SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

by Vincent

Next week is the official launch of HBO Max, the latest in a rapidly increasing streaming service wars that's emerging between the major media companies. HBO Max enters a market already pretty crowded by Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon, along with other recent launches like Apple TV, not to mention HBO's own HBO Go (which isn't going away despite the launch of HBO Max, somewhat confusingly.) But can HBO Max carve out its own niche in an increasingly crowded streaming market? It is debuting with a pretty impressive line-up, with shows with large established fanbases like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, South Park and Rick and Morty soon to call the streamer home, along with upcoming originals such as the third season of Search Party (moving over from TBS following two critically acclaimed seasons), a handful of upcoming DC superhero-based projects (an area Netflix couldn't quite make work with its Marvel agreement ending after just a few years). Still, I have some reservations about HBO Max's success.

HBO Max, in a lot of ways, seems like a direct competitor to Netflix, seeming to aim for their mix of high-brow series with mainstream fare. That's different than something like Disney+, which was purely aimed at families and younger audience and has done a good job cornering that demographic. But there's really nothing separating HBO Max from the already-established trilogy of streamers other than their streaming library. Having Friends especially is an admittedly a big get. There's also not a clear brand for HBO Max, and the marketing has been slightly confusing. A lot of people might simply assume HBO Max is some sort of HBO Go extension, but there's really nothing particularly "HBO" about HBO Max other than the fact that you can get it through an HBO Go subscription. Still, in the increasingly competitive streaming wars, a brand for a service is very important. Netflix's brand has basically become "the streaming service" (it's widely the most used and being on Netflix almost gives way to a popularity boost in and of itself). Disney+ has a very strong brand thanks to its Disney content and its family-friendly approach. Hulu (which is now owned by Disney) is becoming Disney+'s more mature and experimental cousin (sort of what FX is to Fox). Amazon and Apple TV+ don't have great brands either, but they're also owned by billion-dollar conglomerates and are treated more as side projects of those mega corporations. But what is HBO Max? The branding so far seems to be "where you can watch Friends," which honestly might be enough given the popularity of Friends, but I remain skeptical. At the highest price point of any streamer ($14.99 a month following the initial $11.99 early deal puts it slightly above Netflix and ad-free Hulu, and well above Disney+'s $4.99 a month and Hulu Basic's $5.99 a month), it's hard for me to see too many people who aren't giant Friends or Big Bang Theory fans rushing to sign up for a subscription. Still, having two of the biggest sitcoms of the past 30 years on your service could be enough to buy the service time to carve a niche for itself. Whatever happens, these are interesting times for streaming services. With this and the launch of NBCUniversal's Peacock later this year, it'll be very interesting to see whether consumers are okay with throwing more money at an increasingly number of streaming services, or if they're okay sacrificing some of their favorite shows and movies for a smaller streaming bill at the end of the month.

Having just solidified its position as the No. 1 network in entertainment among Adults 18-49 for the first time in four years, ABC is announcing its 2020-2021 programming slate, which includes renewals for 19 series and two straight-to-series orders from its current crop of pilots – David E. Kelley's thriller Big Sky and the multi-camera comedy Call Your Mother (formerly My Village) from Kari Lizer (The New Adventures of Old Christine) – as well as the previously announced alternative series Supermarket Sweep with Leslie Jones. Nineteen series were renewed yesterday: American Housewife, The Bachelor, black-ish, The Conners, Dancing with the Stars, The Goldbergs, A Million Little Things, mixed-ish, The Rookie, Shark Tank, Stumptown, 20/20 and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. They join previously announced renewals of America's Funniest Home Videos, American Idol, The Bachelorette, The Good Doctor, Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19 and the series order of Supermarket Sweep. Schedule to be announced at a later date.

Series that didn't make the cut for 2020-21 were Emergence, Bless This Mess, Single Parents, Schooled and Kids Say The Darndest Things. As for the new series pick-ups (so far): From visionary storyteller David E. Kelley comes Big Sky, a thriller created by Kelley, who will write multiple episodes and serve as showrunner in its premiere season. Private detectives Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury) and Cody Hoyt (Ryan Phillippe) join forces with his estranged wife and ex-cop Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) to search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken. Natalie Alyn Lind and John Carroll Lynch also star. In the comedy, Call Your Mother from Kari Lizer, this multicamera comedy follows an empty-nester mom who wonders how she ended up alone while her children live their best lives thousands of miles away. She decides her place is with her family and as she reinserts herself into their lives, her kids realize they might actually need her more than they thought. Kyra Sedgwick stars.

