SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

by Vincent

Typically, CBS sitcoms and "critical acclaim" aren't really two things that go together. While CBS is known for their broad hits, they don't typically go for the critically adored or fan beloved angle, and don't stray too far from the tried and true formula. However, Ghosts, which premiereed last night, could be an exception. The show has solid Metacritic reviews - the best of any new sitcom this year and possibly even new series. It also has a very interesting premise, the kind you don't see much on broadcast TV anymore. In the premise, Samantha (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) believe that their dreams have come true in receiving a beautiful country house, only to find that it is falling apart and inhabited by a number of deceased previous residents.

It's no secret that the broadcast sitcom is having a tough time right now. With critical darlings and fan favorites like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Superstore coming to an end, and few new sitcoms making a splash, it's about time for a new show to make waves. Let's hope Ghosts is that sitcom.

In celebration of the final season of the hit comedy Insecure, HBO will host its fifth and final Insecure Fest block party for the series. On Saturday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m. PT in Los Angeles, Insecure Fest will be hosted by Crissle West and Francheska Medina of the InsecuriTEA Podcast. The event, inspired by key Insecure themes of music and community, will also include surprise musical performances. Insecure Fest will give attendees the chance to view an exclusive screening of the season 5 premiere episode and experience a retrospective photo installation that pays homage to the series. Throughout the day, food will be served by local Black-owned vendors including Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen - Slauson. Guests will also have the opportunity to experience an interactive preview of Insecure: The Come Up Game, a rap-based mobile game where users navigate the messy business of adulting with Issa, Molly, Kelli, Tiffany, Lawrence and Chad as their guides. Insecure: The Come Up Game, will debut in the App and Android Store during season 5. COVID protocols will be in place for festival attendees.

Starring NAACP Image Award winner and six-time Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award nominee Issa Rae, the series continues to follow our favorite characters as they evaluate their relationships, both new and old, in an effort to figure out who and what comes with them in this next phase of their lives. The fifth season also stars series regulars Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales, Kendrick Sampson and Courtney Taylor. The final season premieres exclusively on HBO on Sunday, Oct.24, at 10 p.m. ET/PT and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

by Vincent

Well, it's official: Brooklyn Nine-Nine will be ending after its 8th season. In a way, this news isn't surprising, considering NBC seems to be moving in a new direction with its comedy series - Superstore was previously announced as ending, and the two shows had very similar vibes and ratings. Additionally, unlike when Fox abruptly cancelled the show after Season 5, the shows' creators seem to be amically ending the series along with the network, feeling that the show has run its course. Both creatively and commercially, it's an understandable decision. Brooklyn Nine-Nine was still a great show, but it was clear that it was starting to lose some ideas for its main characters, with each character beginning to reach a natural endpoint. And after a solid-rated Season 6, the ratings dropped in Season 7. Plus, after the turmoil of 2020, it's questionable whether or not people still want to laugh at a sitcom about police officers.

Still, Brooklyn Nine-Nine ending means one less network sitcom in a world that's already getting a bit short on them. With both Superstore and Brooklyn Nine-Nine gone soon, the future is a question mark for acclaimed and fan beloved network comedies. Will anything step up to take their place? There are some solid new sitcoms on broadcast TV still, but none really rise to the level that either of those two hit. Mr. Mayor shows promise, but isn't there yet - and will it even be a part of NBC's new regime? Still, I'm interested to see where Brooklyn Nine-Nine takes its characters in its final season. Will it address the policing controversies of 2020? How will things end up for the characters? Hopefully, all of those questions will be answered in the final run of 10 episodes, which has been delayed until the 2021-2022 season (the pandemic means Brooklyn Nine-nine will sit the 2020-2021 TV season out completely.)

HBO Max has given an eight-episode order to the half-hour comedy series Rap Sh*t (working title) from Issa Rae (HBO's Insecure and A Black Lady Sketch Show), with Syreeta Singleton (Insecure, Central Park) serving as executive producer and showrunner, and hip hop duo Yung Miami and JT of City Girls serving as co-executive producers. Rap Sh*t (wt) follows two estranged high school friends from Miami who reunite to form a rap group. Rap Sh*t (wt) will be executive produced by Issa Rae and Montrel McKay (A Black Lady Sketch Show, Road Trippp) for HOORAE, as well as Jonathan Berry (Insecure) and Dave Becky (Master of None, Russian Dolls) for 3 Arts Entertainment, along with showrunner Syreeta Singleton, with Rae also writing the pilot. Hip hop duo Yung Miami and JT of City Girls serve as co-executive producers, along with Kevin "Coach K" Lee and Pierre "P" Thomas for Quality Control Films and Sara Rastogi for HOORAE. Rae's audio content company Raedio will handle music supervision for the series. Casting is currently underway. Production is scheduled to begin this summer.

