Fri-Yay: American Auto Is Possible Worthy Successor to Superstore; Raven's Home Returns for 5th Season in March

Friday, February 11, 2022

Fri-Yay: American Auto Is Possible Worthy Successor to Superstore; Raven's Home Returns for 5th Season in March

It's time for another edition of Fri-Yay! That means we will take a look back on some sitcom happenings in recent days or weeks or other fun sitcomy stuff. It's a sitcom lover's paradise! Happy Fri-Yay!

by Vincent

A few weeks ago, I highlighted a series I was really enjoying a lot, Abbott Elementary. In my opinion, Abbott Elementary is easily the best new sitcom. But frankly, it's been a really good year for network sitcoms. And American Auto is another example of this seasons surprisingly great batch of new network comedies.

American Auto comes from Justin Spitzer, who was the showrunner of Superstore. It has a great cast, including Ana Gasteyer, a hilarious TV comedic veteran. And the joke writing is sharp, fresh and funny - and frankly, a bit more biting than many other network comedies of recent times. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend it. The ratings have been fairly low, unlike the solid breakouts of Abbott Elementary and Ghosts, and I'd love to see it continue to grow and evolve. In some bit of news, Tom Bergeron is guest starring on the show very soon - stay tuned!

Raven's Home

Raven's Home, the long-running hit comedy series starring and executive produced by Raven-Symoné, will return for its fifth season on Friday, March 11, at 8:00 p.m. EST/PST on Disney Channel and DisneyNOW. A spinoff of the iconic Disney Channel comedy That's So Raven (2003-2007), Raven's Home follows the hilarious adventures driven by somewhat psychic Raven Baxter (Raven-Symoné) and her son Booker (Issac Ryan Brown), who has inherited his mom's gift to catch glimpses of the future. In season five of Raven's Home, Raven and Booker move back to San Francisco to help take care of her dad after a mild heart attack. Now Raven finds herself parenting her parent, raising her young cousin, and settling into life in her old hometown. Meanwhile, Booker is "the new kid" at Raven's old high school and has to keep his visions a secret from a new group of friends.

Joining the cast for season five are Rondell Sheridan, who reprises his role as Raven's easygoing and loveable dad, Victor, from That's So Raven; Mykal-Michelle Harris (ABC's mixed-ish) as Raven's young cousin, Alice; Felix Avitia (Disney's Gamers Guide to Pretty Much Everything) as Neil, Victor's neighbor and Booker's high school classmate; and musician and singer Emmy Liu-Wang (Andrean Players' Annie) as Ivy, a young neighbor who babysits Alice. Adrienne Bailon-Houghton (The Real), who portrayed Raven's arch-nemesis Alana in That's So Raven, will return in a recurring role as a grown-up version of the character, who is now the principal at Bayside High. Also joining in a recurring role is Marissa Reyes (Spirit Halloween) as Cami, a popular and ambitious girl with a rebellious streak.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, July 25

Happy's Place - "Mama Drama" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Isabella's mom, Maritza, arrives, Bobbie tells the crew she's forgiven her for what happened with Happy, only to realize Maritza holds a grudge against her; Emmett and Takoda try to find out why Steve can't return to his home in Colombia.

Happy's Place - "Accountability" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Isabella accidentally implies she doesn't trust Steve's work on the tavern's taxes, Bobbie and Steve decide to have some fun and teach her a lesson; Gabby goes on a health kick enlisting Takoda as her personal trainer.

Electric Bloom - "How We Made a Tiny Mistake" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Follows a girl band since they met in middle school to present day, learning how their pre-famous lives go on to fuel their future musical chart toppers.

Electric Bloom - "How We Found a Howie" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Follows a girl band since they met in middle school to present day, learning how their pre-famous lives go on to fuel their future musical chart toppers.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 21)

Friday, July 25

Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The Last O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Watch Cedric on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) - Jeremy is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Timothy Olyphant (Stick/Santa Clarita Diet) - Timothy appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Emily Ratajkowski (Too Much) - Emily is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear/Girls) - Ebon talks about The Fantastic Four: First Steps on a repeat of ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Leanne Morgan (Leanne) - Leanne talks about Neflix's Leanne on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Kristen Johnston (Leanne/Mom/The Exes/3rd Rock from the Sun) - Kristen talks about Netflix's Leanne on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tony Danza (Taxi/Who's the Boss?/Hudson Street/The Tony Danza Show) - Tony talks about his brand-new show Tony Danza: Sinatra & Stories on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Michael Jai White (Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse) - Michael is a guest on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.