Five Sisters Productions is back with a new six-episode comedic series, Old Guy, starring the Five Sisters' father, Roger Burton (Fargo, Shameless, Baskets), their mother Gabrielle Burton, and Peri Gilpin (Frasier's Roz). Beginning April 23, 2020, one episode will premiere each Thursday through May 31 on Vimeo and YouTube as well as Facebook and Instagram TV. Old Guy is a comedic series about ageism in media. Harry, played by Roger Burton, is going back to acting later in life, after raising his family and retiring from his traditional job. The show looks at his relationships with his wife, played by his real-life spouse Gabrielle Burton, who is a writer and tries to advise him on the value of the jobs he takes, and with his agent, Peri Gilpin, who is more interested in her commission than in what types of roles he plays. In each episode, Harry is challenged by playing an undeveloped character type that humorously highlights different stereotypes about old age. Old Guy will make you laugh, and make you think.

Old Guy is based on the real-life experiences of the Burton sisters' father, a psychology professor and musician who moved to Los Angeles after retirement. Soon after, he was "discovered" at a party and cast in a major motion picture, thus starting an acting career in his 70s. In contrast to his vital and active life as a man embarking on a 3rd career, Roger noticed that most of his parts fell into a limited number of narrow stereotypes - incontinent, impotent, lecherous - and were often not even given a character name other than... "Old Guy". The Burtons' mother, novelist and screenwriter Gabrielle B. Burton, who was in the middle of writing Don't Sit Down Yet, a book about aging and living fully until you die, thought Roger's experience was good fodder for a series and brought the idea to Five Sisters Productions. Looking deeper, Five Sisters found that studies show that television often depicts and thus reinforces a narrow stereotype of old age, and so were inspired to shine a comic light on the issue with the creation of Old Guy.

ABC will encore the first three episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire as a marathon for Wednesday, April 29 from 8-11pm. The ABC comedies will be preempted on the night so they can be extended into the May sweep. The ABC Wednesday comedies (The Goldbergs, Schooled, American Housewife, Single Parents) will have their season finales on Wednesday, May 13. All three Millionaire episodes to date hosted by Jimmy Kimmel will encore back-to-back in anticipation of its move to Thursday nights at 8pm on Thursday, April 30 where it will air for five weeks. ABC will air more Shark Tank Wednesdays at 10pm beginning May 6 replacing Millionaire's former slot. In other news, ABC Tuesday comedies (The Conners, Bless this Mess, mixed-ish, black-ish) will have their season finales on Tuesday, May 5. And finally, ABC's American Idol will finally go "live" on Sunday, April 26 for its final 4 episodes of the season. The live broadcasts will all be broadcast remotely. 

ABC has given a full-season order to Wednesday night comedy Schooled. The additional order brings the season total to 22 episodes for Schooled, the The Goldbergs spinoff, in its sophomore season on the network. The series is from Sony Pictures Television and ABC Studios. On the next episode of Schooled, "The Pokemon Society," Coach Mellor encourages Toby (guest star Mason McNulty) to be competitive in CB's Pokemon Club and becomes an overbearing sports-type father. Meanwhile, Lainey supplements her salary as a teacher by working at the local video store and learns an important lesson tonight, Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

Schooled, set in 1990-something, follows the hilarious faculty of William Penn Academy, led by music teacher and WP graduate Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka), Principal John Glascott (Tim Meadows), Coach Rick Mellor (Bryan Callen) and young, enthusiastic English teacher CB (Brett Dier). Despite their eccentricities and crazy personal lives, these teachers are heroes to their students.

Ring in the new year with the Rose family by catching up on your favorite comedy series Schitt's Creek. Ahead of its sixth and final season, Pop TV is reliving the entire critically acclaimed hit comedy series, Schitt's Creek. All 66 episodes of the Emmy® nominated series will air back-to-back beginning Tuesday, December 31, 2019 at 12 pm ET/PT until Wednesday, January 1, 2020 at 9:30 pm ET/PT. The final season of Schitt's Creek premieres Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 9 p.m. ET/PT now on Pop TV. Co-created by Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek is a half-hour, single-camera comedy starring an ensemble cast including Emmy-nominated Eugene Levy, Emmy-nominated Catherine O'Hara, Daniel Levy, Annie Murphy, Chris Elliott, Emily Hampshire, Jennifer Robertson, Noah Reid, Dustin Milligan, Sarah Levy and Karen Robinson.