The Emmy®-winning HBO comedy series Insecure will conclude with its upcoming fifth season. The series stars Emmy®, Golden Globe and NAACP Image Award nominee Issa Rae who heads the ensemble cast, and the new season will continue to follow our favorite characters as they evaluate their relationships, both new and old, in an effort to figure out who and what comes with them in this next phase of their lives. The fifth and final season is scheduled to begin production later this month and is set to debut later this year. Insecure's fourth season, which debuted on HBO last spring, was acclaimed by critics and fans alike. The fourth season received nine Emmy® nominations including for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Issa Rae) and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Yvonne Orji). The series won an Emmy® for Single-Camera Picture Editing For a Comedy Series. Season four series regulars included Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales and Alexander Hodge. The series was created by Issa Rae & Larry Wilmore; executive produced by Issa Rae, Prentice Penny, Melina Matsoukas, Michael Rotenberg, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Amy Aniobi and Jim Kleverweis. The first four seasons of Insecure are available to stream on HBO Max.

Disney Channel has ordered a third season of its hit Emmy® Award-nominated animated comedy Big City Greens. The series creators and executive producers, brothers Chris and Shane Houghton (Harvey Beaks), have also expanded their roles and entered into an overall deal at Disney Television Animation. Under the agreement, the duo will continue their work on Big City Greens and develop new animated series, shorts and movies for Disney Channel and Disney+. The comedy follows mischievous and optimistic 10-year-old Cricket Green, who moves from the country to the big city with his wildly out of place family—older sister Tilly, father Bill and Gramma Alice. The series is influenced by the Houghton brothers' childhood growing up in the small rural town of St. Johns, Michigan, with many of the locations and characters inspired by their real-life family members and townsfolk.

Currently in its second season, new episodes will roll out Saturdays beginning Jan. 16 (9:00 a.m. EST/PST) on Disney Channel and in DisneyNOW and will include a special music-filled episode featuring five original songs. Season one of Big City Greens is available to stream on Disney+. Since its premiere in June 2018, Big City Greens has garnered nearly 300 million views across all social media and digital viewing platforms and currently ranks among the top five animated series across all Cable with Kids and Girls 6-11 for two quarters straight. The series' "Broken Karaoke" short titled "Stuck at Home" has over 16 million views and has become the most-watched video on Disney Channel YouTube Summer to date. The series stars Chris Houghton as Cricket Green, Artemis Pebdani (Scandal) as sweet-and-sour Gramma Alice, Marieve Herington (How I Met Your Mother) as quirky older sister Tilly Green and Bob Joles (Puss in Boots) as hard-working father Bill Green. The series is a production of Disney Television Animation and carries a TV-Y7 parental guideline.

HBO has renewed comedy series Insecure for a fifth season. Insecure's ten-episode fourth season debuted April 12 on HBO. The series stars Emmy®, Golden Globe and NAACP nominee Issa Rae (The Photograph) who heads the ensemble cast, and continues to follow our favorite characters as they evaluate their relationships, both new and old, in an effort to figure out who and what comes with them in this next phase of their lives. Season four series regulars include Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales and Alexander Hodge. Insecure was created by Issa Rae & Larry Wilmore; executive produced by Issa Rae, Prentice Penny, Melina Matsoukas, Michael Rotenberg, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Amy Aniobi and Jim Kleverweis.

