting new setting for a workplace comedy. It also has gotten really solid reviews and seems to have a very talented cast. With so many sitcoms having ended in the past 2 years, there really haven’t been many new sitcoms to step up and fill their shoes. Let's hope the spring 2022 class can reach that goal.
Betty White tributes started on Saturday, with TV Land airing the first marathon titled "Celebration of Betty White" with marathon blocks of The Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland rotating all weekend starting 6pm on Saturday and continuing to 6am this morning. TV Land Sitcoms channel on Pluto TV has been airing non-stop Hot in Cleveland all weekend. NBC re-aired Betty's SNL guest host appearance from 2010 on Saturday at 11:35pm. The Hallmark Channel aired a tribute last night titled "The Lost Valentine: Remembering Betty White," an encore of their Hallmark Hall of Fame movie from 2011 from 8-10pm, followed by a The Golden Girls block from 10pm-1am. But there are much more tributes and marathons to come! Today (January 3) all-day from 9am-4am ET, CMT will celebrate the iconic Betty White with The Golden Girls All-Day Marathon featuring back-to-back episodes of some of the best Rose Nylund episodes of all-time. DECADES airs the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Betty White on Friday, January 7 at 9pm ET and select episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and encore presentations of her Celebrity Roast all weekend long beginning Saturday, January 8 at 12pm ET.
MeTV will air a Sunday block for Betty White with four episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, two episodes of Mama's Family and a guest appearance from The Love Boat on Sunday, January 9 from 2-6pm ET/PT. There were planned 100th birthday marathons already scheduled, as we mentioned a few weeks back, but MeTV has moved those Mary Tyler Moore Show episodes to Jan. 9 instead and will no longer do a 100th birthday salute on the 16th. As of now, Hallmark Channel is still airing the Golden Girls marathon from Jan. 15-17.
This Saturday, January 8 starting at 9 a.m. ET, Game Show Network will air an 8-hour marathon of Match Game episodes featuring the golden girl of game shows and America's sweetheart, Betty White. Buzzr will begin their celebration of Betty White on Saturday, January 8, at 10:30 am EST with episodes of Match Game and Match Game PM. They will feature more game shows on January 16 and 17. Keep it right here with continued updates as we get more information from other TV networks/services.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, September 18
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 16)
Wednesday, September 18
- Jon Hamm (Grimsburg/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Watch Jon on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - Zachary is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Ashley Park (Emily in Paris/Only Murders in the Building/Girls5eva/Nightcap - Ashley appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She will also be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Jay Pharoah (White Famous/Champaign ILL), Taran Killam (Single Parents) and
- Mary Lynn Rajskub (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/How to Be a Gentleman/Veronica's Closet/The Larry Sanders Show) - Jay, Taran and Mary Lynn are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Eric Roberts (Less Than Perfect) - NBC's Today catches up with Eric in the 9am hour.
- Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - Ana talks about Once Upon a Mattress on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Brian talks about Transformers One on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi talks about Child Star on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
- Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel is telling Drew all about his new game show Flip Side while hitting the headlines on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. He will also be on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Method Man (Method & Red) - Method Man talks about the final season of Power Book II: Ghost and takes the Tam Fam behind the scenes of his impressive fitness routine on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Lucien Laviscount (Emily in Paris) - Lucien talks about Emily in Paris on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Rob Lowe (Unstable/The Grinder/Parks and Recreation/A New Kind of Family) - Rob discusses his television series 9-1-1: Lone Star and game show The Floor on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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