ABC is the home for unforgettable holiday programming as the network celebrates the joy of the season. In November, the network serves up a bounty of Thanksgiving-themed episodes and the classic animated special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. In December, ABC decks the halls with special Christmas and Hanukkah-themed episodes - the return of fan-favorite series The Great Christmas Light Fight on Monday, Dec. 2 and The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition on Thursday, Dec. 12; and an all-new holiday movie, Same Time, Next Christmas, starring Lea Michele on Thursday, Dec. 5. Timeless cartoons and beloved holiday films will also return. The fun continues after Christmas with New Year's-themed programming ringing in 2020.

The Conners, Bless this Mess, mixed-ish, black-ish, The Goldbergs, Schooled, Modern Family, Single Parents, Fresh off the Boat, American Housewife and Stumptown are among the series to feature holiday episodes. 'Tis the Season for The Great Christmas Light Fight, The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition and CMA Country Christmas all return with new installments, along with the all-new film Same Time, Next Christmas joins beloved holiday specials and movies, including A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Sound of Music, Prep & Landing, Shrek the Halls, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, Toy Story Time That Forgot and more! View the ABC lineup of specials.

E! is rolling out fresh pop culture programming in January with new episodes of the Very Cavallari, starring lifestyle tastemaker and entrepreneur Kristin Cavallari, and the series premiere of new reality sitcom Meet the Frasers, following Rhode Island celebrity medium Matt Fraser and his family. The third season of Very Cavallari premieres Thursday, January 9 at 9:00pm ET/PT, and Meet the Frasers premieres Monday, January 13 at 10:00pm ET/PT on E!

Matt Fraser, a 28-year-old psychic medium, and his 21-year-old pageant queen girlfriend Alexa Papigiotis are highly visible local celebrities in their hometown of Cranston, Rhode Island. Matt and Alexa are envisioning big things for their future; Matt's captivating live reading events are growing more popular and his book "When Heaven Calls" will soon be published. And while Alexa supports Matt on his coast to coast tour, she's got big dreams of her own. She's setting her sights on winning her next pageant title and procuring a fabulous engagement ring. This couple is definitely on the rise - as long as their overly-involved families don't get in the way. The eccentric family does everything together, from driving to Matt's readings in an SUV emblazoned with his likeness, to debating if there's such a thing as too much bling when Matt decides they need to wear matching jackets while working his events. Matt and Alexa can always count on their families to give them unwavering support and advice – even when they haven’t asked for it.

ABC is the place for ghoulish good fun as the network counts down to Halloween with special holiday-themed episodes of comedies, plus America's Funniest Home Videos, Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy and Jimmy Kimmel Live! On daytime, all of Port Charles gathers for a Halloween bash on General Hospital. Classic Halloween specials It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Toy Story OF TERROR! also return for encore performances. The fun begins Sunday, October 20! We will highlight all of ABC's comedies for this stunt:

FRIDAY, OCT. 25
8:00PM American Housewife - "The Maze" - Katie ignores Greg's warning and takes Anna-Kat through a terrifying zombie-themed maze at the annual Halloween carnival. Once inside, Katie quickly regrets her decision and sends Anna-Kat to find help. Meanwhile, Greg has entered a pumpkin carving contest and is ready to go head-to-head against the previous year's winners.
8:30PM Fresh Off the Boat - "HAL-LOU-WEEN" - It's Halloween again, and with Eddie getting closer to college (maybe), the Huang boys are determined to find a group costume they can all agree on. Meanwhile, Louis decides this is the year he'll finally show Jessica why his favorite spooky holiday is so great.

