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

I know I've written about Abbott Elementary before, but it bears repeating just how good this incredible sitcom has been. If you've yet to check it out, please do so on Tuesdays on ABC (or binge on Hulu). The show is an absolute delight, and there has been a lot of talk about the show single handedly reviving the mockumentary format - or even the network sitcom.

What makes Abbott Elementary so good? For one, the show has found a way to appeal to both sitcom lovers and young audiences. A quote from the show goes viral nearly every week on Twitter. Additionally, the show draws in a lot of weekly viewers, showing its connecting to broadcast audiences. In 2022, it's crucial for a network sitcom to straddle this line. If you don't appeal to young audiences, you fail to draw in profitable youth demographics. But if you only appeal to those young audiences, you risk not fitting in with the network landscape and getting poor ratings. It’s getting harder and harder for shows to straddle this line, but Abbott does it with ease.

Crackle has added a very rare short-lived sitcom to its service to stream for free. ABC's One in a Million from 1980. That time when the hysterical Shirley Hemphill of What's Happening!! had her own show and now you can finally watch it. It looks like 11 of the 13 episodes are available to stream. In the series, when a young taxi driver inherits a major corporation and becomes "Chairman of the Board" - her unschooled businessways are remarkably wise in understanding. Start with the pilot, when a millionaire bequeaths controlling stock in his corporation to cab driver Shirley Simmons, she must decide whether to take the money or run the company. The sitcom stars Shirley Hemphill, Keene Curtis, Carl Ballantine, Mel Stewart, Ann Weldon, Richard Paul and Dorothy Fielding.

Freeform's buddy comedy Alone Together returns for its 10-episode, second season on Wednesday, August 1, with all-new back-to-back episodes at 8:00-8:30 p.m. and 8:30-9:00 p.m. EDT. The Lonely Island executive produced series will run for five weeks with two brand-new episodes debuting each week. The second season will feature a roster of stellar comedic acts as well as continuing to follow the platonic, dysfunctional co-dependent, best friendship of series executive producers, stars, and writers Esther Povitsky and Benji Aflalo. Despite their sometimes contentious relationship, when push comes to shove, Esther and Benji have each other's back ... and they have nobody else to hang out with. In season two, their odd friendship continues to baffle everyone around them, as they continue to find their place in Los Angeles, juggling odd jobs, their love lives, and aspirations of social status. Freeform will give viewers a sneak peek of the first four episodes across all Freeform digital platforms and Hulu beginning July 25, and then will make the full season available starting August 1.

Joining the cast as guest stars in season two are Fran Drescher (The Nanny) as Mary, Esther's perfectly coiffed, tastefully made up, Mom; Carmen Electra (Baywatch) as Tia, a beautiful and mysterious woman who seduces Benji; Natasha Leggero (He's Just Not That Into You) as Nora, a poised and successful woman that Esther meets at the gym; Hana Mae Lee (Pitch Perfect) as Gigi, a wild partying goth who meets Benji at a concert; Danny Pudi (Community) and Abby Elliott (Saturday Night Live) as husband and wife Chris and Megan, whose boringness is thrown off by Esther and Benji’s eccentricity; Nicole Sullivan (black-ish) as Becky, a writer that has to work with Esther and Benji; writer, director, and actress Kay Cannon (Blockers) as television AD Danielle, who displaces Benji; Maz Jobrani; Andrew Santino; Seth Morris; Erik Griffin; and more. Punam Patel (Adam Ruins Everything) also joins season two for a recurring role as Tara, Esther’s friend from acting class six years ago.

Returning for season two are appearances by Chris D'Elia (Undateable) reprising his role as Benjis older brother Dean; Ginger Gonzaga (Wrecked) as Benji's older sister Alia; Edgar Blackmon (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) as Benji and Esther's friend, Jeff; and Nikki Glaser (Note Safe with Nikki Glaser) as Annette.

Sony Crackle announced that the network's upcoming original comedy series Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy will debut on Thursday, August 23, with a special advance debut on Amazon Fire TV through the Sony Crackle app starting Monday, August 13. In addition, the free streaming network unveiled additional guest stars joining the series, including Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding), Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore), Noël Wells (Master of None), David Arquette (Amanda & Jack Go Glamping, Cleaners), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos), Jamie Chung (Big Hero 6), Haley Joel Osment (Future Man, Silicon Valley) and more. The ensemble joins previously announced guest stars Paul Scheer and Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin. The network also released new photos from the highly anticipated eight-episode summer series.

In this Sony Crackle original comedy series, celebrity patriot Rob Riggle, who is mostly known for his legendary ski master movies, has invested all of his money and reputation into an Academy celebrating America's truest art form…personal watercraft riding. Rob, his legendary stunt man commandant Dirk Hamsteak (Billy Merritt) and their entire staff of instructors spend a semester defending their beloved Academy at all costs. No matter how many people criticize it... go missing…or die!

