SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

The TNets (TBS, TNT and truTV) underscore their commitment to original unscripted and scripted programming in 2022, announcing second season renewals for freshman series Wipeout, Fast Foodies and Chad. These recent pickups join critically acclaimed scripted series, Snowpiercer, which was previously greenlit for a third season, the fifth and sixth seasons of Animal Kingdom, and unscripted series The Cube, The Big D, Rat in the Kitchen and Rhodes to the Top.

The TNets continue to grow from strength to strength dominating comedy in 2021 with four of the top five slots (Wipeout, Impractical Jokers, Go-Big Show and Chad). Wipeout premiered as the #1 New Cable Unscripted Series; Chad premiered as the #1 Scripted Cable Comedy; Go-Big Show ranks as the #3 Cable Comedy reaching more than 34 million viewers; and Impractical Jokers currently ranks as the #1 Cable Comedy for 2021.

Cable's #1 Scripted Comedy Series, Chad is a single-camera comedy that follows a 14-year-old pubescent Persian boy, played by Nasim Pedrad (SNL, New Girl, Aladdin) as he navigates his first year of high school on a mission to become popular. Chad's friendships and sanity are pushed to the limits as he uses every tactic at his disposal to befriend the cool kids, while enduring his mother's new dating life and reconciling with his cultural identity. Chad is currently airing on TBS on Tuesdays at 10:30pm ET/PT.

The TNets announced the July premiere dates for new and returning unscripted and scripted series. Kicking off July 1st, truTV fans can join The Tenderloins for their first-ever Awards Special, Impractical Jokers Awards Show celebrating the most iconic moments from the franchise's 200+ episodes at 10:00pm ET/PT, followed by the network premiere of Impractical Jokers: The Movie at 10:30pm ET/PT. On July 8th, new episodes from the ninth season of Impractical Jokers return at 10:00pm ET/PT on truTV, followed by, the series premiere of Backyard Bar Wars at 10:30pm ET/PT.

These shows join the previously announced launches of TBS' new high-stakes game show The Cube with host Dwyane Wade on Thursday, June 10th at 9:00pm ET/PT; the fifth season of TNT's critically acclaimed crime drama Animal Kingdom on July 11th at 9:00pm ET/PT; and a new installment of TBS' top-rated anthology, Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail on July 13th at 10:30pm ET/PT.

The third season of the top-rated anthology comedy series Miracle Workers, this time transporting cast members Daniel Radcliffe, Steve Buscemi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Karan Soni and Jon Bass to the American Old West will premiere on July 13th. Set in the year 1844, Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail follows an idealistic small-town preacher (Radcliffe) who teams up with a wanted outlaw (Buscemi) and an adventurous prairie wife (Viswanathan) to lead a wagon train west on the Oregon Trail across an American landscape which, much like today, is fraught with both promise and peril.

The Dick Van Dyke Show: Now In Living Color! is a new, one-hour special featuring two freshly colorized classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series airing back-to-back on Friday, May 21 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. The special features the season four episode "Baby Fat," written by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson, and the season five episode “The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart," written by John Whedon. The main titles and end credits of the two episodes are seamlessly combined into one set —at the beginning and end of the hour—with no interruption between each. The Emmy Award-winning series starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore as television comedy writer Rob and his wife, Laura Petrie; Larry Matthews as their son Ritchie; Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie as Buddy Sorrell and Sally Rogers, co-writers on the fictional The Alan Brady Show; Carl Reiner as Alan Brady; Richard Deacon as Mel Cooley; Jerry Paris as Dr. Jerry Helper; and Ann Morgan Guilbert as Millie Krumbermacher Helper.

In "Baby Fat," Alan Brady calls on Rob to ghostwrite some new material for a troubled Broadway play he's starring in. The episode is based on an incident that actually happened to co-writer Garry Marshall: he was tapped to fix a play for comedian Jack Carter, who insisted that the ghostwriter make himself scarce whenever the official playwright showed up. The episode first aired on April 21, 1965, during season four. "The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart," which aired late in the show's final season, served as a kind of "curtain call" for longtime supporting actor Richard Deacon, who finally got to take center stage when Mel Cooley stands up to brother-in-law/employer Alan Brady (played by Dick Van Dyke Show creator Carl Reiner). The episode first aired on Feb. 9, 1966. The Dick Van Dyke Show originally aired on CBS from Oct. 3, 1961, through June 1, 1966, finishing in the Nielsen Top 10 in three of its five seasons, and peaking at #3 during the 1963-1964 season. The show received 15 Primetime Emmy Awards, including three Emmys for Dick Van Dyke, five for Carl Reiner and two for Mary Tyler Moore.