TUESDAY, OCT. 29
8:00PM The Conners - "Nightmare on Lunch Box Street" - Halloween brings nothing but horror for Jackie after she uncovers a shocking secret when trying to reopen the Lunch Box. Meanwhile, Mary gets upset when a woman assumes she is adopted, and Darlene continues to deal with her complicated love life.
8:30PM Bless This Mess - "Scare Night" - Mike and Rio first met on Halloween years ago, so now Mike loves to commemorate the holiday by scaring the wits out of Rio all night. Unbeknownst to Mike, Rio actually hates the scares but is afraid to tell Mike. When Rio turns the tables on Mike and tries to scare him into ending Scare Night, Mike gets bitten by a bat and the night escalates from there.
9:00PM mixed-ish - "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" - The popular girls at school ask Rainbow to join their group Halloween costume as Tootie from The Facts of Life. She thinks this is finally her opportunity to fit in, but Denise views the situation differently. Meanwhile, Alicia doesn't want the kids to go trick-or-treating after Harrison and his colleagues tell her about all the dangerous things that can happen.
9:30PM black-ish - "Everybody Blames Raymond" - Halloween is around the corner and the Johnsons are definitely not seeing eye to eye on the family costume. The only thing they do agree on is that Jack's new friend Raymond has got to go. Meanwhile, Junior wants Devante's first trick-or-treating experience to be perfect.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 30
8:00PM The Goldbergs - "A 100% True Ghost Story" - Beverly scores a bargain on four paintings. Once they make it home, she and Adam determine something supernatural is causing them to be destroyed. Much to Murray's dismay, they call a psychic for help. Meanwhile, Barry decides to throw a huge "Rocky Horror Picture Show"-themed party against Erica's wishes. Their confrontation leads to a visit to the dean's office. Rocky Horror Picture Show alum Barry Bostwick guest stars as Professor Majors.
8:30PM Schooled - "Run, Rick, Run" - Coach Mellor is excited to celebrate Halloween in a couple's costume with Julie, but his plan might be derailed by Principal Glascott's faculty-parent dating rules. Meanwhile, CB uses The Blair Witch Project to attempt to scare the students into not tormenting each other during the school's annual Halloween parade.
9:00PM Modern Family - "The Last Halloween" - Phil is determined to finally scare Claire on Halloween. Meanwhile, for the first time, Gloria is feeling self-conscious about her age when someone correctly assumes she is Jay's wife; and Mitch and Cam head to the WeHo Halloween Carnival after Lily decides to go to her first Halloween party alone.
9:30PM Single Parents - "Welcome to Hell, Sickos!"- It's Halloween night at Hilltop Elementary and the kids head to the school for a spooky celebration with Douglas. Will struggles with whether he should stay with Sophie at the school party or if he should swing by his girlfriend Tracy Freeze's birthday, which results in a stressful night for Will trying to do both. Meanwhile, Poppy and Angie throw a Halloween party for teens at Douglas' house in order to try to prove to themselves that they are cool moms.

truTV's hit series The Carbonaro Effect, starring comedian and prankster Michael Carbonaro, returns with its fifth season on Thursday, November 7 at 10:00pm ET/PT with more hilarious, mind blowing hidden camera magic than ever before. In these all-new eight half-hour episodes, viewers will watch in disbelief as Michael raises the spirt and body of a nun and takes the phrases "cat lady" and "grass fed beef" literally! Whether working at a bookstore, antique shop, or auditioning for his next big role, Michael's hilarious and bewildering illusions leave audiences both scratching their heads and rolling with laughter! In the premiere episode, Michael wows directors with costume changes but cracks when he sings. Plus, things get sticky when he demos flying post-its. Then, Michael's co-worker's jaw drops when a shapeshifting tenant returns while they clean house.

by Vincent

ABC is next up in our check-in of returning sitcom slates. ABC has been a big center of family comedies in recent years, and that mostly continues in 2019-2020. Let's jump into their line-up:

Returning sitcoms: ABC's solid block of family sitcoms are all returning, from Modern Family to The Goldbergs to The Conners to black-ish to Fresh Off the Boat. The big change, though, will be coming after this TV season, as the upcoming 11th season will be the final season of Modern Family. Just as CBS is scrambling to find its Big Bang replacement, ABC is likely doing the same thing with Modern Family - with the big caveat that ABC does have The Conners, which actually rated higher than Modern last season and is returning as the network's biggest ratings hit. Whether The Conners will be able to keep its strong Season 1 numbers now that we're fairly far removed from the Roseanne situation and hype is certainly a question, but even if it can maintain half of its Season 1 audience, it'll be a big hit for the network. Otherwise, except more of the same from the anchor sitcoms - The Goldbergs and black-ish continue to be strong tentpoles, Fresh Off the Boat is holding down the fort on Fridays, and promising sophomores Bless This Mess, Single Parents and Schooled are also back on the line-up hoping to build on their respectable Season 1 showings. The only real downgrade is American Housewife, which gets bumped to Fridays after just a so-so rated third season last year.

New sitcoms: There's only one new sitcom on ABC's fall schedule, the black-ish spin off mixed-ish, which follows Rainbow's upbringing. First spinoff grown-ish has been a fairly strong hit for Freeform, so it makes sense that ABC is continuing to build off the solid black-ish brand. Still, it's somewhat surprising to not see more new comedies, but I guess ABC is thinking "if it's not broke, don't fix it." Though ABC does have multi-camera sitcom United We Fall waiting in the wings for mid-season that could be a potential companion for The Conners.