All ten half-hour episodes of the off-kilter comedy series The Dress Up Gang are now available to watch via the TBS app, website and video on demand with a pay tv subscription. The first episode of the series is be available without requiring a cable subscription. The Dress Up Gang is set in a surreal version of Los Angeles. Donny and Cory are roommates who look out for each other. Donny, a responsible adult with the temperament and outlook of a child, relies on guidance and life advice from Cory, the dad-like 30-something who has been crashing on his couch for quite some time. The show, which premiered at Sundance in 2019, is based on the cult-hit web series My Roommate, My Friend, created by The Dress Up Gang, a comedy group featuring comedians Cory Loykasek, Donny Divanian, Frankie Quinones and director Robb Boardman. Their viral videos include Cute House and the CholoFit series. The show also features actress Andie MacDowell and comedians and frequent collaborators Brent Weinbach, Kirk Fox, Kevin Camia, Chase Bernstein, Christian Duguay and DeMorge Brown. 

ABC announced some schedule changes due to the COVID-19 crisis. ABC's Grey's Anatomy will now have its season finale on Thursday, April 9 at 9pm instead of May 14, as they only got to complete 21 episodes this season of its 25 episode order. So 4 episodes will not be produced, but they could be added on to next season's order. Station 19 and How to Get Away with Murder will still have their finales on May 14, as they both had already wrapped production before this pandemic crisis began. On Mondays, ABC is pulling the previously-booked episodes of American Idol. They will now join the Sunday rotation, so ABC can extend the season and delay the start of the live episodes as much as they can. No word yet on if the live episodes will even happen. On Mondays (tonight and next week), ABC will air repeats of Celebrity Family Feud at 8pm and again at 9:00pm next week, but tonight there will be a special 20/20 on the COVID-19 crisis. At 10:00pm next week (April 6), ABC will air a Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Greatest of All-Time special (the season finale of The Good Doctor airs tonight at 10). As a reminder, Millionaire returns to ABC on April 8 for 8-weeks hosted by Jimmy Kimmel with celebrities playing for charity.

The CW Network announced new nights and times for two of its spring premieres, the second season of In the Dark and The CW debut of DC's Stargirl. With an earlier premiere date due to Legacies production being halted, the second season of In the Dark will now launch on Thursday, April 16 at 9:00pm ET/PT, following an original episode of Katy Keene at 8:00pm ET/PT. New series DC's Stargirl, starring Brec Bassinger, Luke Wilson and Amy Smart, will shift one week, making its CW debut on Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm ET/PT, leading into the on-going adventures of DC's Legends of Tomorrow at 9:00pm ET/PT. DC's Stargirl airs on The CW one day after it makes its digital debut on the DC UNIVERSE subscription service (Monday, May 18). Additionally, every episode of DC's Stargirl will be available to stream on The CW's free digital platforms (CWTV.com and The CW app), following its broadcast on The CW Network. As already announced, beginning tonight (March 30), The CW will air Whose Line Is It Anyway at 8:00pm and 8:30pm instead of Supernatural, since that series was halted in production.

Glow Up Games, a new creative tech studio founded by an all women of color team, announces their premier launch title: a free-to-play mobile game based on HBO's popular comedy series Insecure. Produced in partnership with HBO, Insecure: The Come Up Game takes the world of Issa Dee and her friends and brings the friendships, drama, and misadventures to life. The game will be released this year to tie in with season four of the show, with new features and story content being added monthly. With The Come Up Game, players will find themselves trying to realize their LA dreams, climbing from the club to the boardroom – and reflecting their journey through a rap creation game inspired by Issa's own mirror rhymes in Insecure. 

The hit comedy series Ballers and Insecure will kick off their new seasons back-to-back Sunday, Aug. 12 on HBO. Ballers returns for its fourth season Sunday, Aug. 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The show looks at the lives of former and current football players, following former superstar Spencer Strasmore (Dwayne Johnson), who has reinvented himself as a financial manager. This season, Spencer and Joe (Rob Corddry) take their skills to Los Angeles as they look to expand their roster and horizons in the world of action sports. Other cast members include John David Washington, Omar Benson Miller, Donovan Carter, Troy Garity, London Brown, Jazmyn Simon and Brittany S. Hall. Created by Steve Levinson; executive produced by Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Peter Berg, Rob Weiss, Julian Farino, Denis Biggs and Karyn McCarthy.

Insecure begins its third season Sunday, Aug. 12 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. Starring Issa Rae and Yvonne Orji, the show follows the friendship of two black women as they deal with their own real-life flaws while attempting to navigate different worlds and cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences. Other series regulars include Jay Ellis, Lisa Joyce, Y'lan Noel, Natasha Rothwell and Amanda Seales. Created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore; executive produced by Issa Rae, Prentice Penny, Melina Matsoukas, Michael Rotenberg, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Dayna Lynne North and Jim Kleverweis.

