SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! We're just beginning to get back to normal this week and will have even more for you next week with the TCA Winter Press Tour beginning. This week, we're learning about the (unofficial) cancellation of an ABC comedy, the death of a Grace Under Fire star, and it's been a busy week for Netflix and Hulu. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Cable's biggest programming event of the year is now even bigger. Beginning December 1, Freeform's beloved '25 Days of Christmas' will expand across all Disney|ABC Television Group networks to create the ultimate fan-favorite holiday event. ABC, Freeform, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior will be airing holiday-themed programming and entertainment for the whole family throughout December, leading up to Christmas Day. Viewers can ring in the season with festive specials, classic holiday movies and returning favorites. Freeform will continue to be the home of all your favorite Christmas films with a robust library of holiday favorites including Elf, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause, The Polar Express and many more. The network will also debut its first original Christmas movie, Angry Angel, starring Brenda Song and Jason Biggs. Additionally, Freeform will feature The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration, (originally airing on ABC) and premiere Decorating Disney: Holiday Magic, a one-hour holiday special giving viewers an inside look at how holiday magic is created throughout Disney Destinations. Viewers will go behind the scenes as a team of dedicated Disney cast members and Santa's helpers transform Disney theme parks and resorts into a winter wonderland.

ABC will debut new seasons of The Great Christmas Light Fight, a competition series where families transform their homes into festive wonderlands judged by lifestyle expert Carter Oosterhouse and interior designer Taniya Nayak; and The Great American Baking Show, hosted by New York Times best-selling cookbook author Ayesha Curry and former NFL star Anthony "Spice" Adams. ABC is also home to original, holiday-themed episodes of comedies American Housewife, black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, The Mayor, The Middle and Speechless, plus returning specials Shrek the Halls, The Toy Story That Time Forgot, Disney Prep and Landing, Disney Prep and Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice, A Charlie Brown Christmas and I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown! Weekdays on The Chew, Emmy(R) Award-winning co-hosts Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Clinton Kelly and Carla Hall will deliver a festive daily dose of holiday cheer. This year, viewers will once again experience the holiday magic at Disney Parks with star-studded performances during the Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration.

Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior and Radio Disney will add to the joy with special holiday-themed programming including episodes of hit series Stuck in the Middle, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Mickey and the Roadster Racers and Sofia the First. Disney Channel, in partnership with Disney Parks, will present a holiday telecast, Disney Parks Presents a Disney Channel Holiday Celebration, featuring performances by fan-favorite Disney Channel stars; and Disney Junior will debut The Lion Guard: Timon and Pumbaa's Christmas.

The all new Winsanity, hosted by actor Donald Faison (Scrubs), will return for a second season airing weeknights at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT) starting Monday, November 27. Winsanity, which debuted in June 2016, was watched by nearly 13.5 million viewers during its initial 40-episode run. Changes to the show in season two include a new set, as well as a new format, with two contestants (instead of one) competing against each other for the $10,000 prize. However, the show continues to offer the opportunity for prizes to be won not only by the contestants but also by the studio audience.

In each half hour episode, the two contestants each represents half of the audience, who stand to share in the prize money their contestant wins. The contestants face off against each other, attempting to rank compelling and surprising facts in numerical order (i.e.: Which is greater: the number of marriages each year in the US, or the number of Pope Francis' Twitter followers?). Each correctly stacked fact earns money towards a cash jackpot. In the final round, the contestant with the largest bank will play a final game of timed touch screen stacking without help from the audience. If they correctly put five facts in order, the contestant goes home with $10,000 and their audience section will share in an additional $10,000. If they fail, the contestant and audience section win the amount previously banked.

The Mayor - Tuesdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 9:30PM ET/PT

by Vincent

Struggling young rapper Courtney Rose, tired of waiting for opportunity, cooks up the publicity stunt of the century: Running for mayor of his hometown in California to generate buzz for his music career. Unfortunately for Courtney, his master plan goes wildly awry, ending in the most terrifying of outcomes: An election victory. With the help of his mother and friends, Courtney will have to overcome his hubris if he wants to transform the struggling city he loves.