The bottom line: ABC is probably in the best place sitcom-wise of all four networks. They have a really strong core of anchors and enough solid performers to fill two and a half entire blocks and not have any real weak spots. It says a lot that ABC felt they could essentially bring back their entire slate last season and not have to add many new pieces. Yes, there are some questions - will The Conners be as big in Season 2 as Season 1? Is anything being set up to take over for Modern Family? Can the modest sophomore hits like Bless This Mess, Single Parents and Schooled step up and become anchors in their second season the way shows like The Goldbergs and black-ish were eventually able to? Those are questions that will eventually have to be answered, but for now, things are good in sitcom land at ABC.

Antenna TV, Tribune Broadcasting's multicast network, announced the addition of five classic series to the network's 2020 lineup, with four sitcoms starting in January 2020 and one in Fall 2020. Antenna TV, which airs in 136 TV markets across the U.S. reaching 89% of TV households, continues to aggressively invest in programming acquisitions. Beginning in January 2020, Antenna TV will add The Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, Designing Women and NewsRadio. In Fall 2020, Who's the Boss? will join the lineup. All five series come from Sony Pictures Television and originally aired in the late '70s through late '90s. Diff'rent Strokes and NewsRadio are returning to Antenna TV in new deals, while The Facts of Life, Designing Women and Who's the Boss? are brand new to Antenna TV! Both Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life are currently airing on MeTV, but will migrate over to Antenna TV by Jan. 2020. Designing Women was last seen on getTV, while NewsRadio hasn't aired since Antenna TV last aired it and Who's the Boss? is coming to a multicast network for the first time.

ABC has set fall premiere dates for its new and returning series for the 2019-2020 season. It all starts with the return of TV's preeminent competition series, Dancing with the Stars, on Monday, Sept. 16 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT. The Good Doctor resumes its residency one week later – Monday, Sept. 23 at 10:00 p.m. EDT. On Tuesday, Sept. 24, The Conners returns at 8:00 p.m. EDT, followed by Bless This Mess at its new time at 8:30 p.m. EDT. Next, the black-ish universe expands with the series debut of mixed-ish at 9:00 p.m. EDT, which tells the story of Rainbow Johnson's (Tracee Ellis Ross) experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the '80s; and black-ish launches its sixth season at its new time at 9:30 p.m. EDT. The night culminates with the series premiere of new drama Emergence, starring Allison Tolman as a police chief trying to unravel a mystery involving a young child at 10:00 p.m. EDT.

The Goldbergs kicks off the night on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 8:00 p.m. EDT, followed by Schooled at 8:30 p.m. EDT; the historic, final season debut of Modern Family at 9:00 p.m. EDT; and the season two premiere of Single Parents at 9:30 p.m. EDT. The series premiere of new drama Stumptown, based on the graphic novel and starring Cobie Smulders, rounds out the night at 10:00 p.m. EDT. The longest-running prime-time medical drama, Grey's Anatomy, launches its 16th season on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 8:00 p.m. EDT, followed by the season premieres of A Million Little Things at 9:00 p.m. EDT and How to Get Away with Murder at 10:00 p.m. EDT. American Housewife bows on its new night and time on TGIF, Friday, Sept. 27 at 8:00 p.m. EDT, followed by the season premiere of Fresh Off the Boat at its new time at 8:30 p.m. EDT, and ABC News' 20/20 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. EDT. On Sunday, Sept. 29, AFV launches its 30th season at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Shark Tank, dives into season 11 at 9:00 p.m. EDT; followed by The Rookie, starring Nathan Fillion, which premieres on its new night and time at 10:00 p.m. EDT.

And finally, Sunday, Oct. 6, marks the series premiere of Kids Say the Darndest Things at 8:00 p.m. EDT. This fresh take on a TV classic is hosted and executive produced by comedic superstar Tiffany Haddish. No word yet on what will air at 8:00 p.m. on this night on Sept. 29.

Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Seinfeld at The Shops at Columbus Circle (second floor mezzanine) in New York City with an interactive Seinfeld experience; take the Seinfeld trivia quiz; or have a seat in Jerry's living room (now there's a photo op or social media post). Guests will receive Seinfeld 30th anniversary prizes, including limited-edition Junior Mints and an exclusive Seinfeld 30th anniversary dictionaries survival kit. The Catch (as George would say): None. Nada. Nil. The interactive installation is free and open to the public – no reservations or tickets are required. The celebration lasts Saturday, July 6 until Tuesday, July 9 at The Shops at Columbus Circle - 10 Columbus Circle (59th St., Second Floor Mezzanine) in New York City. Visit www.theshopsatcolumbuscircle.com. Share your experience and tag your experience on Instagram @theshopsatcolumbuscircle @SeinfeldTV and use #Seinfeld30.