TBS has debuted the official trailer and photography for the upcoming comedy Chad, premiering April 6 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. A 14-year-old pubescent Persian boy (Nasim Pedrad) navigates his first year of high school on a mission to become popular. Chad's friendships and sanity are pushed to the limits as he uses every tactic at his disposal to befriend the cool kids, while enduring his mother's new dating life and reconciling with his cultural identity. Pedrad, who first made her mark on Saturday Night Live, is also creator, writer, executive producer and showrunner. View the official trailer here:

Netflix's hit series Raising Dion is adding four new characters for its highly anticipated second season. Rome Flynn as Tevin, Dion's new trainer & mentor. Aubriana Davis as Janelle a 15 year old whose mother (played by Tracey Bonner) brings her to BIONA to manage "behavioral issues." Josh Ventura is David, BIONA's new V.P. of Operations. In the series, a young boy is struggling to control his newfound powers. A single mom fighting the odds to keep her son safe. Secrets, conspiracies, mysteries, all dangerously swarming around one family... Raising Dion launched its first season on October 4, 2019 on Netflix. The first season starred Jason Ritter, Alisha Wainwright and Ja' Siah Young as Dion. Michael B. Jordan is an executive producer and also appeared in the first season. No word on when the second season will premiere.

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

For many years, the network sitcom has been a staple of TV. Even now, in our streaming age, streaming services are filled with network sitcoms from present and past, and often, in the case of shows like The Office, Seinfeld, and Friends, they're among the most popular shows of their respective streaming services. And yet, on network TV, there is a serious lack of hit network sitcoms. Even reliable hits from past years, like The Conners, The Goldbergs and Big Bang Theory spin-off Young Sheldon, have dropped to series lows this year. While ratings in general continue to slide downwards, ratings for network sitcoms are falling faster than network averages. There are some genuine drama hits on network TV, from established series like This Is Us, Grey's Anatomy and NBC's Chicago trilogy to newer favorites like 9-1-1 and Station 19. And that's not even including reality and game shows, where Fox's The Masked Singer is reigning as the most popular show on TV. But as of right now, there is no big, landmark sitcom on network television. There's no Big Bang Theory or Modern Family or The Office that stands as a hallmark of the network that props all other shows up. There's some modestly-rated, decent-sized hits (like the aforementioned shows), but no major smashes. And even if you take critical acclaim into account, nothing is drawing raves the way shows like The Good Place did just a few years ago.

So will this continue? I have to imagine there will be a landmark show to break through sooner or later. Sitcoms have gone through rough patches before - most recently in the time between Friends ended and The Big Bang Theory and The Office took off to new heights, there was no real smash hit sitcoms, just some modest hits. Still, the TV landscape has changed so much that the next sitcom hit might not look like the hits of the past. Perhaps it will be a streaming series - there have been some successful sitcoms on streaming services, like Grace and Frankie and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but nothing blockbuster to the levels of the biggest streaming shows. The closest has been possibly Schitt's Creek, which is actually a cable sitcom (Pop TV) but took off on Netflix. So what will be the next big sitcom hit? The networks certainly hope it'll be one of their own. But has TV changed too much for a broad, hit comedy to make it? Only time will tell.

TNT, TBS and truTV unveil March and April premiere dates for three new and two returning shows. The programming slate includes TBS' new single-camera comedy Chad (April 6) and returning top-rated animated comedy American Dad! (April 19). Two new series join truTV's line-up, including limited series Double Cross with Blake Griffin (March 19-20) and magic prank show Big Trick Energy (April 15). Rounding out April, as previously announced, the 27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R) will be simulcast on April 4 on both TNT and TBS. Chad, a single-camera comedy, follows a 14-year-old pubescent Persian boy (Nasim Pedrad) as he navigates his first year of high school on a mission to become popular. Chad's friendships and sanity are pushed to the limits as he uses every tactic at his disposal to befriend the cool kids, while enduring his mother's new dating life and reconciling with his cultural identity. Pedrad, who first made her mark on Saturday Night Live, is also creator, writer, executive producer and showrunner on Chad. The series will air Tuesdays at 10:30pm.

American Dad! centers on super patriotic CIA agent Stan Smith (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) and the misadventures of his unconventional family in Langley Falls, VA. Stan applies the same drastic measures used in his job at the CIA to his home life, where Stan's blissfully unaware wife, Francine (Wendy Schaal), has an unfaltering loyalty that makes her blind to his unabashed arrogance. His left-wing activist daughter Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane), however, doesn't let him off so easily - and knows just how to push her father's buttons. Hayley's brother is the geeky-yet-confident Steve (Scott Grimes), a kid who spends his time playing video games and obsessing about the opposite sex. The Smith cabinet is rounded out by two rather unconventional members: Roger (MacFarlane), a sassy, sarcastic and routinely inappropriate space alien, and Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker), an attention-starved goldfish with the brain of a German Olympic skier. The series will air Mondays at 10pm.