Sony Crackle, the free, ad-supported streaming network, announced the following news at an upfront presentation held at Sony Headquarters in New York City by Eric Berger, Chief Digital Officer, Sony Pictures Television Networks and General Manager, Sony Crackle:

● Season two renewal for The Oath, executive produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and starring Ryan Kwanten, who is also a producer.
● Network announces September launch of Snatch season two; as previously announced, Kevin Connolly of Entourage will direct multiple episodes of the Rupert Grint series.
● Release of first-look clip of Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino in her new role in season three of StartUp; the network also announced a November debut.
● SuperMansion has added award-winning actress Minnie Driver in a recurring role for season three of the Emmy-nominated stop-motion animated series from Bryan Cranston, Seth Green, Zeb Wells and Matthew Senreich.
● First-look teaser from Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy; Rob Riggle also introduced clip announcing comedy's August premiere and the network revealed new guest stars, NFL Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher, Paul Scheer and Cheech Marin.
● First-look clip released from new comedy-horror film Office Uprising, starring Brenton Thwaites (DC Comics Titans, Pirates of the Caribbean); the film set for a July premiere.
● Acquisition of Nitro Circus' Action Figures and news about new Sony Crackle original, Action Figures 2, premiering in June. This follow-up to the hit action sports movie is from 17 time X Games medalist Travis Pastrana. The network also acquired five series as part of the new deal with Nitro Circus.
● The network unveiled a development slate of scripted original series, including dramas Heart of Darkness, Hustle, Cry Victory, and “Limitless: Origins,” and the comedy “Squad Goals Squad.”
● The network greenlit new unscripted shorts from Embassy Row and is partnering with NRG to develop a new eSports series.

Travel Channel has greenlit a new four-episode series, Mysteries and Myths with Megan Fox (wt), starring actress Megan Fox (Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hope & Faith), who also serves as the co-creator and producer. Since an early age, Fox has been obsessed with the history of ancient cultures, people and places, always questioning their "documented" story. Now, she is embarking on an epic and personal journey across the globe where archaeologists and experts will reexamine history, asking tough questions and challenging the conventional wisdom that has existed for centuries. The series will delve into some of the greatest mysteries of time, including whether Amazon women really did exist or if the Trojan War was real. Production on each one-hour episode will begin in June, with the series slated to air later this year.

It's time for more around the horn from the TCA 2018 Winter Press Tour. Crackle, Sony Pictures Television Networks' free, ad-supported streaming network, released the trailer and key art for the network's new scripted original drama series The Oath, at the bi-annual gathering of television critics in Pasadena. The show, which premieres with all 10-episodes on Thursday, March 8, stars Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Cory Hardrict (American Sniper, Gran Torino), Katrina Law (Training Day), Arlen Escarpeta (The Magicians), J.J. Soria (Animal Kingdom, The Fosters) and Game of Thrones alum, Sean Bean. The series explores a world of gangs made up of those sworn to protect and defend and sheds light on corrupt and secret societies that are nearly impossible to join - only a select few make the cut - but once inside, members will do what they must to protect each other from enemies on the outside and from within their own ranks.

Crackle also announced Rob Riggle's Jet Ski Academy, a new original comedy series in development. The eight-episode, 22-minute series follows a constantly misbehaving and only slightly fictionalized Rob Riggle, where he makes his most ill-conceived investment to date - a jet ski academy. Under public scrutiny, Riggle finds himself defending the venture and explaining the insane accidents and adventures that occur at camp all summer long. Riggle will also serve as a series writer and executive producer, in addition to starring. And production is underway in Puerto Rico for season three of the 10-episode original drama series StartUp. In addition, Academy Award-winning actor Mira Sorvino joins the cast as Rebecca Stroud, a NSA special agent who has come to investigate ArakNet, and will do whatever it takes to have ArakNet partner with the government. Finally, SuperMansion will be returning with six all-new 22-minute episodes of the Emmy-nominated stop-motion animated series beginning Thursday, April 12th.

Heathers, a pitch-black comedy anthology series based on the 80s cult classic film of the same name, will premiere on Paramount Network on Wednesday, March 7 at 10 pm, ET/PT. Set in the present day, "good girl" Veronica Sawyer (Grace Victoria Cox) deals with a very different but equally vicious group of 'Heathers.' Heather Chandler (Melanie Field) is the unconventional leader of this popular high school clique and rules Westerburg High through fear, intimidation and amazing fashion sense. Heather Duke (Brendan Scannell) is Heather C's #1 sidekick and harnesses the Heather's power to destroy whoever he views as a total discount hobgoblin. Heather McNamara (Jasmine Mathews) is considered the nicest Heather in the group who lives in the shadow of the others. She's hiding a dark secret that she doesn't want to be exposed. JD Dean (James Scully) is the new boy in town with a dark side and sets out on a reckless path of destruction proving that no one, even his girlfriend Veronica is safe. Original Heathers cast member Shannen Doherty guest stars as a pivotal character in several episodes along with Selma Blair and Casey Wilson.

American Woman, a new half-hour scripted dramedy set amid the sexual revolution and rise of feminism in the 1970s will premiere on Paramount Network on Thursday, June 7 at 10:00pm ET/PT. The 12- episode series from John Wells Productions in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television stars Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Suburgatory), Mena Suvari (American Beauty, Chicago Fire) and Jennifer Bartels (Broken). Yellowstone, Paramount Network's new epic scripted dramatic series, will premiere on the network, Wednesday, June 20 at 9:00 pm, ET/PT. Starring world-renowned actor and Oscar(R)-winner Kevin Costner, who serves in the lead role. The impressive cast list for Yellowstone includes Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Dave Annable, Danny Huston, Gil Birmingham, Josh Lucas, Jefferson White, Gretchen Mol, Jill Hennessey, Patrick St. Esprit, Ian Bohen, Heather Hemmons, and Denim Richards.

