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

Thursday, May 21

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Funky Chili and Friends Who Take Their Clothes Off" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mandy and Jim butt heads when they take over the store for a sick Georgie and Ruben. Meanwhile, Audrey panics when Connor rekindles an old flame.

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A New Beau and Someone Else's Mom’s House" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Georgie and Mandy take matters into their own hands when Mary starts warming up to Fagenbacher (Matthew Letscher). Also, Audrey struggles to cope with Connor’s absence.

Ghosts - "Up the Creek" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When Woodstone’s future is put in jeopardy, Sam and Jay join forces with the ghosts to protect the mansion by securing its place in history.

Ghosts - "Across the Pond" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
A trip abroad could determine Woodstone’s fate. Meanwhile, a major career opportunity takes Sam out of town, leaving others to step in and help with the ghosts.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 18)

Thursday, May 21

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - Watch the series finale of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jake Johnson (Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed/Minx/New Girl) - Jake appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Andrew is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Maya Rudolph (Loot/Bless the Harts/Forever/Up All Night) - Maya appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) and Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Andy Cohen interviews Keke and Brooke on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta) - LaKeith chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Laurie Metcalf (Big Mistakes/The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laure discusses Death of a Salesman on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Niecy Nash (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Niecy is Sherri's special guest on the final Sherri show, so check your local listings.
Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle stops by for a very special Sherri's Laugh Lounge on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - The Drew Barrymore Show has a little bit extra from Drew-crewers Ross Mathews, Sunny Anderson and Valerie sharing their tips in the kitchen with knife skills 101, so check your local listings.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) and Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Paul and Nick can be heard on the Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Judith Light (Who's the Boss?/Phenom/Transparent) - Judith talks about AMC+'s The Terror: Devil in Silver on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts) - Utkarsh talks about Ghosts on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.