Thursday, December 01, 2022
Apple TV+ Announces Premiere Date for Shrinking; Disney Producing Animated Sitcom
Apple TV+ unveiled the premiere date and a first look at Shrinking, the new 10-episode comedy starring Jason Segel, and written by Emmy Award winning Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence, Emmy Award-winning Ted Lasso star, writer and co-executive producer Brett Goldstein and Segel. Also starring Harrison Ford in one of his first major television roles, Shrinking will premiere globally with the first two episodes on Friday, January 27, on Apple TV+, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday. Shrinking follows a grieving therapist (played by Segel) who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people's lives ... including his own. In addition to Segel and Ford, Shrinking stars Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Luke Tennie and Lukita Maxwell.
The new series is produced by Warner Bros. Television, where Lawrence is under an overall deal, and Lawrence's Doozer Productions. Lawrence, Segel, Goldstein, Neil Goldman, James Ponsoldt, Randall Winston, Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer serve as executive producers. Lawrence, Segel and Goldstein created the series and wrote the first episode, which was directed by Ponsoldt. Shrinking marks the second collaboration for Apple TV+ and Segel, following his starring role in Apple Original film The Sky is Everywhere. The series also marks the third partnership for Apple, Lawrence and Warner Bros. Television, alongside global phenomenon Ted Lasso, and upcoming drama series Bad Monkey. Goldstein currently stars and serves as writer and co-executive producer on Ted Lasso, which was recently honored with the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Comedy series for the second year in a row, as well as a back-to-back win in Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Goldstein. The series will join a growing offering of hit and award-winning comedy series on Apple TV+ including Ted Lasso, Mythic Quest, Schmigadoon!, Physical, The Afterparty, Central Park, Bad Sisters, Trying and more.
Intercats, an animated sitcom set in a cat workplace, is in development at Disney Branded Television with multiple Emmy Award-winning Baobab Studios and acclaimed screenwriter Pamela Ribon (recipient of the Cristal Award at the 2022 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and writer of two of Disney's Academy Award(R)-nominated and Annie Award-winning films, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Moana, and Sony Animation Studio's Smurfs: The Lost Village). Ribon has also begun her own first-look agreement with Disney Branded Television's animation studio, Disney Television Animation, which is working closely with Baobab Studios (The Witchverse) on the development of Intercats.
Eric Darnell (writer and director of Baba Yaga, Madagascar and Antz and Baobab's co-founder and chief creative officer) is the creator and is executive-producing Intercats. Gary Marsh is also an executive producer. Jony Chandra (Nimona, Spies in Disguise) will direct. Told through the big reflective eyes of cats, Intercats is a four-quadrant animated workplace comedy about the cats who produce the hysterical cat videos that go viral on the Internet. It features a ragtag team of cats aspiring to get what all cats want: their independence. But, to do so, they must first learn to navigate their own internal relationships and build upon their success as the premiere studio for viral cat videos. Intercats reflects the heroic lengths we will all go to find and secure our own place in the world.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, January 22
Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.
Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)
Wednesday, January 22
- Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
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