Cast Details:

Brandon Micheal Hall as Courtney Rose
Bernard Jones as Jermaine Hardaway
Lea Michele as Valentina "Val" Flores
Marcel Spears as TK
Yvette Nicole Brown as Dina

Brandon Micheal Hall (Courtney) is an actor best known for his role as Julian on the critically acclaimed TBS comedy Search Party. He has also appeared in guest roles on shows such as Broad City, The Characters and Unforgettable.

Bernard Jones (Jermaine) is a comedic actor and writer. Prior to The Mayor, he was known for his role in comedic shorts on CollegeHumor, as well as his television roles on shows such as House of Payne and Meet the Browns.

Lea Michele (Val) is best known for her role as Rachel Berry on the musical comedy-drama Glee. She also starred in the drama-horror series Scream Queens and in several hit Broadway musicals, including Spring Awakening and Les Miserables.

Marcel Spears (TK) is a young comedic actor, and The Mayor will be his first starring role.

Yvette Nicole Brown (Dina) is best known for her role as Shirley Bennett on the cult classic sitcom Community. She is also well-known for her role as Helen on the 2000s Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh, and for her role as Dani on the recent reboot of The Odd Couple.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" (Airs October 2 at 9:30PM ET)

Young rapper Courney Rose has a genuis plan to beef up his music career: throwing his hat into his town's local mayor race. But his plan goes awry when something unexpected happens: he actually wins. Courtney's charisma and outspoken optimism are what helped him get elected as the Mayor, but even though he's an outsider when it comes to politics, he finds that he's actually good at it. Courtney has smarts, swagger and creativity, but has never worked a full-time job in his life. Luckily for him, he has the right people around him to shepherd his growth, both as a person and a politician.

Analysis:

The Mayor has a premise that could be very difficult to make work. It's the kind of premise that probably seemed like a really great idea a year or so ago when it was likely first developed, when the concept of a non-political entertainer surprisingly being elected to office seemed unlikely enough that you could laugh about it. Of course, this is 2017, and as we know, it's very much our reality. That makes a show like The Mayor potentially kind of worthless. Why do we need a show that poses a hypothetical world where a non-politician who seems unlikely to take office winds up winning an election? We already live in that world.

Yet somehow, The Mayor works, and it works well enough that it's easily the most (and perhaps only) promising new show of overall kind of dull 2017-2018 new sitcoms slate. In general, The Mayor's success is mostly "despite" its premise rather than because of it - although the show gets some interesting points out of its rapper-turned-mayor premise and some potential to dig deeper and get even more meaning out of it, what's really great about The Mayor is mostly just its cast and characters, which already feel funny and fully realized out of the gate - a rarity for early sitcom episodes, which as we all know, can often take a handful of episodes or even entire first seasons to fully gel. Courtney is a character that, so far, has done a good job of maintaining the balance between being self-centered enough that we understand he needs to improve himself along with being likable enough that we don't hate watching him. Courtney isn't a bad person, but his determination can sometimes cause him to forget that he needs to focus on people other than himself, and that, obviously, conflicts in interesting ways with his brand new, incredibly important job title. In many ways, The Mayor is less of a show about "what if an entertainer became president?" and more of a story about "what if this specific entertainer became president?". In other words, it's more of a character story about Courtney and the people he surrounds himself with rather than a piece of social commentary.

Of course, it's hard not to at least have a little bit of social commentary when you have a premise that's so tied to current events, and while I wouldn't say The Mayor is exactly a scathing take on the current political scene in America (the only time it references our own presidential election is through one blink-and-you'll miss-it joke about Russian hacking), there are some subtle themes and character arcs that have an interesting perspective viewed through the lens of our current world. The Mayor's belief seems to boil down to the fact that if people in public office can get through their own selfishness and realize the importance of their roles and how they truly can make a difference, then maybe we'd start seeing some real change and improvement in people's lives. If it continues down that path, The Mayor has the potential to be a Parks & Rec-esque beacon of light in our turbulent political times. Even if it doesn't, though, it still promises to be an entertaining sitcom with a killer cast, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Conclusion:

The Mayor is one of the most fully-formed new sitcoms on network television in quite some time, with a strong cast, a snappy sense of humor, and characters that already feel real and lived in. The show's premise seems like it would be difficult to stomach, but The Mayor treats it with enough respect and light-hearted inspiration that it never feels too cloying or heavy-handed. There are bits and pieces here that show potential for a genuinely uplifting and inspiring political sitcom, which would be quite a feat in a time when Americans' attitudes towards politics seem to be at an all-time low. Even if it doesn't reach those lofty heights, though, it still seems like it'll be a fun, often hilarious sitcom to add to ABC's rock-solid stable of comedy.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4.5/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday, October 2, 2017 at 9:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

The Mayor Photo Gallery

Preview:

Back by popular demand, actor Jamie Farr will present more of his favorite M*A*S*H episodes, sharing his comments, memories, and stories from his time as costar of one of television's greatest series of all time. MeTV's special week of "M*A*S*H: More of The Best by Farr" airs Monday, October 9, through Friday, October 13, from 7-8pm ET/PT. Schedule of episodes...

Monday, October 9: "Welcome to Korea" (one hour), 7:00pm ET/PT
Tuesday, October 10: "Fade Out, Fade In" (one hour), 7:00pm ET/PT
Wednesday, October 11: "A Night At Rosie's" 7:00pm ET/PT and "Period of Adjustment" 7:30pm ET/PT
Thursday, October 12: "April Fools" 7:00pm ET/PT and "Birthday Girls" 7:30pm ET/PT
Friday, October 13: "Friends and Enemies" 7:00pm ET/PT and "As Time Goes By" 7:30pm ET/PT

When Jamie Farr was cast in M*A*S*H as Corporal Klinger, the character loosely based on the real-life activities of legendary satirist Lenny Bruce was intended to be temporary. The audience response to the character and Farr’s portrayal was so overwhelmingly positive that Klinger eventually became permanent and Farr a cast regular. In a show that often veered from moments of hilarious comedy to sober social commentary, Corporal Klinger (later Sergeant Klinger) provided comic relief as he pursued a Section 8 discharge by cross-dressing and engaging in antics designed to bring his mental health into question. A veteran of both television comedy and American armed services, Farr brought a level of depth and realism to a character that could have easily been one-dimensional in the hands of a lesser talent. (The dog tags Farr wore on the show were his actual tags from his service in the U.S. Army.) Like most of the M*A*S*H characters, Klinger evolved and changed over time.

ABC will launch the 2017-18 season with a slate of returning hit shows and five new series. The new season kicks off with the premiere of the milestone 25th installment of Dancing with the Stars on Monday, September 18. New dramas debuting are The Good Doctor, from executive producer David Shore (House) and starring Freddie Highmore as a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome premieres Monday, Sept. 25 at 10pm; Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (formerly The Gospel of Kevin), featuring Jason Ritter as a self-absorbed person on a downward spiral who's presented with a mission to save the world premieres Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 10pm; the epic adventure Marvel's Inhumans, based on the legendary comic book characters premieres Friday, Sept. 29 from 8-10pm; and Ten Days in the Valley, starring Kyra Sedgwick as a TV producer whose young daughter goes missing premieres Sunday, Oct. 1 at 10pm.

The comedy The Mayor rounds out the slate of new shows. Starring Brandon Micheal Hall as a rapper who runs for office as a publicity stunt - and ends up winning - premieres Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 9:30pm. The Mayor follows black-ish on its new night and time, Tuesdays at 9pm ET. Other returning shows with new timeslots are American Housewife (Wednesdays, 9:30pm ET), Fresh Off the Boat (Tuesdays, 8:30pm ET), Once Upon a Time (Fridays, 8pm. ET), The Toy Box (Sundays, 7pm ET), To Tell the Truth (Sundays, 8:00pm ET); and Shark Tank (two-hour season premiere Sunday, October 1, from 8:00-10:00pm ET; then Sundays, 9pm ET, beginning October 8). Full premiere dates are below:

Monday, September 18
8:00-10:00 p.m. "Dancing with the Stars" (Season 25 premiere)

Monday, September 25
10:00-11:00 p.m. "The Good Doctor" (Series premiere)

Wednesday, September 27
8:00-8:30 p.m. "The Goldbergs" (Season 5 premiere)
8:30-9:00 p.m. "Speechless" (Season 2 premiere)
9:00-9:30 p.m. "Modern Family" (Season 9 premiere)
9:30-10:00 p.m. "American Housewife" (Season 2 premiere; new day and time)
10:00-11:00 p.m. "Designated Survivor" (Season 2 premiere)

