SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Happy New Year to everyone out there! It's a start of a new decade. The new '20s! Thanks for visiting us on this holiday. Speaking of holidays, the new Netflix sitcom Merry Happy Whatever has been out for a month (as we first announced) but it's still the season to catch-up. The multi-camera sitcom follows Don Quinn (Dennis Quaid), a strong-willed patriarch from Philadelphia doing his best to balance the stress of the holidays with the demands of his close-knit but eclectic family - and his family doing their best to manage him. But when youngest daughter Emmy (Bridgit Mendler) arrives home from L.A. with a new boyfriend, struggling musician Matt (Brent Morin), Don's belief that "there's the Quinn way... and the wrong way" is put to the test. Note: The first season of the show, which has 8 episodes, takes place over the week or so around Christmas. Ashley Tisdale, Garcelle Beauvais and Hayes MacArthur also star. Future seasons of Merry Happy Whatever might explore other holidays.

Netflix has ordered holiday-themed comedy series Merry Happy Whatever starring Dennis Quaid for an 8 episode run. In Merry Happy Whatever, Dennis Quaid plays Don Quinn, a strong-willed patriarch who must balance the demands of his complicated family with the stress of the Christmas season when his youngest daughter comes home for the holidays with a new boyfriend. The first season of the show takes place over the week or so around Christmas. Future seasons of Merry Happy Whatever might explore other holidays. Dennis Quaid will star as Don and serve as an executive producer.

Nickelodeon is bringing back the iconic family game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader with all-new episodes hosted by John Cena, who will also serve as an executive producer. Mark Burnett, Chairman of Worldwide Television, MGM (Survivor, The Voice) and Barry Poznick, President, Unscripted Television, MGM (Beat Shazam, The World's Best) will return as executive producers of the reboot, which places kids squarely in the center of the action. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader begins production in Los Angeles this spring and is slated to premiere later this year on Nickelodeon.

Nickelodeon's new Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader follows the original premise of adult contestants putting their knowledge to the test by answering questions taken directly from elementary school curriculum. New game elements will be added to the show, including an additional "cheat" option, new ways contestants can enlist the help of their grade-school classmates, as well as a "final exam," where contestants must answer a question from each grade in a race against the clock.