Crackle, Sony Pictures Television Networks' free, ad supported streaming network, announced that the network acquired rights to Federal Offense, a comedy from Boundless Pictures. The award-winning actor and comedian, Chevy Chase (National Lampoon's Vacation franchise) is set to star as a foul-mouthed grandfather who is broken out of his nursing home. Courtney Lauren Penn and Brandon Burrows of Boundless Pictures will produce the feature. Chase most recently completed filming on The Last Laugh with Richard Dreyfuss. In recent years, he co-starred on NBC's cult comedy Community, New Line's Vacation reboot, as well as Hot Tub Time Machine 2. In this Crackle comedy, Federal Offense is a raunchy screwball comedy that centers on three best friends in their 20s who lose a drug kingpin's stash before finding themselves on the lam from gangsters, bounty hunters and the law after breaking their grandfather out of his nursing home.

Fox has renewed The Orville, the space adventure series created by and starring Seth MacFarlane, for a second season for 2018-19. The Orville is a live-action, one-hour series set 400 years in the future that follows the adventures of The Orville, a mid-level exploratory spaceship. Its crew, both human and alien, face the wonders and dangers of outer space, while also dealing with the familiar, often humorous problems of everyday life. The series stars MacFarlane as Ed Mercer, the ship's Commanding Officer, and Adrianne Palicki (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Friday Night Lights) as his ex-wife, KELLY GRAYSON, who's assigned as his First Officer. The series also stars Penny Johnson Jerald as CLAIRE FINN, Scott Grimes as GORDON MALLOY, Peter Macon as BORTUS, Halston Sage as ALARA KITAN, J. Lee as JOHN LAMARR, Mark Jackson as ISAAC, Chad Coleman as KLYDEN and Norm Macdonald as YAPHIT.

Bounce will double the laughs by kicking off season three of its hit multi-camera sitcom In The Cut starring Dorien Wilson and Kellita Smith with two new original episodes back-to-back 9:00-10:00 pm. (ET) on Tues. July 11. All-new In The Cut episodes will continue to premiere Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm (ET) through the summer. Bounce also announced that Ed Gordon will host a star-packed special featuring interviews with the biggest African-American celebrities in movies, television and comedy today, including Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Strahan, Omari Hardwick and Cedric the Entertainer, which will world premiere on Mon. July 17 at 10:00 p.m. (ET).

Coming off its highly-rated second season, In The Cut stars Wilson (The Parkers, Dream On) as Jay Weaver, an accomplished entrepreneur and barbershop owner who is kept on his toes by Cheryl, played by Smith (The Bernie Mac Show, The First Family), the co-owner of the beauty salon next store and his love interest. Ken Lawson (The Parkers) returns as Jay's 32-year old illegitimate son from a short-lived fling now in on the family business as does John Marshall Jones (The Smart Guy) as fellow barber and pal Smitty. Among this season's storylines: Social media pressures, positive pregnancy tests, old grudges, evading the government, a special engagement and much more. Guest stars include Tamar Braxton, Ed Lover, DC Young Fly, Cocoa Brown, Nephue Tommy, Marques Houston and Earthquake.

In the celebrity-driven Ed Gordon special, the award-winning journalist interviews the stars of the upcoming summer comedy Girls Trip, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish, who discuss their careers and reflect on the contributions of black women in Hollywood today. Gordon profiles Super Bowl champion-turned broadcaster Michael Strahan and the very busy television talent discusses his life, his controversial departure from Live with Kelly and Michael and more. Power's Omari Hardwick talks with Gordon about his hit series and how he has handled fame in the social media era. Gordon also sits with Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley who discuss the state of comedy in the age of President Donald Trump and more.

Crackle's new original drama The Oath is set to debut in 2018. Katrina Law (Training Day) joins as Karen Beach, a police officer, and the sole female member of the Ravens cop gang, who has tendency to overcompensate by out-toughing the macho company she runs with and gets involved in a forbidden love affair with a member of a rival cop gang. Law joins the previously announced members of the ensemble: Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Cory Hardrict (American Sniper, Gran Torino), Arlen Escarpeta (The Magicians) and Game of Thrones alum, Sean Bean.

Created by Joe Halpin (Hawaii Five-O, Secrets and Lies), who worked as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy in South Central for 17 years, 12 of which as an undercover officer, the series takes an unforgiving look at the complicated dynamics in these organizations and documents the lives of those willing to risk it all, to have it all. The gritty, action-packed drama, explores a world of gangs made up of those sworn to protect and defend and sheds light on corrupt and secret societies that are nearly impossible to join - only a select few make the cut-but once inside, members will do what they must to protect each other from enemies on the outside and from within their own ranks.

COZI TV will commemorate Black Music Month with the premiere of new, original short-form vignettes featured in a week of curated programming, complete with cameo appearances from some of black music's most iconic artists. The celebration runs from June 19 through June 23 on the national multicast network. Famous black artists such as James Brown, Isaac Hayes and Little Richard made memorable appearances on episodes of COZI TV shows such as Miami Vice, The A-Team and Baywatch. The original vignettes feature hip-hop and pop culture influencers discussing their TV performances as well as their musical and societal contributions. Commentators in the segments include Angela Yee, host of Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club; Janine Rubenstein, music reporter for PEOPLE; music producer DJ Clark Kent and news journalist Alicia Quarles. The curated episodes will air at the following times:

Monday, June 19, 10:00PM: The A-Team, "A Lease With An Option" featuring Della Reese
Tuesday, June 20, 11:00PM: Miami Vice, "Missing Hours" featuring James Brown
Wednesday, June 21, 11:00PM: Miami Vice, "Bought and Paid For" featuring El DeBarge
Thursday, June 22, 10:00PM: The A-Team, "The Heart of Rock N' Roll" featuring Rick James & Isaac Hayes
Thursday, June 22, 11:59PM: Baywatch, "The Runaways" Short featuring Little Richard
Friday, June 23, 11:00PM: Miami Vice, "Florence, Italy" featuring The Fat Boys

Crackle, Sony Pictures Television Networks' free, ad-supported streaming network, announced that the critically acclaimed Universal Television sci-fi drama Heroes and the event series Heroes Reborn are headlining the platform's Fandom lineup on Thursday, July 13. NBCUniversal's Television and New Media Distribution Group and Crackle came to an agreement to make seasons one through four of the Emmy®-winning Heroes series (all 78 episodes), as well as all 13 episodes of Heroes Reborn, available on the streaming network. These two series combined provide for over 65 hours of binge-watching pleasure.