The CW 2019-20

Fall 2019

Sundays
8:00PM Batwoman (NEW!)
9:00PM Supergirl

Mondays
8:00PM All American (new night)
9:00PM Black Lightning

Tuesdays
8:00PM The Flash
9:00PM Arrow (new night)

Wednesdays
8:00PM Riverdale
9:00PM Nancy Drew (NEW!)

Thursdays
8:00PM Supernatural
9:00PM Legacies

Fridays
8:00PM Charmed (new night)
9:00PM Dynasty

Unscheduled Mid-Season 2020:

COMEDY:
DRAMA: Katy Keene
REALITY:
Returning: DC's Legends of Tomorrow, In the Dark, Roswell, New Mexico, The 100

NOTES: The CW has 14 returning series and three new series. They have five original scripted series lined up for midseason including the aspirational new series Katy Keene, based on characters from Archie Comics, along with returning series DC's Legends of Tomorrow, In the Dark, Roswell, New Mexico and The 100. The CW will once again launch its 2019-20 season in October, with premiere dates to be announced later. The iHeartRadio Music Festival returns to kick off the new season with an exclusive two-night telecast. Air dates will be announced at a later date.


Discuss The CW's 2019-20 lineup and also you can view complete program information.

TBS has picked up its original series The Last O.G. starring Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish for a third season. Co-created and executive-produced by Academy Award winner Jordan Peele, The Last O.G. launched as cable's #1 new comedy in 2018 and the highest rated cable comedy debut since 2015. The show continues to be a ratings success in its second season, now ranking as cable's #1 sitcom and reaching a multiplatform audience of 23 million viewers so far. Season two of The Last O.G. found the "perfect balance of hilarity" (Salon), with Morgan’s character Tray going all in on his dreams of becoming a chef, and Tray's ex-girlfriend Shay (Haddish) collaborating with an unlikely business partner. Morgan and Haddish will return for the third season, as well as series regulars Ryan Gaul as Shay's affable husband Josh; Allen Maldonado, who plays Tray's goofy but well-intentioned cousin Bobby; and Taylor Mosby and Dante Hoagland, Tray and Shay's teenage children, Shahzad and Amira.

TBS has given a full series order to Chad, a single-camera comedy that follows a 14-year-old pubescent Persian boy (Nasim Pedrad) as he navigates his first year of high school on a mission to become popular. Chad's friendships and sanity are pushed to the limits as he uses every tactic at his disposal to befriend the cool kids, while enduring his mother's new dating life and reconciling with his cultural identity. TBS has ordered 10 episodes of the family sitcom; production on the pilot completed in March. And finally, four-time NBA Champion Shaquille O'Neal wants you to join him on his post-NBA season summer break and get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how this towering mogul spends his time. TNT's Shaq Life is an immersive premium docuseries that offers unprecedented access to the day-to-day of what goes into the business of being Shaq.

TBS has picked up Chad to pilot, a single-camera comedy that follows a 14-year-old Persian boy (played by Nasim Pedrad) during high school as he desperately tries to fit in, cope with his mother's dating life, and reconcile his cultural identity. The teenaged boy in the throes of puberty is played by Pedrad, who made her mark on Saturday Night Live. The Iranian-American actress is also creator, writer, executive producer and co-showrunner. Hayes Davenport is executive producer and co-showrunner. Oly Obst (3 Arts) and Rob Rosell serve as executive producers. Production on the pilot will begin this spring. TBS, which leads the TV industry with more top comedies than any other network, continues to attract fresh, award-winning talent. The #1 comedy network’s series include Miracle Workers, a heaven-set comedy that premieres February 12, and The Last O.G., both of which star diverse, powerhouse casts.

CBS All Access, CBS' digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, announced Lucy Liu will star in the service's upcoming darkly comedic drama Why Women Kill. Created by Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives, Devious Maids), Why Women Kill details the lives of three women living in three different decades: a housewife in the '60s, a socialite in the '80s and a lawyer in 2018, each dealing with infidelity in their marriages. The series will examine how the roles of women have changed, but how their reaction to betrayal... has not. Why Women Kill is produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios. Lucy Liu will star as Simone. Elegant, stylish, effervescent, Simone is the picture of urbane confidence, moving through the world as if it were a delightful movie starring herself. Smugly superior, a woman for whom appearances mean everything, she thrives on shopping and throwing parties, seemingly happily married to her indulgent husband, Karl, who thinks she is simply fabulous. However, despite nagging premonitions, Simone is devastated, her world upended, when she learns that Karl has been cheating on her.