Paramount+ Begins Production on Frasier; Blindspotting Premieres 2nd Season in April

Thursday, February 02, 2023

Paramount+ Begins Production on Frasier; Blindspotting Premieres 2nd Season in April

Paramount+ announced that the news series Frasier, starring and executive produced by Kelsey Grammer, starts production this week. Shooting in front of a live studio audience in Los Angeles, the new series follows Frasier Crane (Grammer) in the next chapter of his life as he returns to Boston, Mass., with new challenges to face, new relationships to forge and an old dream or two to finally fulfill. Frasier has re-entered the building! The first two episodes of the new series will be directed by legendary director and television creator James Burrows. Over his distinguished career, Burrows has been the recipient of 10 Emmys and five Directors Guild of America Awards, where he also holds the honor of being the most nominated director in the history of television. Burrows is best known for his work as co-creator, executive producer and director of the critically acclaimed series Cheers. His television work also includes hit series Will & Grace, the original series Frasier, Friends, Wings, Night Court, Taxi and Dear John, among others.

In addition to Grammer, the new series stars Jack Cutmore-Scott as Frasier's son, Freddy; Nicholas Lyndhurst as Frasier's old college buddy turned university professor, Alan; Toks Olagundoye as Alan's colleague and head of the university psychology department, Olivia; Jess Salguerio as Freddy’s roommate, Eve; and Anders Keith as Frasier's nephew, David. Frasier comes from writers Chris Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Joe Cristalli (Life in Pieces), who executive produce with Kelsey Grammer, Tom Russo and Jordan McMahon. The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Grammer’s Grammnet NH Productions.

Blindspotting

Starz announced its half-hour comedy series Blindspotting returns with a special two-episode premiere on Friday, April 14 and revealed several first-look images from the upcoming sophomore season. The series is co-created by Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs, with Casal also starring in the series alongside Emmy(R) winner Jasmine Cephas Jones and Academy Award(R)- winner Helen Hunt. The season two premiere of Blindspotting will air linearly on STARZ in the U.S. and Canada at 9:00 pm ET/PT on Friday, April 14, immediately followed by episode two at 9:30 pm ET/PT. All subsequent episodes will air Fridays at 9:00 pm ET/PT. New episodes will be available to stream on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms in the US and Canada

Blindspotting centers on Ashley (Jones), who was nipping at the heels of a middle-class life in Oakland until Miles (Casal), her partner of 12 years and father of their son, Sean (Atticus Woodward) was suddenly incarcerated, leaving her to navigate a chaotic life when she is forced to move in with Miles's mother, Rainey (Hunt), and sister, Trish (Jaylen Barron). The series debuted to critical acclaim in 2021 and remains Certified Fresh at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It maintains a lighthearted and fun tone while simultaneously tackling complex issues with a comedic and innovative twist, spotlighting the hilarious hijinks Ashley and family get into as she attempts to navigate the crazy chaos of her life in the Bay Area.

Season two picks up nine months after Ashley and Miles's prison nuptials in the season one finale, Ashley is doing backflips to try and raise their son on her own. She is reaching her breaking point and is taking it out on everyone around her. Miles is adjusting to life on the inside and counting down the days before their first family visitation weekend at San Quentin. Rainey is doing her best to make Ashley and Sean feel at home while trying to find a way to stay connected to her son behind bars, but Ashley holds all the cards. Trish's new business is flourishing, but she is dealing with jealousy issues now that her best friend and business partner Jacque (April Absynth) is dating Cuddie (Lance Holloway). Janelle (Candace Nicholas-Lippman) is growing frustrated with Ashley's constant need for support and has begun to miss her life back in Bali. And then of course Earl (Benjamin Turner), fresh out of prison himself for unintentionally breaking his probation, has moved out of Nancy's (Margo Hall) house and is trying to re-establish a relationship with his own family, and his past. Welcome back to the ordeal.

Blindspotting

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, December 22

Bob's Burgers - "The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the power goes out two days before Christmas, The Belchers must spend the holiday at Mr. Fischoeder's family's old hunting lodge.

Krapopolis - "Krapocalypse" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tyrannis is stuck in a time loop trying to save the city.

The Simpsons - "The Man Who Flew Too Much" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The new and improved Pin Pals travel to Capital City for their first ever state bowling championship.

Universal Basic Guys - "The Devil You Know" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark insists on teaching his son Darren how to throw a handmade boomerang that was gifted to Darren by his father; the two soon find themselves on a trek deep into the Jersey woods; David is the recipient of a sex doll that he swears he didn't order.

The Great North - "The Lies Aquatic Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While Beef is away, the Tobin fishing boat goes missing; the Tobin siblings wildly speculate on what could have happened.

Krapopolis - "National Lampoon's The Odyssey!" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The family takes a vacation to Storgos for Shlub's mother's birthday.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Full-Frontal Dottie" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Excited by her physical therapy progress, Dottie insists she is ready to return to MaxDot, much to Bob, Douglas and Christina's dismay.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 16)

Friday, December 20

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters/HouseBroken/Catastrophe) - Sharon is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Colton Dunn (Superstore) and Diona Reasonover (Clipped) - Colton and Diona are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - NBC's Today catches up with Zachary in the 9am hour.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about Mufasa: The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. He can also be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about The Six Triple Eight on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
James Marsden (30 Rock) and Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - James and Ben talk about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about Max's Fast Friends on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit has the best of Henry and Kit Hoover, so check your local listings.
Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - The Talk celebrates 15 seasons with a special finale episode; friend of the show Howie Mandel makes his 21st appearance on the show when he stops by one last time with a surprise for the hosts on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.