Bolstered by an impressive ensemble cast that includes Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us) and Hayden Panettiere (Nashville), Heroes uses an innovative comic book-style format, divided into "volumes" to tell the thrilling story of a group of ordinary people whose lives are changed forever when a solar eclipse unlocks extraordinary abilities inside each of them. As their stories intertwine, they must work together to unlock the secrets of their powers while battling the sinister forces that seek to use them for their own nefarious purposes. Heroes also stars Zachary Quinto, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Masi Oka, Greg Grunberg, Jack Coleman and Sendhil Ramamurthy, with appearances by Kristen Bell, George Takei, Robert Knepper, Madeline Zima and Malcolm McDowell, among others. Heroes Reborn is a special 13-episode event series starring Zachary Levi as the vengeful hero-hunter Luke Collins, with Coleman reprising his role as Noah Bennet. Taking place several years after the flagship series, Heroes Reborn finds a new generation of "evos" in a fight for their lives after being pegged as the perpetrators of a devastating terrorist attack in Odessa, Texas. Joining forces with past heroes (including Grunberg and Oka) they must race against the clock to unmask the real culprits and save the world from a cataclysmic reversal.

The holidays are definitely "fuller" with family and the new year is about to shine a little brighter as Fuller House will return for a third season in 2017. The news was announced via the show's social pages:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FullerHouseNetflix
Twitter: @fullerhouse, https://www.twitter.com/fullerhouse
Instagram: https://instagram.com/fullerhouse

Not caught up yet? Seasons one and two of Fuller House are currently streaming only on Netflix. In the spin-off series, Fuller House, the adventures that began in 1987 on Full House continue, with veterinarian D.J. Tanner-Fuller (Candace Cameron-Bure) recently widowed and living in San Francisco. D.J.'s younger sister/aspiring musician Stephanie Tanner (Jodie Sweetin) and D.J.'s lifelong best friend/fellow single mother Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber), along with Kimmy's feisty teenage daughter Ramona, all move in to help take care of D.J.'s three boys - the rebellious 12-year-old Jackson, neurotic 7-year-old Max and her newborn baby, Tommy Jr. Fuller House stars Candace Cameron Bure as D.J. Tanner-Fuller, Jodie Sweetin as Stephanie Tanner, Andrea Barber as Kimmy Gibbler, Juan Pablo Di Pace as Fernando, Soni Nicole Bringas as Romona, Michael Campion as Jackson, Elias Harger as Max, Dashiell and Fox Messitt Twins as Baby Tommy, Scott Weinger as Steve Hale, John Brotherton as Matt Harmon, and Ashley Liao as Lola.

Crackle, Sony's streaming network, released the new season trailer and key art for season nine of Jerry Seinfeld's Emmy(R) nominated series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Premiering Thursday, January 5, the new season features six original episodes that will stream weekly for free on Crackle in the U.S. and Canada. Guests set to appear this season include (not in air-order): Bob Einstein (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Cedric the Entertainer (Why Him, Barbershop), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Spectre), Kristen Wiig (Ghostbusters, Sausage Party), Lewis Black (The Daily Show, Inside Out) and Norm Macdonald (Saturday Night Live).

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is Crackle's flagship original, unscripted series and anchors the streaming network's evolving slate of original premium content, which includes StartUp, starring Martin Freeman, Adam Brody, Edi Gathegi and Otmara Marrero; The Art of More, starring Dennis Quaid, Kate Bosworth, Christian Cooke and Cary Elwes, which returned for its second season in November; the upcoming Snatch series based on the iconic British film and starring Rupert Grint, Dougray Scott, Luke Pasqualino and Lucien Laviscount; the stop-motion animated comedy series SuperMansion, with Bryan Cranston, Seth Green, Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Pine and Jillian Bell - which Key and Pine recently received Emmy(R) nominations for in the Character Voice-Over Performance category, and SuperMansion: War on Christmas which premiered on December 8th and Crackle's weekly live game show series Sports Jeopardy! with Emmy(R) award-winning sportscaster Dan Patrick.

Crackle original movies include the network's upcoming original film Mad Families, starring Charlie Sheen; Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser, the first ever digital sequel to a major motion picture, starring David Spade; and Dead Rising: Endgame starring Jesse Metcalfe, Keegan Connor Tracy, Dennis Haysbert, Marie Avgeropoulos, Billy Zane and Jessica Harmon.

American Housewife - Tuesdays at 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at 8:30PM ET/PT

by Vincent

American Housewife follows Katie Otto - a confident, unapologetic wife and mother of three, raising her flawed family in the wealthy town of Westport, Connecticut, filled with "perfect" mommies and their "perfect" offspring.

Cast Details:

Katy Mixon as Katie Otto
Diedrich Bader as Greg Otto
Ali Wong as Doris
Carly Hughes as Angela
Daniel DiMaggio as Harrison Otto
Meg Donnelly as Taylor Otto
Julia Butters as Anna-Kat Otto

Katy Mixon (Katie Otto) is a film and TV actress known for her roles as April Buchanon on Eastbound and Down and Victoria Flynn on Mike & Molly. She also appeared in films such as Minions and Hell or High Water.