Character actor Joseph Campanella, who played Ann Romano's ex-husband, Ed Cooper, in One Day at a Time, has died. He died on May 16 at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, of complications from Parkinson's disease. Mr. Campanella was 93.

Campanella appeared as Ed Cooper, the ex-husband of Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin), in eight episodes of One Day at a Time from 1976 to 1982. While Ann resumed the use of her maiden name, Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) and Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli) used their father's last name.

Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included Captain Nice, The Doris Day Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Brady Brides, The Love Boat, The Golden Girls and Mama's Family.

His work on television was primarily in dramas. He starred as Dr. Ted Steffen in the CBS medical drama The Doctors and the Nurses in 1964-1965. He appeared as attorney Brian Darrell in The Bold Ones: The Lawyers from 1969 to 1972. Campanella starred as Leo Wickersham, Joe Mannix's (Mike Connors) boss, in the first season of Mannix in 1967-1968. He received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama for the role in 1968. He played Hutch Corrigan, Constance Colby's (Barbara Stanwyck) love interest, in eight episodes of The Colbys in 1985-1986. In 2000-2001, he had a recurring role as Joe in 11 episodes of That's Life.

Campanella's best known roles were on soap operas. He had a recurring role as a criminal named Joe Turino on Guiding Light from 1959 to 1962. He appeared as Harper Deveraux on Days of Our Lives from 1987 to 1988, a role which he received an Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1989. He had a recurring role as Jonathan Young on The Bold and the Beautiful from 1996 to 2005.

Campanella was also known for his voice work. He voiced the character of Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard on Spider-Man: The Animated Series from 1994 to 1997. He was the narrator for the Discover science series on the Disney Channel from 1992 to 1994.

Survivors includes his wife, Jill; his seven sons, Philip, Robert, Joseph Jr., Dominic, Anthony, John and Andrew; and eight grandchildren.

Mr. Campanella was a talented and versatile character actor. He appeared in more than 200 television and film roles from the early 1950s to 2009. We thank him for the entertainment he brought us during his long career. He will be greatly missed.

Fox was up yesterday at the TCA Summer 2017 press tour. Among the announcements were Fox's next live musical event, A Christmas Story, will air Sunday, Dec. 17 from 7:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed LIVE on Fox. From Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, the three-hour live television event, inspired by the holiday classic feature A Christmas Story and the Tony Award-nominated Broadway production A Christmas Story: The Musical, will be executive-produced by award-winning film, television and theater producer Marc Platt (Grease: Live, La La Land). The epic adaptation will be filmed at the historic Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. Emmy Award nominee Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids) will star as the mother of nine-year old "Ralphie Parker." Additional casting information to be announced soon.

Up next, Emmy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated actor Peter Krause (The Catch, Six Feet Under) has been cast in a lead role in Fox's provocative new drama, 9-1-1, from creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (the American Horror Story" franchise, Nip/Tuck). The series will premiere in 2018. Krause joins previously announced Academy and Emmy Award nominee Angela Bassett (American Horror Story, What's Love Got to Do with It), in a new series that will begin with the fateful question, "9-1-1, what's your emergency?" The procedural drama explores the high-pressure experiences of police, paramedics and firefighters who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives.

Fox has ordered the new singing competition series The Four, it was announced. The Four begins where most competitions end: with the four finalists. Four super-talented and fiercely competitive singers, chosen from their auditions by the show's panel of music industry experts, will try to defend their coveted spots on the stage, as they are challenged individually by new singers determined to replace them. Each week, if any of the four are outperformed, they'll go home and their challengers will take their place. Expert panelists and additional information regarding The Four will be announced soon.

With both series seeing record viewership this season, HBO has renewed the comedy series Ballers for a fourth season and Insecure for a third season. Looking at the whirlwind lifestyles and real-life problems of former and current football players, Ballers stars Dwayne Johnson as ex-superstar Spencer Strasmore, who has reinvented himself as a financial manager for today's players in sun-soaked Miami. The hit comedy series returned for its ten-episode third season Sunday, July 23, exclusively on HBO. Other cast regulars for the current season include: Rob Corddry, John David Washington, Omar Benson Miller, Donovan Carter, Troy Garity, London Brown, Jazmyn Simon and Dulé Hill.