In addition to its April finales, as we previously announced, the ABC Television Network has announced season finale dates for series ending their prime-time runs in May. Following is a chronological listing (all times Eastern):

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8
8:00-8:30 p.m. The Goldbergs
8:30-9:00 p.m. Schooled
9:00-9:31 p.m. Modern Family
9:31-10:00 p.m. Single Parents

SUNDAY, MAY 12
10:00-11:00 p.m. Shark Tank

THURSDAY, MAY 16
8:00-9:01 p.m. Grey's Anatomy
9:01-10:00 p.m. Station 19
10:00-11:00 p.m. For the People

SUNDAY, MAY 19
7:00-8:00 p.m. AFV
8:00-11:00 p.m. American Idol

MONDAY, MAY 20
10:00-11:00 p.m. The Fix

TUESDAY, MAY 21
800-8:30 p.m. American Housewife
8:31-9:00 p.m. The Kids Are Alright
9:00-9:30 p.m. black-ish
9:30-10:00 p.m. Bless this Mess

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22
10:00-11:00 p.m. Whiskey Cavalier

Emily in Paris found its lead. Golden Globe-nominated actress and author Lily Collins (Tolkien, Rules Don't Apply, To The Bone, Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil, and Vile) announced that she will star as the titular Emily in the half-hour dramedy, which will premiere on Paramount Network in 2020. Collins will also serve as a producer for the new series. Additionally, Emily in Paris will go global as Paramount Network is picking up the series for its international channels.

From perennial hit-maker Darren Star (Younger, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place), Emily in Paris is a dramedy centered on Emily, a driven twenty-something from the Midwest who moves to Paris for an unexpected job opportunity. Tasked with bringing an American point of view to a venerable French marketing firm, cultures clash as she adjusts to the challenges of life in a foreign city, while juggling her career, new friendships and love life. Emily in Paris is created, executive produced and written by Darren Star. Emily in Paris will start production later this year and premiere on Paramount Network in 2020. Paramount Network has quickly become home to high quality scripted series such as Yellowstone, which was 2018's most-watched new cable series and ranked second across all of cable TV series for the year. Season one averaged 5.1 million total viewers per episode and season two returns June 19.

Schooled - Wednesdays at 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 8:30PM ET/PT

by Vincent

This spinoff of the hit series The Goldbergs is set in 1990-something and follow the hilarious teachers of William Penn Academy - led by Tim Meadows (Principal Glascott), Bryan Callen (Coach Mellor) and AJ Michalka (Lainey Lewis) - who, despite their eccentricities and crazy personal lives, are heroes to their students.

Cast Details:

AJ Michalka as Lainey Lewis
Brett Dier as C.B.
Bryan Callen as Coach Mellor
Tim Meadows as Principal Glascott

AJ Michalka (Lainey) is best known as one-half of the duo Aly and AJ (formerly 78Violet) with her sister Aly Michalka. She has also had a successful acting career, including spending four seasons on Schooled's parent series The Goldbergs.

Brett Dier (C.B.) is an actor best known for his role as Michael Cordero Jr. on Jane the Virgin. He is also known for his recurring roles in the Canadian TV shows Bomb Girls and The L.A. Complex, as well as Pretty Little Liars spin-off Ravenswood.

Bryan Callen (Coach Mellor) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcaster known for his role in the original cast of the Fox sketch comedy series MAD TV and for co-hosting the podcast The Fighter and the Kid, alongside Brendan Schaub. He of course plays this role on the parent series The Goldbergs, too.

Tim Meadows (Principal Glascott) is a comedic actor known for his long running role on Saturday Night Live, as well as his appearances in films such as Mean Girls and Trainwreck and TV series such as The Goldbergs, The Colbert Report and The Office.

Pilot Plot:

"Be Like Mike" (Airs Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 8:30PM ET)

It's 1990-something, and since Lainey still hasn't achieved rock 'n' roll greatness, she returns to William Penn Academy as the new music teacher. Lainey has a hard time adjusting to being an authority figure, but she realizes she might not be so bad at it when she discovers a kindred spirit in Principal Glascott's niece, Felicia. Meanwhile, Coach Mellor struggles with Michael Jordan's influence on modern-day basketball.