Diedrich Bader (Greg Otto) is known for his supporting roles on shows such as Veep and The Drew Carey Show and in films such as Office Space and Napoleon Dynamite. He has also appeared in shows such as Gravity Falls, Two and a Half Men and Arrested Development.

Ali Wong (Doris) is a comedic writer and actress known for her appearances on shows such as Inside Amy Schumer, Chelsea Lately and Best Week Ever, as well as her Netflix comedy special Ali Wong: Baby Cobra.

Carly Hughes (Angela) is a revered Broadway actress who has appeared in shows such as The Book of Mormon, Pippin and Ragtime. American Housewife will be her television debut.

Daniel DiMaggio (Harrison Otto) is a young actor whose previous appearances include guest roles on Supergirl and Burn Notice.

Meg Donnelly (Taylor Otto) is an actress who has appeared in NBC's The Sound of Music Live as well television shows such as What Would You Do? and Future Shock.

Julia Butters (Anna-Kat Otto) is a young actress who has appeared in the TV shows Transparent and The Kicks.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" (Airs Tuesday, October 11 from 8:30 – 9:00 P.M.)

Katie and husband Greg have moved to Westport because the school district there is the best option for their youngest, Anna-Kat. Katie finds herself caught up in helping Anna-Kat fit in more while trying to assure that her older kids, Taylor and Oliver, immediately caught up in the luxe Westport lifestyle, fit in a little less. On top of this, Katie has her own insecurities about her place in their new town. Her perfectly imperfect world is upended when her neighbor's decision to move notches her up from her ideal social standing and sets her on a path to ensure that doesn't happen, regardless of the consequences.

Analysis:

American Housewife is one of the more frustrating comedies of the fall season, in that there is almost a complete even split of what's "good" about it and what's "bad" about it. The show that it reminds me the most of is Suburgatory – a fun, charming suburban satire that never managed to achieve the popularity of ABC's other family sitcoms of recent years. American Housewife is similarly bitter about its suburban setting, and Katy Mixon does an excellent job making you feel for her character's frustrating with her surroundings. There are even some legitimate, class-based grievances in her anger – Kate and her family are renters, which sets them apart from the extravagantly wealthy, mansion-owning upper-class dwellers that exist through-out the rest of the town. When the shows is honing in on that aspect, on Katie's frustration that her life isn't turning out in the ideal way she thought it would, as well as her attempts to keep her kids from being sucked into the trap of suburban wealth, it's entertaining, funny, and even poignant.

Unfortunately, the show gets far too caught up most of the time in its strange obsession with body image. The pilot is framed as Katie's quest to prevent herself from being "the second fattest woman in Westport," and it sends her into an endless rage over the "skinny bitches" that run rampant around her town. Frankly, this aspect of the show just falls completely flat: it doesn't cut deep enough to qualify as satire, and it isn't funny enough to use the "well, it's just for laughs defense." It's certainly possible to craft a comedy that makes risky jokes about body image, but you have to have a crystal-clear sense of purpose and sharp timing to really pull it off. American Housewife's spin on the issue lacks that focus, and it makes it feel forced and tonally awkward much of the time. Luckily, the body image material is much more prevalent in the show's shaky pilot than the improved second episode, which focuses more on Katie's frustration about her place in her family and heavily tones down the body image material. If it can keep heading in that direction, American Housewife could be worth a second look.

Conclusion:

American Housewife is an interesting, occasionally very funny, but ultimately flawed show that has a winner in its leading couple and in some of its sharper suburban satire, but loses it way when it's making misguided jokes about body image and going too over-the-top in its cartoonish depiction of suburban jealousy. There are elements that make it worth watching, and the show is occasionally genuinely funny (which can be rare for a sitcom this early on), but it needs to fix key aspects of its central premise to fully be considered a worthwhile addition to ABC's rock-solid family comedy lineup.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 3/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at 8:30 ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

American Housewife Photo Gallery

Preview:

Crackle, Sony's free streaming service, announced that their Emmy-nominated original stop-motion comedy series, SuperMansion, will kick off the holiday season with an original half-hour special, SuperMansion: War on Christmas premiering Thursday, December 8. SuperMansion: War on Christmas focuses on a dysfunctional group of self-righteous superheroes, The League of Freedom, who can't agree on anything, but must band together to save Christmas when an interstellar imp, Mr. Skibumpers (Jim Parsons), unleashes a real-life Santa Claus (Gary Anthony Williams) who experiences an existential crisis. Ultimately, the team comes to understand that their differences of opinion are what the holiday spirit is all about.

Returning to the seasonal special are voiceover stars Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Emmy(R) Award-winner Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Seth Green (Family Guy), Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street), Anton Yelchin (Star Trek), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Heidi Gardner (The Groundlings), Tucker Gilmore (Frozen), and Zeb Wells (Robot Chicken). Joining the cast for the holiday special are Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) and Gary Anthony Williams (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows). Season two of SuperMansion will return in early 2017, as previously announced at the Crackle upfront in April. You can binge-watch all 13 episodes on season one for free on Crackle.