Created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, Insecure follows the friendship of two black women as they deal with their own real-life flaws while attempting to navigate different worlds and cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences. Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis and Lisa Joyce star in the show, which returned for its eight-episode second season also on Sunday, July 23.

by Vincent

It's been a bit of a slow summer for sitcoms, even going by typical summer standards. So if you're feeling like you're missing your weekly dose of sitcom fun, I'd highly recommend checking out HBO's sophomore comedy Insecure. Insecure may not be your "typical" sitcom - it's more of a half-hour dramady, true - but it's a genuinely hilarious show that's also capable of some truly moving moments and intricate character work that cuts deep for anyone in their 20s or 30s who's not quite sure about the direction their life seems to be taking them in. Plus, if this season's strong season premiere was any indication, Insecure has only gotten better in its second season, with a more careful blend of both its comedic chops and its lofty dramatic ambitions.

Insecure was created and stars Issa Rae as the titular "Issa," a woman who finds herself at a bit of a crossroads as she enters her 30s. The first season of Insecure dealt heavily with Issa's uncertainty about her career as well as her long-term but stagnant relationship with her boyfriend Lawrence, who (spoiler alert for Season 1) she winds up cheating on towards the end of the season, which ends their relationship. Season 2 picks up in the aftermath of Issa and Lawerence's break-up, and also finds Issa continuing to struggle to make an impact in her career. Issa Rae formerly produced the hit YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl, which was a seriously hilarious and painfully relatable series that showed all of Issa's strengths as a writer and performer. Insecure takes well-crafted "true to life" vibe and mixes it with the glossy and addicting narrative stylings of an HBO series, which creates something that's both relatable but feels thoughtful and high-brow, all of which pays very well to Issa's strengths.

While Issa is certainly the biggest driving force of the series, Insecure is populated with lots of incredibly entertaining supporting characters, the most notable being Issa's best friend Molly. Molly and Issa's friendship serves as the anchor of the series, and their ability to be brutally honest with each other allows us to peer into what's really going on in each other's minds, even when they don't want to admit to themselves what's going on in their minds. Meanwhile, arguably the funniest character on the series is played by Natasha Rothwell's Kelli, who feels like she has the potential to be HBO's beloved breakout character. Rothwell is a comedic mastermind who plays the unpredictable and wild Kelli with just the right balance of comedy and heart to make her a truly memorable comic character. There's a lot to like in Insecure, so if you're feeling the effects of the summer TV drought, I'd highly recommend giving it a chance - it has just the right amount of sitcom and HBO prestige to make it a perfect blend of the two types of shows.

Get ready to clutch your pearls and laugh 'til it hurts as BET Networks unveils its new Fall 2017 lineup! BET is pushing the comedy limits as it debuts series from some of the biggest names in the game including new showcase 50 Central starring the legendary Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson; new boundary-pushing game show Face Value from executive producer Wanda Sykes and starring Deon Cole and Tiffany Haddish; and new weekly satire series The Rundown with Robin Thede from executive producer Chris Rock.

On the scripted side, The Comedy Get Down goes behind the scenes of a mega standup comedy tour with George Lopez, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin and the late, much-beloved Charlie Murphy. Viewers will also get an all-access pass to the hip-hop wedding of the year as rapper Gucci Mane and Keyshia Ka'oir become one in Gucci Mane & Keyshia Ka'Oir: The Mane Event. Irv Gotti's Tales also returns with new episodes, including "song stories" from Jay-Z's "99 Problems" and Fetty Wap's "Trap Queen". And fan favorite tentpole specials return including the biggest night in hip-hop with the Hip Hop Awards and smoothest sounds in R&B with the Soul Train Awards. New programming kicks off Wednesday, September 27, with brand new episodes premiering every week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays!