Analysis:

Following the success of Young Sheldon over on CBS and The Conners on ABC, the spin-off game keeps on rolling with Schooled, a spin-off of The Goldbergs focused on Lainey's newfound career as a music teacher. While Young Sheldon felt markedly different from its parent show in many ways (though that didn't stop it from being highly successful), and The Conners had to sift through some controversy that may have kept some of Roseanne's audience from being interested in it (though again - it still does quite well) Schooled feels pretty aligned with the spirit of The Goldbergs. If you like The Goldbergs, chances are you won't mind sticking around the extra half hour for Schooled, although the show still has a few kinks to be worked out and doesn't quite feel like a fully-formed series just yet. In fact, that's probably my biggest criticism of Schooled. Other recent spin-offs like Young Sheldon and The Conners managed to feel like complete series that exist somewhat independently from their parent series - sure, they get a lot of influence from those parent series, but they're reasonably self-sustaining enough that you can imagine someone watching either without being necessarily interested in the parent series. The same isn't quite true for Schooled, which feels like an extension of The Goldbergs brand of humor but doesn't quite have its own mission statement just yet.

At this point I should admit that I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of The Goldbergs. I don't dislike the series, but of all of ABC's family sitcoms, it's towards the bottom of the list of shows that catch my interest. It's the type of show I'll watch and not complain about if I see it on the TV in syndication - it's light, fun, and carefree, and a pleasant way to spend a half-hour, but it also lacks the weight of shows like black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, or The Middle. That makes Schooled - a show that shares The Goldbergs' nostalgic and farcical sensibility but with even less feeling of purpose, feel especially weightless in these early episodes. Lainey is a fun character and Michalaka plays her well, but the universe she's in doesn’t feel like anything more than a side plot on The Goldbergs right now, and the pilot doesn't do a great job of convincing me that it's going to figure out how to make William Penn Academy feel like the type of place you can base a whole series around. That said, it has the potential to get there, and a show that takes an honest look at the inner workings of teachers in a school with the heart and wit of The Goldbergs is something that would fit nicely into the sitcom landscape right now. (A.P. Bio is a school-based comedy, yes, and while it's slowly growing on me, I don't think it has any real interest at taking a heartfelt look at the workings of a school.) Still, I worry the show will get too comfortable being The Goldbergs' little sister - and I hope that's not the case, because it'd be nice to see a show with a somewhat interesting concept succeed, and I'm not sure how long the Goldbergs audience will be interested in a similar, less interesting clone.

Conclusion:

Schooled is very much in the same vein as The Goldbergs, so if you like that show, chances are you'll at least enjoy Schooled. However, the show is still a little flimsy in this early going, and hasn't made it especially clear how it's going to differentiate itself from its parent series and become its own kind of show. There are glimmers of potential, particularly in its cast, and I hope the series can turn around and become something special, rather than a less interesting extension of The Goldbergs.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3/5
Funniness: 2/5
Overall: 2.5/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 8:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

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The ABC Television Network has ordered three additional episodes of Grey's Anatomy, bringing the 2018-2019 season to 25 episodes total. This year, the show will become the longest-running prime-time medical drama ever during the second half of season 15. The midseason return of Grey's Anatomy will air Thursday, January 17, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. EST) on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand. In its 15th season, Grey's Anatomy averages a 3.1/13 among Adults 18-49 (Live+7 Data Stream) to rank as ABC's No. 1 TV show of the 2018-2019 season. Grey's Anatomy stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Justin Chambers as Alex Karev, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Kelly McCreary as Maggie Pierce, Kim Raver as Teddy Altman and Giacomo Gianniotti as Andrew DeLuca.

The ABC Television Network will premiere the new dramas Whiskey Cavalier on Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. EST; The Fix on Monday, March 18 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT; and Grand Hotel on Monday, June 17 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT. Returning drama For The People will debut Season 2 on Thursday, March 7 at 10:00 p.m. EST. Following its highly anticipated winter finale airing last night, A Million Little Things returns on a new night, Thursday, Jan. 17 at 9:00 p.m. EST following Grey's Anatomy. As a result, Station 19 will return on Thursday, March 17 at 9:00 p.m. In alternative and reality programming, America's Funniest Home Videos expands to two hours starting Sunday, Jan. 6, followed by a two-hour block of Shark Tank. AFV starts the evening with a fan-favorite, previously aired installment at 7:00 p.m. EST, followed by a new episode at 8:00 p.m. EST. The family fun continues with Shark Tank, featuring one original episode at 9:00 p.m. EST and one previously aired edition at 10:00 p.m. EST.

