SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

CBS announced season finale dates for its primetime comedies, dramas and unscripted series, including the one-hour series finale of The Big Bang Theory on Thursday, May 16 from 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT. Without further adieu, here are the finale dates:

Monday, April 1
9:00-10:00 PM Magnum P.I. (1st Season Finale)

Thursday, April 11
9:30-10:00 PM Fam (1st Season Finale)

Sunday, April 14
8:00-9:00 PM God Friended Me (1st Season Finale)

Sunday, April 21
10:00-11:00 PM Madam Secretary (5th Season Finale)

Monday, April 22
8:00-8:30 PM The Neighborhood (1st Season Finale)

Monday, May 6
8:30-9:00 PM Man with a Plan (3rd Season Finale)

Thursday, May 9
9:00-9:30 PM Mom (6th Season Finale)

Friday, May 10
8:00-9:00 PM MacGyver (3rd Season Finale)
10:00-11:00 PM Blue Bloods (9th Season Finale)

Monday, May 13
10:00-11:00 PM Bull (3rd Season Finale)

Tuesday, May 14
9:00-10:00 PM FBI (1st Season Finale)

Wednesday, May 15
8:00-10:00 PM Survivor (38th Season Finale)
10:00-11:00 PM Survivor Live Reunion Show

Thursday, May 16
8:00-9:00 PM The Big Bang Theory (SERIES FINALE, 12th Season)
9:00-9:30 PM Young Sheldon (2nd Season Finale)
10:00-11:00 PM S.W.A.T. (2nd Season Finale)

Friday, May 17
10:00-11:00 PM Hawaii Five-0 (9th Season Finale)

Sunday, May 19
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: Los Angeles (10th Season Finale)

Tuesday, May 21
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS (16th Season Finale)
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: New Orleans (5th Season Finale)

Wednesday, May 22
10:00-11:00 PM Seal Team (2nd Season Finale)

Saturday, June 1
8:00-9:00 PM Ransom (3rd Season Finale)

Noted comedian, actor and REACH Media Syndicated Radio host, DL Hughley is bringing his own brand of comedy and commentary to TV One with his new nighttime talk show The DL Hughley Show, premiering Monday, March 18 at 11/10C PM. The show will air four nights a week, Monday through Thursday. Hughley is one of the most unapologetic voices of our time and does not shy away from controversy. The DL Hughley Show dives head first into hot topics of the day and dishes on the latest news, entertainment, pop culture and what's trending in social media. Always insightful and informative, Hughley and his co-host Jasmine Sanders use humor to deliver everything from hard news to lighter fare. Featuring stories relevant to a rapidly evolving African American community, the one-hour show, which is a hybrid of Hughley's existing radio show and fresh content created specifically for a nighttime audience, will offer everything from covering the day's major headlines and roundtable discussions to celebrity guest interviews and comedy bits.

Shot in a stylized studio, the look and feel of The DL Hughley Show is patterned after a traditional radio show, adapted for television and will be taped in-studio four days a week from Burbank, CA.

Fam - Thursdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on CBS
Premieres Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 9:30PM ET/PT

by Skees

Nick has just proposed to Clem, and everything is going to go just as planned, since she doesn't even have to worry about her family ruining the wedding. Or does she? As Nick is about to find out, not only does she have a family that she would rather he not know about, but he's about to get a lot closer to this family as Clem's 16 year old half-sister, a high school dropout who needs a mother, finds a mother in her own sister.

Cast Details:

Nina Dobrev as Clem
Tone Bell as Nick
Odessa Adlon as Shannon
Sheryl Lee Ralph as Rose
Brian Stokes Mitchell as Walt

Nina Dobrev (Clem) is known for her role on The Vampire Diaries, as well as Degrassi: The Next Generation. She has had guest roles in Workaholics, Family Guy, and other series.

Tone Bell (Nick) is making his fifth attempt in a regular role on a sitcom, having previously had regular roles on Whitney, Bad Judge, Truth Be Told, and Disjointed. He is also a standup comedian, and has had guest roles on series such as Key & Peele and 9JKL.

Odessa Adlon (Shannon) is the daughter of actress Pamela Adlon, and has appeared in episodes of Nashville.

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Rose) has a long career in television that goes back to an episode of Good Times, but she has had regular roles in It's a Living, Moesha, and Instant Mom. She also played Anthony's wife Etienne on Designing Women and is known for her role in Dreamgirls.

Brian Stokes Mitchell (Walt) is mostly known for a career on Broadway and in cartoon voices, but he was also a regular on Trapper John, MD, and known for his short recurring role of Trevor on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" (Airs January 10 at 9:30PM ET)

Nick has just proposed to Clem, and they're looking forward to a life of marital bliss. But they aren't going to be alone, as they deal with parents, in-laws, and one big unexpected surprise: Clem's 16 year old sister.

"Freddy Returns" (Airs January 17 at 9:30PM ET)

Nick and Clem are putting together the wedding invitations when Rose notices that Clem doesn't plan to invite her own father, and Rose wants to see to it that he is included in the wedding. Meanwhile, back at home, Clem wants to teach Shannon about responsibility.