TV Land announced the second season order of original comedy Lopez starring and executive produced by stand-up comedian and actor George Lopez. Lopez is currently in its first season on TV Land, airing Wednesdays at 10pm and full episodes can be viewed on the TV Land App. The first season finale airs on Wednesday, June 22. The series revolves around George as he struggles with wanting to give back to the Latino community where he grew up, but also feeling as though he can never satisfy all the demands placed on him by both the celebrity world and his hometown. TV Land is also airing reruns of George's first series, George Lopez weeknights at 8pm. Lopez is also executive produced and written by John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky (Silicon Valley, King of the Hill). Michael Rotenberg (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) of 3 Arts Entertainment also served as executive producer alongside Troy Miller, who also directed all episodes of season one and produced the show via Dakota Pictures.

Crackle, Sony's free streaming network, will premiere Jerry Seinfeld's original series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with a new episode every Thursday starting on June 16. Guests set to appear in season eight of the Emmy® nominated series includes (not in air-order): comedienne Margaret Cho, SNL creator Lorne Michaels, stand-up comic Jim Gaffigan, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver, actor JB Smoove and writer/producer of some of the biggest hit films, Judd Apatow. Crackle's Original Movie, Dead Rising: Endgame, based on the hugely popular Dead Rising video game franchise by Capcom, which has sold over 9.1 million copies worldwide, will premiere on June 20. The action-packed zombie thriller produced with Legendary Digital Media, stars Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives, Dallas), Billy Zane (Zoolander 2, Titanic) Dennis Haysbert (24, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), Marie Avgeropoulos (The 100), Jessica Harmon (iZombie) and Keegan Connor Tracy (Once Upon a Time, Bates Motel). Sports Jeopardy!, Crackle's sports-centric game show hosted by Dan Patrick, will continue to air new episodes weekly, every Wednesday.

New programming arriving to Crackle in June include: Blue Crush starring Kate Bosworth, the supernatural horror film Insidious, the 2006 biographical drama, The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith, sports drama Gridiron Gang starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, additional episodes of Seinfeld and much more. In anticipation of season two, fans can binge-watch the entire first season of Crackle's first, one-hour scripted drama, The Art of More, starring Dennis Quaid (executive producer), Kate Bosworth, Cary Elwes and Christian Cooke. Fans can also watch all 13 episodes of the stop-motion animated comedy, SuperMansion with Bryan Cranston (executive producer), Seth Green (executive producer), Keegan-Michael Key and Jillian Bell, among several guest stars including: Chris Pine, Jordan Peele, Donald Faison, Ron Perlman, Breckin Meyer, Clark Duke and many more.

COZI TV announced the addition of The A-Team, the popular 1980s action-adventure series starring Mr. T and George Peppard, to its lineup of iconic programming starting New Year's Day. The A-Team kicks off on COZI TV with a day-long marathon on January 1 beginning at 6AM; the series will then air every night – both during the week and on weekends – at 10PM, with the exception of Friday nights. The hit show, which aired on NBC from 1983 to 1987, featured a former commando unit turned mercenaries. The team was framed for robbing the Bank of Hanoi and sent to a U.S. military prison, which they escaped from and led a life on the run. While underground, they became heroes for hire around the world, working as good-guy vigilantes. Each member of The A-Team served a key role: Hannibal, played by Peppard, was the team's leader and a connoisseur of disguises; his teammate, Face, played by Dirk Benedict, was known for being quite the ladies' man and a con-artist; Mr. T's B.A. or Bad Attitude was their strong man and mechanic who assisted during moments of chaos; and Howling Mad Murdock played by Dwight Schultz was an expert pilot and a certified lunatic, who was the team broke out of a mental hospital when they needed him for a mission.

Here is a promo inviting viewers to tune into The A-Team: http://www.cozitv.com/video/The-A-Team-Arrive-this-January/cozitv/353023161.

Crackle, Sony's free streaming network, announced that President Barack Obama will be the first guest in the new season of Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with an earlier-than-expected premiere date. Season 7 will premiere on Wednesday, December 30 at 11:30PM ET on Crackle and comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com. Other Season 7 guests will be Will Ferrell, Steve Martin, Garry Shandling, Kathleen Madigan and Sebastian Maniscalco. The episode featuring President Obama was shot at the White House earlier this month, and features both the President and Seinfeld driving a 1963 Corvette Stingray Split Window Coupe, and talking about life in the White House over coffee.

The seventh season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee will be comprised of six episodes, with a new episode streaming every Wednesday night at 11:30PM ET. Sponsored by Acura, the series is executive produced by Jerry Seinfeld and Embassy Row. Seasons one through six are currently streaming on Crackle. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is Crackle's flagship original, unscripted series and anchors the streaming network's evolving slate of original premium content, which includes its first original scripted one-hour drama The Art of More with Dennis Quaid, Kate Bosworth, Cary Elwes and Christian Cooke; the stop-motion animated comedy series SuperMansion, with Bryan Cranston, Seth Green, Keegan Michael-Key and Jillian Bell and Crackle's weekly live game show series Sports Jeopardy! with Emmy(R) award-winning sportscaster Dan Patrick. Crackle original movies include Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser, the first ever digital sequel to a major motion picture, starring David Spade and Charlotte McKinney, and Dead Rising: Watchtower starring Jesse Metcalfe, Virginia Madsen, Dennis Haysbert and Rob Riggle.