ABC will launch its second season of the iconic American Idol on Sunday, March 3 from 8:00-10:01 p.m. EST. Idol is also expected to air Mondays from 8-10pm, as ABC will not air a spring edition of Dancing with the Stars this season. When American Idol premieres on Sundays, AFV original episodes will return to 7:00 p.m. EST, and new editions of Shark Tank will air 10:01 p.m. EST. A new season of Match Game premieres Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 10:00 p.m. EST following ABC Funny Wednesday comedies. As previously announced, the spinoff comedy Schooled also debuts on Jan. 9 at 8:30 p.m. EST, immediately following The Goldbergs at 8:00 p.m. EST; and American Housewife returns on its new night, Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 8:00 p.m. EST following the conclusion of the season of The Connors.

Eight weeks of two-hour 20/20 programming kicks off on Friday, Jan. 4 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. EST, and features brand-new interviews with key players in the biggest newsmaker stories in recent American history. Each documentary takes a look at these cases through a modern lens, challenges original perceptions, and sheds new light on each story.

truTV invites guests back into the rich, imaginative - and slightly deranged - world of At Home with Amy Sedaris when the Emmy(R)-nominated series returns for its second season Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 10pm ET/PT. Created by Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello (Strangers with Candy), the 10-episode season of this one-of-a-kind comedy will again feature Sedaris' signature brand of silliness as she showcases her decorating, cooking and crafting skills. This season, Sedaris welcomes an impressive list of guest stars, including: Rose Byrne, Matthew Broderick, Justin Theroux, Susan Sarandon, Gillian Jacobs, Juliette Lewis, Ellie Kemper, Fred Armisen, Michael Shannon, Ann Dowd, Martha Plimpton, Jessica Walter, Campbell Scott, Billy Crudup, Bridget Everett, Julie Klausner, Paul W. Downs, Janeane Garofalo, Richard Kind, Thomas Lennon, David Krumholtz, Ana Gasteyer, Darrell Hammond, Jackie Hoffman, John Early, James Monroe Iglehart, Matt Malloy, and more.

Each week of At Home with Amy Sedaris revolves around a conventional homemaking theme, with subversive twists taking segments in delightfully wacky directions. New topics explored this season include how to entertain teenagers, game nights, caring for the ill and makeovers. Hailed as "a disturbing and delicious beast" (The New York Times), "life-affirming" (The A.V. Club) and "bonkers DIY" (Variety), the series emerged as a critical hit in its debut season, garnering massive social engagement and earning an Emmy nomination in the Variety Sketch category, as well as a recent WGA Award nomination in the Comedy/Variety Sketch Series category.

COZI TV invites fans to light up the tree, pour some hot cocoa, put on their pajamas and snuggle up in front of the television for a special marathon of all our favorite Christmas moments. With fourteen holiday-themed episodes from The Nanny, Will & Grace, Frasier and more, COZI TV's A Very COZI Christmas is guaranteed to make spirits bright this holiday season. The marathon will air Friday, December 14 at 6:00 PM and again on Christmas Eve (check local listings). A Very COZI Christmas includes episodes like "Frasier Grinch," recounting Frasier Crane's holiday gift dilemma, courtesy of the postal service, and the memorable Will & Grace episode "All About Christmas Eve," where Grace only has one extra ticket to the Nutcracker and doesn't know if she should spend the holidays with her new husband or her best friends.

Schooled, a spinoff of the hit comedy series The Goldbergs, will make its premiere on The ABC Television Network, Wednesday, January 9, 2019. Schooled will air Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m., following The Goldbergs. As a result, American Housewife will move to Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m., beginning Tuesday, February 5, on the network. ABC also announced that it has added an additional episode to the American Housewife season order. The series is produced by ABC Studios.

Schooled, set in 1990-something, follows the hilarious faculty of William Penn Academy, led by new music teacher and WP graduate Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka), Principal Glascott (Tim Meadows), Coach Mellor (Bryan Callen) and young, enthusiastic super-teacher Charlie Brown, or CB for short (Brett Dier). Despite their eccentricities and crazy personal lives, these teachers are heroes to their students. Created by Adam F. Goldberg & Marc Firek, the series is from Sony Pictures Television and ABC Studios. Adam F. Goldberg, Doug Robinson and Marc Firek are executive producers.