SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

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, NBC released the trailer for the third season of A.P. Bio, which will air exclusively on Peacock. For those who don't know, A.P. Bio aired its first two seasons on NBC Thursday nights, but was cancelled after Season 2 due to low ratings. However, the show, which stars Always Sunny's Glenn Howerton and popular comedian Patton Oswalt, was able to gain something of a cult following, which convinced NBC to bring it back as a flagship streaming exclusive for its budding service Peacock. So is it worth your time? A.P. Bio is probably Peacock's highest caliber original series thus far, so it's worth it to see if the series is worth checking out.

Personally, I'd recommend checking out A.P. Bio on Peacock this fall, for a few reasons. I liked, but didn't love, the first two seasons of the show - I felt it always had the feeling of the show just on the verge of breaking out and embracing its potential. The show had some funny jokes, but it often felt torn between going full out dark like Howerton's other show Always Sunny and grounding itself as a network television show. Some of that was likely the result of being on NBC - there's a limit to how "dark" a series can really get, and that limit sometimes seemed to restrain the show. However, I'm interested to see if the move to a streaming service and subsequent removal of the "rules" of network TV will free the show up creatively and allow it to really be the dark, oddball show it seems to want to be. Another good reason to check out A.P. Bio is...well, sitcoms might be in short supply this fall. Television production is still mostly at a standstill, and so far network sitcoms haven't provided a premiere date or even an idea of when they will return. So if you're looking for new sitcom content this fall, A.P. Bio might be one of your only options. And if it can improve on its solid first two seasons, it just might be a pretty good alternative.

HBO Max has announced that the upcoming seasons of the critically acclaimed comedies The Other Two and South Side from Comedy Central Productions are joining the streaming platform as new Max Original series. The first seasons of The Other Two and South Side will land on the platform in 2021 followed by brand new seasons to stream exclusively as Max Original series. Matching the Max Originals mandate for unique stories that speak to a younger skewing demographic,

The Other Two, created by former Saturday Night Live co-head writers, follows two millennial siblings as they navigate their teenage brother's rise to internet fame and South Side, shot on location in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, is an authentic, comedic look at two friends, ready to take one world, once they stop working at the local rent-to-own. As part of this deal, HBO Max has become the exclusive streaming home to the semi-autobiographical comedy Awkawfina is Nora from Queens, from the Golden Globe Award Winner(R) Awkwafina (Nora Lum). Season one is available to stream now on HBO Max. Season two will premiere and air in its entirety on Comedy Central next summer before becoming available on HBO Max.

CBS announced the spring premieres dates for two comedies. Man with a Plan will return for its fourth season Thursday, April 2 at 8:30 PM ET/PT, after The Unicorn completes its season run, and the new comedy Broke will debut the same night at 9:30 PM ET/PT, after Carol's Second Act completes its season order. Man with a Plan stars Golden Globe Award winner Matt LeBlanc in a comedy about an old-school guy confronting the modern challenges of parenting, marriage and family. Liza Snyder, Kevin Nealon, Stacy Keach, Grace Kaufman, Matthew McCann, Hala Finley, Matt Cook and Kali Rocha also star.

Broke stars Jaime Camil and Pauley Perrette in a comedy about a single suburban mother (Perrette) who's shocked when her estranged sister, her sister's outrageously wealthy, big-hearted, Latin husband (Camil), and her husband's fiercely loyal assistant/driver/friend land on her doorstep in need of a place to live after the couple's money dries up. Though class differences may separate the women, and the size of the house and the number of people living in it will test the limits of family ties, the familiar bond of sisterhood might be the catalyst they need to restore their relationship. Natasha Leggero, Izzy Diaz and Antonio Corbo also star.

Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens has amassed 3.8 million total viewers including replays, streaming and premiere simulcast on a total of seven Viacom networks. Including L+3 playback, the January 22 premiere of Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens is Comedy Central's best primetime series launch in more than three years, notching a 0.56 P18-49 rating and 818,000 total viewers on Comedy Central. Ratings for the Comedy Central premiere telecast jumped double and triple digits in all key demos for L+3 viewing, including +155% among Asian viewers 18-49 (1.32 L+3) and +100% among Women 18-49 (0.59 L+3). Golden Globe winner Awkwafina (The Farewell, Crazy Rich Asians) stars in the half-hour scripted comedy inspired by her real-life growing up in Queens, NY. Raised by her Dad (BD Wong) and Grandma (Lori Tan Chinn) alongside her cousin (Bowen Yang), Nora Lin leans on her family as she navigates life and young adulthood in outer borough-NYC. The series was recently renewed for a second season.