CBS announced full-season pickups for freshman sitcoms The Great Indoors and Man with a Plan, ordering six more episodes of both freshman comedies that premiered late in the fall, on Oct. 27 and Oct. 24, respectively. So, 19 episodes each for both sitcoms. CBS has now given full season episode orders to five of its new fall series. These comedies join the previously announced Bull, the season's #1 new program in total viewers; Kevin Can Wait, the season's #1 new comedy in total viewers; and MacGyver, Friday's #1 new series. In addition, CBS has ordered three more episodes of the sophomore medical drama Code Black, upping its total to 16 episodes. Man with a Plan stars Golden Globe Award winner Matt LeBlanc in a comedy about a contractor who starts spending more time with his kids when his wife goes back to work and discovers the truth every parent eventually realizes: their little angels are maniacs. And The Great Indoors stars Joel McHale in a comedy about a renowned adventure reporter for an outdoor magazine who must adapt to the times when he becomes the desk-bound boss to a group of millennials in the digital department of the publication. Jack has led a thrilling "outdoorsy" life exploring the edges of the earth while chronicling his adventures for Outdoor Limits.

HBO has renewed Divorce, Insecure and Westworld for second seasons. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, the drama series Westworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin, exploring a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged. Westworld kicked off its ten-episode first season Oct. 2 on HBO, debuting hour-long episodes Sundays at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Created for television by Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy, both of whom executive produce and write, with Nolan directing, the series is based on the 1973 film Westworld, written by Michael Crichton. The show stars Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Jimmi Simpson, Rodrigo Santoro, Shannon Woodward, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Ben Barnes, Simon Quarterman, Angela Sarafyan, Luke Hemsworth and Clifton Collins, Jr.

The comedy series Divorce follows Frances, who has suddenly begun to reassess her life and her strained relationship with her husband after more than a decade of marriage and two children. But she soon discovers that making a clean break and a fresh start is harder than she thought. Serving as an executive producer, Sarah Jessica Parker stars as Frances in the series, which is created by Sharon Horgan. Thomas Haden Church stars as Frances' husband, who is struggling to cope with their marriage falling apart. Divorce kicked off its ten-episode first season Oct. 9 on HBO, debuting half-hour episodes Sundays at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Next, created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, the comedy series Insecure explores the contemporary black female experience in an unclichéd and authentic way. Rae and Yvonne Orji stars as best friends who must deal with their own real-life flaws as they attempt to navigate different worlds and cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences. Insecure launched its eight-episode first season Oct. 9 on HBO, debuting half-hour episodes Sundays at 10:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

Maya & Marty, the highly anticipated new comedic variety series combining the star power of Maya Rudolph and Martin Short, kicks off a stellar season with special guests Miley Cyrus, Larry David, Jimmy Fallon and Tom Hanks. From executive producer Lorne Michaels, the incomparable Maya Rudolph and Martin Short join forces for an all-new comedy show jam-packed with music, stars and the unique characters and charisma of two of the biggest icons in SNL history. Stars of stage and screen, Rudolph and Short are beloved by audiences of all ages. With Kenan Thompson (SNL, Kenan & Kel) and a dream team of surprise celebrity guests joining them each week, this dynamic duo is ready to unleash the full range of their talents and bring down the house like never before. The series will premiere tonight (Tuesday, May 31) live at 10pm ET, immediately following the two-hour premiere of summer reality series, America's Got Talent. Seven episodes have been ordered and will air live Tuesdays at 10pm.

HBO has confirmed fall debuts for the new series Westworld (drama), Divorce, Insecure and High Maintenance (all comedies). The one-hour drama series Westworld (ten episodes) is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged. The cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Jimmi Simpson, Rodrigo Santoro, Shannon Woodward, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Ben Barnes, Simon Quarterman, Angela Sarafyan, Luke Hemsworth and Clifton Collins, Jr.

The half-hour comedy series Divorce (ten episodes) stars Sarah Jessica Parker, who also serves as an executive producer, as Frances, a woman who suddenly begins to reassess her life and her marriage, and finds that making a clean break and a fresh start is harder than she thought. The show also stars Thomas Haden Church, Molly Shannon, Talia Balsam, Tracy Letts, Sterling Jerins and Charlie Kilgore. The half-hour comedy series Insecure (eight episodes), starring Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis and Lisa Joyce, looks at the friendship of two black women and their uncomfortable experiences and racy tribulations. And finally, the half-hour comedy series High Maintenance (six episodes) follows a Brooklyn pot dealer who delivers to clients with neuroses as diverse as the city. The show stars Ben Sinclair as "The Guy," a friendly pot dealer whose clients include an eccentric group of characters, revealing the dynamics of their lives. From the unexpected and offbeat to the predictable and mundane, the series provides a glimpse into the daily routines of the customers and how they light things up.