ABC Family announced at its network upfront New York that ABC Family is doubling-down on the life stage that has made it a leading voice in entertainment for W18-34, W18-49, F12-34 and a top five network with adults, in addition to having the most socially engaged audience. The network identified and coined the term 'Becomers' to describe people in this life stage. Traditionally, Becomers are in high school, college and the decade that follows and are navigating the wonderful, fun, exciting, and scary time in life when you experience the most firsts – first car, first apartment, first job, first love, first heartbreak – all the firsts that exists between who they are and who they want to become. Becomers are 69 million strong in the US, with an estimated spending power in the trillions. The strategy begins in June with new additions, including the procedural drama Stitchers and the unscripted reality drama Becoming Us. As for premieres, Pretty Little Liars and Stitchers bow first on Tuesday, June 2, followed by Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy on Wednesday, June 3. The Fosters and Becoming Us will then premiere on Monday, June 8. Later this summer the new comedy Kevin From Work and the new reality series Job or No Job, Monica the Medium, Startup U and Next Step Realty: NYC will join the line-up. Returning series Young & Hungry, Chasing Life and Switched at Birth will return later this summer, with dates to be announced. Two new dramas will premiere in 2016: Shadowhunters and Recovery Road.

ABC Family also announced many projects in development, including a drama starring Bella Thorne titled Famous In Love. Other projects in development include the comedy Sold Out and a reality series from Eva Longoria titled You've Got To Work It. And ABC Family also has We Heart Disney music spectacular in development featuring some of today's biggest pop stars singing classic Disney songs. David Foster and Nigel Lythgoe (American Idol) will serve as executive producers. Stay with us for contined updates.

In its first standalone presentation to advertisers, Crackle, the television streaming network, announced a stellar line-up of original programming. The wide variety of shows includes their first-ever one hour scripted series The Art Of More starring Dennis Quaid, animated comedy series SuperMansion voiced by Bryan Cranston, and Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser – the first ever made-for-digital sequel to a major motion picture and starring David Spade. Jerry Seinfeld, Dennis Quaid, Kate Bosworth, Christian Cooke, David Spade, Seth Green and Brittany Daniel were all on hand at the Crackle Upfront presentation. Crackle's new slate features original programming across a variety of genres and involves top Hollywood talent including Jerry Seinfeld, Bryan Cranston, Dennis Quaid, David Spade, Kate Bosworth, Christian Cooke, Seth Green, Dan Patrick, Keegan-Michael Key, Christopher Walken, Brittany Daniel, Patrick Warburton, Mark McGrath, Jillian Bell, Dennis Miller, Adam Beach, Kevin Farley, Charlotte McKinney, Milo Ventimiglia, Bill Maher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Steve Harvey, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah and Jim Carrey.

As we announced a few years ago, reruns of Mike & Molly are coming to FX in Fall 2014! Now we have some additional details! The series will begin with a Labor Day marathon on Monday, September 1, 2014 from 12 noon to 9pm ET leading into the one-hour season finale of Partners, starring Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence at 9. Back to Mike & Molly, the Melissa McCarthy sitcom will join the regular schedule a few weeks later beginning Tuesday, Sept. 23. Like, Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother, it will air in stacks in late afternoons, primetime and late night. No set times or anything, but in the first week look for it to air 5:30pm-7:30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, 6-10pm on Thursday and 11pm-2am on Saturday night. Mike & Molly will also premiere in local broadcast syndication this fall beginning Sept. 22. No other additions or changes are being made to FX in September, so you can still expect to see Men, Mother and FX's other series: Anger Management, Ellen and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And don't forget sister network FXX will launch The Simpsons with the longest TV marathon ever! More to come on that soon, like its normal timeslots.

Jerry Seinfeld has announced the release of a new series of vignettes tied to his two-time Emmy®-nominated Crackle series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee titled Single Shots. Inspired by a small cup of espresso, Single Shots are two minute-long vignettes with Seinfeld and past Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee-featured guests discussing one specific topic. The first episode, which premiered last week, is titled "Donuts" and includes scenes of various comedians including Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman and Brian Regan talking to Jerry about the popular fried dough confections. The episodes from Single Shots include both previously aired footage from Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee as well as additional, never-before-seen footage. Since its debut in July 2012, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee has delivered more than 55 million streams, garnered rave reviews, and earned Jerry Seinfeld two consecutive Primetime Emmy® nominations in the Outstanding Special Class - Short-Format Nonfiction Programs category as well as two recent 2014 Webby Awards for Best Individual Performance (both the Webby and the People's Voice Award). Additional accolades include a Silver Telly Award in 2014 in Comedy, and two Bronze Telly Awards in 2014 for Branded Content with Acura and Use of Humor; a 2014 Webby Media and Entertainment Honoree and Branded Content Honoree for Interactive Advertising and Media; and a special Webby Award in 2013 for Outstanding Comedic Performance.

Well, it's actually called a "NewFront" for Hulu and Crackle, but both had their annual presentations yesterday. For Hulu, among the new series is The Hotwives of Orlando, a Hulu Original Series, that will premiere on Tuesday, July 15. From Paramount Digital Entertainment, Hotwives is produced by Emmy© award-winning producer Jonathan Stern and Emmy© nominated producer Paul Scheer. Paramount Digital Entertainment is the studio behind the outrageous Emmy© nominated comedy Burning Love. All episodes will be available on Hulu Plus on July 15; the first two episodes will be available on Hulu.com, with a new episode releasing each week after that. The series is a laugh-out-loud parody of the phenomenon that is reality housewives shows. With an all-star cast that includes the Hotwives Casey Wilson as The Trophy Wife (Happy Endings), Angela Kinsey as The Religious Zealot (The Office), Kristen Schaal as The Drug Addled Former Child Star (Flight of the Conchords), Tymberlee Hill as The Entrepreneur (Drunk History), Danielle Schneider as The Bankrupt Overspender (Upright Citizens Brigade) and Andrea Savage as The Cougar (Step Brothers). With special guest stars including Kate Walsh, Weird Al Yankovic, Joey McIntyre, Stephen Tobolowsky, Paul Scheer and Paul Scheer (The League) who plays the Enthusiastic TV producer Matty Green.