Comedy Central announced an overall deal with Daniel Tosh that includes a four-season, 80-episode extension for Tosh.0, as well as a first-look deal for new scripted and unscripted development to potentially feature Tosh on camera, as well as vehicles for other talent. The #1 brand in comedy and Tosh are currently in discussions for an unscripted series in which Tosh would host and executive produce and a script deal for which he would serve as an executive producer. The four-season extension of Tosh.0 will take the long-running franchise through its 16th season. In addition, Comedy Central will launch a dedicated Tosh.0 channel on YouTube in early 2020 and launched a Tosh.0 channel on Pluto TV, the leading free streaming television service in the U.S. Comedy Central announced a season two pickup for the highly-anticipated Awkwafina is Nora From Queens, ahead of its series premiere on Wednesday, January 22 at 10:30pm ET/PT. Golden Globe winner Awkwafina (The Farewell, Crazy Rich Asians) stars in the half-hour scripted comedy inspired by her real-life growing up in Queens, NY. Raised by her Dad (BD Wong) and Grandma (Lori Tan Chinn) alongside her cousin (Bowen Yang), Nora Lin leans on her family as she navigates life and young adulthood in outer borough-NYC.

The treasured television show The Brady Bunch has entertained audiences for more than 50 years and the show's matriarch Carol Brady, played by Florence Henderson, led the loving Brady family. Henderson's passing in 2016 left millions of fans in mourning spawning questions about her health after reports that she died of sudden heart failure. On Sunday, February 16 the network goes inside The Brady Bunch and the life of its star mother starting at 8pm ET/5pm PT with Autopsy: The Last Hours of Florence Henderson examining her final hours and uncovering the truth behind her abrupt passing. Then on Sunday, February 16 at 9pm ET/6pm PT The Brady Bunch: Behind Closed Doors pulls back the curtain on the beloved small screen classic revealing how the show almost never got made as former cast members including Christopher Knight who played middle son Peter Brady spills secrets from the set. Celebrity Sundays on REELZ continue with a new episode of Autopsy: The Last Hours of Alan Thicke on Sunday, February 23 at 8pm ET/5pm PT with a look at the life one of America's favorite TV dads (Growing Pains) and his untimely passing.

Paramount Network ordered a first season of scripted drama Mayor of Kingstown from critically acclaimed, Oscar(R)-nominated screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of the brand's hit series Yellowstone, and from 101 Studios. Moving on to Amazon, Amazon Studios announced that Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico) and Richard Madden (Bodyguard) will star in Citadel, the new multi-layered global series from the Russo Brothers' AGBO. Amazon also announced that a local language production of the franchise will originate from Mexico, in addition to the previously announced versions in Italy and India. Madden and Chopra will star in the U.S. "mothership" edition of the series. Amazon Studios announced that Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai will star in Untitled Tracy Oliver Project. The half-hour comedy series from Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip), Universal Television, and Amy Poehler's Paper Kite Productions will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Amazon Studios additionally announced that Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip, The Best Man Holiday) will direct the first two episodes.

Amazon Studios announced that it has greenlit Jack Reacher, a drama based on the character from Lee Child's international bestselling series of books, which is published in 49 languages and 101 territories and has sold 100 million books to date. The first season will be based on the first Jack Reacher novel, "The Killing Floor." Amazon Studios has announced further casting for The Power, an urgent 10-part global thriller based on the international bestselling novel of the same name, produced by Sister (Chernobyl, Giri/Haji, The Split) for Amazon Studios with Emmy Award-winning executive producer and director Reed Morano (The Handmaid's Tale). The Power is adapted for screen by writer, creator and executive producer Naomi Alderman, who is working alongside an all-female writers' room, with every episode also to be directed by women. John Leguizamo, Toheeb Jimoh, Ria Zmitrowicz, Halle Bush, Heather Agyepong, Nico Hiraga and Daniela Vega are amongst the ensemble cast, joining the previously announced Leslie Mann and Auli'i Cravalho. Amazon Studios announced the first group of series regulars set to star in the new Amazon Original series based on stories from the iconic The Lord of the Rings novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. Newly revealed cast members including Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman. Production will begin in February.

And finally, Amazon Original series Making The Cut, hosted and executive produced by Heidi Klum & Tim Gunn, will premiere on Prime Video on Friday March 27, 2020. The 10-episode fashion competition series, which brings together a diverse group of 12 talented entrepreneurs and designers, will premiere two new episodes each week, culminating in an epic finale on April 24, 2020