Analysis:

A 16 year old girl moves in with her older sister. Where have I seen this before? Oh yes, the 80s sitcom My Sister Sam. But if you liked (or even remember, it's become fairly obscure) that show, don't get too excited. This isn't My Sister Sam by any means. I don't necessarily mean that in a good or bad way, though. It's just much different from that show. This isn't just about two sisters living together, as the older sister has a fiancé who takes more of a starring role. We've also got parents and in-laws here, although it's not clear how often we'll see Gary Cole's character. And of course, it's got that whole CBS "laugh track on steroids" vibe going on, which I can deal with, even if it is annoying.

I think my biggest problem with this series is that it's just too bland. The writing is OK, but it's not enough to make great storylines. It's not particularly funny at all, as I was waiting for one--just one!-- laugh out loud moment, yet I didn't quite find it. I'm fine with sitcoms not being particularly funny, but solid writing is needed to make up for that. Another problem that this show suffers from is that it is yet another "couples" type of series. Sometimes, these series work very well, particularly with The Carmichael Show (a show that had way too short of a life, even at three seasons), but usually they come up lacking in some way or another.

On one positive note, like seemingly every relationship comedy out there, the casting of the Nick's parents seems to be done very well and there seems to be some potential with these characters. It'll be interesting to see how these characters play out as the series progresses, even if it's only a one season wonder.

From what I've seen in these first few episodes, the aspect of the interracial relationship seems to be completely ignored. Of course, this isn't like the days of Tom and Helen Willis on The Jeffersons, and the idea is much more common and not even remotely controversial anymore. It's surprising that there isn't really any mention of it, but at the same time, perhaps that being ignored is a sign of positive progress.

Conclusion:

This series definitely qualifies as what one would call mid-season filler. It's not completely unwatchable and it is better than a third airing of an episode of one of the bigger "hits." However, at the same time, it's a show that strikes me as one that will quietly make it through however many episodes were produced, disappear, and nobody will even remember that it existed. It's a sort of dull and uneventful sitcom that you would watch because you're watching Mom (on linear TV, for those who still watch primetime shows that way), and this comes on immediately afterward. I don't see this as something that'll be back next season, but if you want to see something different for a few months, then sure, watch this.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3/5
Funniness: 2/5
Overall: 3/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 9:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

CBS.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Fam Photo Gallery

Preview:

The ABC Television Network will premiere the new single-camera comedy Bless This Mess on Tuesday, April 16 at 9:30 p.m. EDT. Please note, the season finale of Splitting Up Together airs the week prior on Tuesday, April 9 at 9:30 p.m. EDT. This new single-camera comedy follows newlyweds Rio and Mike as they make the decision to move from big city New York to rural Nebraska. After dropping everything (including their jobs and overbearing mother-in-law) to make the move from skyscrapers to farmhouses, they soon realize that the simpler life isn't as easy as they planned. Rio and Mike must now learn how to weather the storm as they are faced with unexpected challenges in their new life as farmers. The series stars Lake Bell as Rio, Dax Shepard as Mike, Ed Begley Jr. as Rudy, Pam Grier as Constance and JT Neal as Jacob. The series is from 20th Century Fox Television and ABC Studios. Lake Bell and Elizabeth Meriwether are co-creators and executive producers. Jake Kasdan, Melvin Mar, Erin O'Malley, Katherine Pope and Dax Shepard serve as executive producers.

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

Recently, I caught up with the most recent season of FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Always Sunny is currently the longest-running live action sitcom on TV, having just finished its 13th season. The show premiered in 2005, an age that seems so far long and feels extraordinarily different from the current era, and yet, Sunny still fits seamlessly into the current TV landscape. In its 13th season, the show still feels vital and relevant - sometimes, in new ways than it did previously.

The buzziest episode of the 13th season was the finale, in which long-closeted gay character Mac performs an elaborate dance sequence, expressing his feelings about his sexuality. It was, by far, the most emotional Sunny has ever gotten, and many fans were put off by it. Personally, I'm happy that Sunny keeps experimenting and innovating its own process, even 13 seasons in. It's part of why the show has lasted the test of time, and why 13 seasons in, I'm still not waiting for the end. Granted, there were some signs of wear within Sunny's 13th season - not every episode was a hit, and the show missed Dennis who was only in the season sporadically - but the show is still brave, often hilarious, and still truly giving it its all. It's not a show that's resting on its laurels for easy laughs, the way many long-running sitcoms do. It's really hard to find many sitcoms that have remained relevant and hilarious as long as Sunny has - and it's why it remains a special part of the sitcom landscape.

CBS announced the comedy portion of its winter 2019 scheduling moves, including the series premiere of Fam and the return of Man with a Plan. CBS will premiere the new comedy Fam on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 9:30PM, ET/PT after Murphy Brown completes its season order. Fam stars Nina Dobrev and Tone Bell in a comedy about a woman whose vision of a perfect life with her adoring fiancé and his wonderful parents is radically altered when her 16-year-old, out-of-control half-sister unexpectedly comes to live with her. As the family Clem (Dobrev) chose and the family she has blend, Clem realizes that this new happy fam may be the perfection she's always been seeking. Odessa Adlon, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Sheryl Lee Ralph also star.

Also, Man with a Plan will return for its third season on Monday, Feb. 4 at 8:30PM ET/PT after Happy Together completes its season run. 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. The season premiere of Life in Pieces will be announced at a later date.