Fri-Yay: Abbott Elementary Renewal - Does This Spell a Bright Future for ABC Sitcoms?; The Flight Attendant Returns April 21

Friday, March 18, 2022

Fri-Yay: Abbott Elementary Renewal - Does This Spell a Bright Future for ABC Sitcoms?; The Flight Attendant Returns April 21

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

This week, it was announced that ABC renewed Abbott Elementary for a second season. Abbott Elementary has been a commercial success, averaging a 2.9 rating in MP35 ratings (which tracks ratings over the course of 35 days of all linear/digital usage). Its streaming numbers are quite impressive. There is a lot of hope that this could be ABC's new flagship sitcom, which it was in need of after the end of Modern Family and the popularity decline of The Conners (which is in its fourth season).

So once again, it seems ABC is the place to be for high quality and popular sitcoms. This has been nearly a decade of dominance in comedy for ABC, and it shows no signs of stopping soon. CBS may be coming close if it develops more shows like Ghosts, the other big bright shining star of this season. But for now, ABC is leading the way (with more unique comedies potentially on their way like the pilot Josep).

The Flight Attendant - Kaley Cuoco

Season two of the critically acclaimed Max Original dark comedy series The Flight Attendant debuts Thursday, April 21 with two episodes on HBO Max. The eight-episode season continues with two new episodes on Thursday, April 28, followed by one episode weekly concluding Thursday, May 26. In the new season, Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco) is living her best sober life in Los Angeles while moonlighting as a CIA asset in her spare time. But when an overseas assignment leads her to inadvertently witness a murder, she becomes entangled in another international intrigue. The season filmed in Los Angeles, Berlin and Reykjavik. Returning series regulars Kaley Cuoco, Zosia Mamet, Griffin Matthews, Deniz Akdeniz and Rosie Perez. Returning recurring guest stars T.R. Knight, Yasha Jackson and Audrey Grace Marshall. The season also stars new series regulars Mo McRae, Callie Hernandez and JJ Soria, as well as new recurring guest stars Alanna Ubach, Cheryl Hines, Jessie Ennis, Mae Martin, Margaret Cho, Santiago Cabrera, Sharon Stone and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, September 29

Young Sheldon - "Four Hundred Cartons of Undeclared Cigarettes and a Niblingo" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
George Sr. bails Meemaw and Georgie out of jail. Also, Sheldon and Missy meet Mandy (Emily Osment), and Mary feels unwelcome at church.

Ghosts - "Spies" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sam enlists the Ghosts to help secure a good review from an overly critical couple staying at the B&B. Also, Isaac tries to integrate Nigel into his friend group.

Welcome to Flatch - "Welcome to (Barb) Flatch" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Kelley is changing diapers; Cheryl and Joe are raising baby chickens; Shrub is courting Beth; Barb Flatch makes a triumphant return to her hometown to shake things up.

Call Me Kat - "Call Me Ken Jennings" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Kat is seated next to "Jeopardy!" contestant Ken Jennings on her flight home; Kat discovers some significant changes have been made to the cafe by Randi and Phil; Max has returned home from his time in Nashville.

Atlanta - "Light Skinned-ed" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
My family is so crazy we need our own reality TV show. How you still got beef from the 70's? Whew. And y'all need to stop flirting with people's daddy.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 26)

Thursday, September 29

George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Catch George on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. Billy appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith) - Kelly is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso will be on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Jim Rash (Community/Help Me Help You/Thanks/Katie Joplin) - Jim appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
MC Lyte (Partners in Rhyme/Half & Half) - MC shares her journey from rapper and entrepreneur to actress in the new sitcom Partners in Rhyme on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick stops by to chat about his new stand-up comedy special, Little Big Boy, on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jurnee Smollett (Wanda at Large/On Our Own) - Jurnee talks about her new film Lou on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show/The Good Life) - Drew talks about The Price Is Right Anniversary on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Sarah Jessica Parker (And Just Like That.../Divorce/Sex and the City/Square Pegs), Bette Midler (Bette) and Kathy Najimy (King of the Hill/Veronica's Closet) - Sarah, Bette and Kathy talk about Hocus Pocus 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.