Crackle, the multi-platform digital entertainment network, released an exciting line-up of new original programming and returning series yesterday at the Digital Content NewFronts in New York City. Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle, Breaking Bad), Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage), and sportscaster Dan Patrick were all on hand alongside Sony Pictures Television executives for Crackle's second year at the annual NewFronts presentations. The new line-up features more than 100 episodes of original programming including exciting new productions and returning hits across a variety of genres such as sports, comedy, thrillers, and music involving some of Hollywood's most sought-after talent including Jerry Seinfeld, Robert Downey Jr. Bryan Cranston, Jeremy Renner and Dan Patrick. New series includes a comedy titled Tightrope. Emmy(R)-Award winner Bryan Cranston returns to his comedic roots to executive produce this series that will replace a character from a classic detective series with a modern-day actor. The show juxtaposes the modern character, with irreverent comic sensibilities and also with older characters from another era to reshape the stories into contemporary comedy. A new drama Sequestered was also announced for a 12 episode run scheduled to premiere on Crackle in August. A sophisticated, intense thriller, starring Jesse Bradford, Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagemen), and Bruce Davison about a jury sequestered in a hotel while deliberating a court case with massive implications. Series is produced by Lifeboat Productions and created by Aaron Tracy.




On the next...Surviving Jack (Fox, Thursday 9:30pm):
By: Vincent

Fox's new comedy starring Christopher Meloni airs Thursdays at 9:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (May 1). In the episode airing tonight, "She Drives Me Crazy," Jack (Christopher Meloni) gets Rachel (Claudia Lee) a spot on the wrestling team, much to the chagrin of the wrestling coach (guest star Neil Flynn, The Middle, Scrubs). Meanwhile, Joanne (Rachael Harris) realizes that Frankie (Connor Buckley) is now too embarrassed to be seen with her during their annual mother-son trip.

When I watch Surviving Jack, the best word I can come up with is "competent." This is a show that knows what it's doing and does it pretty well. It's a nostalgia-based family sitcom (although the '90s references are increasingly becoming less prevalent) that wants to get some decent laughs out of you while getting you invested in some fairly well drawn, if slightly stereotypical, characters. It wants to make you think of your own childhood or adolescence with a smile, and it wants you to go "aww" at its sweet message of family togetherness it brings through at the end. And it does all of this quite well! In fact, unlike many family sitcoms, the "aww" moments feel genuinely earned here, because the characters feel like more than just archetypes. It's good, solid family sitcom stuff.



The problem is that we've had many "good, solid family sitcoms" over the years, and there's not much that makes Surviving Jack stand out in the crowd. The show is funny enough, but there are far funnier shows on television. The characters are pretty well-drawn, but they're not unique in the way that, say, the Heck kids (from The Middle) are unique. The shows' genuine sweetness is perhaps its best selling point, but it's not groundbreaking enough to really make Surviving Jack worth going out of your way for. This is probably why the show has sort of failed to gather traction – as good as everything here is, it's just good, and there isn't much of an effort to be anything more than "just good." There are elements here that could eventually make a genuinely great family sitcom, but the show may be taking too long to properly utilize them. Surviving Jack is not a bad way to spend a half hour, but with so many great comedies on TV, "not a bad way to spend a half hour" just isn't enough. B-

TV Land has given the green light to a third season of The Soul Man starring Cedric The Entertainer, Niecy Nash and Wesley Jonathan. The new season will premiere spring 2014. Over the last two seasons, The Soul Man averaged an impressive 3.7 rating among African-American Women 25-54 and a 3.0 rating with African-American Adults 25-54, according to Nielsen. Season 2 of the series posted gains of +103% among A25-54 and +111% among W25-54 (L+7) versus channel prime average. The Soul Man will return with eight episodes.

The Soul Man follows R&B superstar-turned-minister Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballentine (Cedric) after he relocated from Las Vegas to St. Louis with his wife Lolli (Nash). While learning to adjust to their new humble life, they have plenty of obstacles in their way. One of these is Boyce's brother Stamps (Jonathan), who seems to have taken up permanent residence in their house – and that's only made worse when Stamps sparks a new relationship with Lolli's sister (Kellee Stewart). The show saw great guest stars last season, including Anthony Anderson (Guys With Kids), Jamie Kennedy (Malibu's Most Wanted), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911!), Kim Wayans (In Living Color), Elise Neal (The Hughleys), Darius McCrary (Family Matters) and more.

Juggling studies by day and serving as a government operative by night is not without its challenges, even for highly trained operative Nick Green, played by Jackson Rathbone, in the award-winning digital series Aim High, which debuts on Crackle on Monday, December 9, 2013. Fans can binge on an all-new Season 2 with four new 22 minute never-before-seen episodes and catch up on Season 1 of Aim High on December 9 - all episodes will be released at once. The award-winning Aim High is produced by Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. Nick Green (Jackson Rathbone), America's most unsuspecting secret agent, is back in the action-packed series, Aim High. Our high school slacker turned government assassin has been reinstated into DEPP, but this time around, he's got a partner... And she's kind of cute. Nick will attempt to juggle everyday pressures with the hazards of covert espionage, all while campaigning for Prom King and the heart of Amanda Myles (Aimee Teagarden). Things take a dangerous turn when Nick uncovers a secret that could bring down DEPP and cost him his life and he'll have to rely on the help of some old friends to make it out alive.