Thursday, September 28
8:00-10:00 p.m. "Grey's Anatomy" (two-hour Season 14 premiere)
10:00-11:00 p.m. "How to Get Away with Murder" (Season 4 premiere)

Friday, September 29
8:00-10:00 p.m. "Marvel's Inhumans" (two-hour series premiere)

Sunday, October 1
7:00-8:00 p.m. "The Toy Box" (Season 2 premiere; new day and time)
8:00-10:00 p.m. "Shark Tank" (two-hour Season 9 premiere; new day and time)
10:00-11:00 p.m. "Ten Days in the Valley" (Series premiere)

Tuesday, October 3
8:00-8:30 p.m. "The Middle" (Season 9 premiere)
8:30-9:00 p.m. "Fresh Off the Boat" (Season 4 premiere; new time)
9:00-9:30 p.m. "black-ish" (Season 4 premiere; new day and time)
9:30-10:00 p.m. "The Mayor" (Series premiere)
10:00-11:00 p.m. "Kevin (Probably) Saves the World" (formerly "The Gospel of Kevin") (Series premiere)

Thursday, October 5
9:00-10:00 p.m. "Scandal" (Season 7 premiere)

Friday, October 6
8:00-9:00 p.m. "Once Upon a Time" (Season 7 premiere; new day and time)

Sunday, October 8
8:00-9:00 p.m. "To Tell the Truth" (Season 3 premiere; new day and time)

Sunday, November 26
7:00-8:00 p.m. "America's Funniest Home Videos" (Season 28 premiere)

In anticipation of the return of the Emmy-Award winning, Will & Grace this fall on NBC, WE tv, which has the entire library with all eight-seasons, will honor the iconic series with a five-week programming stunt celebrating the four main characters and the best guest performances. Beginning Saturday, August 19 through September 16, WE tv will air back-to-back episodes from 10:00am ET/PT until 5:00pm ET/PT. Please see below for the themes and full list of titles set to air:

Saturday, August, 19: BEST OF WILL
- Big Brother Is Coming: Part 1 - Season 1
- Big Brother Is Coming: Part 2 - Season 1
- Lows in the Mid-Eighties: Part 1 - Season 3
- Lows in the Mid-Eighties: Part 2 - Season 3
- Crazy in Love - Season 3
- The Young and the Tactless - Season 3
- Moveable Feast: Part 1 - Season 4
- Moveable Feast: Part 2 - Season 4
- Fagel Attraction - Season 4
- Fanilow - Season 6
- East Side Story - Season 6
- The Fabulous Baker Boy - Season 7
- Von Trapped - Season 8
- The Mourning Son - Season 8

Saturday, August 26: BEST OF GRACE
- Unsinkable Mommy Adler - Season 1
- Das Boob - Season 2
- Girls, Interrupted - Season 2
- Last of the Really Odd Lovers - Season 3
- Sons and Lovers: Part 1 - Season 3
- Sons and Lovers: Part 2 - Season 3
- Bed, Bath and Beyond - Season 4
- Jingle Balls - Season 4
- A.I.: Artificial Insemination: Part 1 - Season 4
- A.I.: Artificial Insemination: Part 2 - Season 4
- Marry Me a Little - Season 5
- 24 - Season 5
- Last Ex to Brooklyn - Season 6
- The Birds and the Bees - Season 7

Saturday, September 2: BEST OF KAREN
- Boo! Humbug - Season 1
- Yours, Mine or Ours - Season 1
- To Serve and Disinfect - Season 2
- The Hospital Show - Season 2
- Crouching Father, Hidden Husband - Season 4
- Hocus Focus - Season 4
- May Divorce Be With You - Season 5
- 23 - Season 5
- I Do, Oh, No, You Didn't: Part 1 - Season 6
- I Do, Oh, No, You Didn't: Part 2 - Season 6
- Dance Cards & Greeting Cards - Season 7
- Alive and Schticking - Season 8
- Bathroom Humor - Season 8
- Whatever Happened to Baby Gin? - Season 8

Saturday, September 9: BEST OF JACK
- A New Lease on Life - Season 1
- Will Works Out - Season 1
- Homo for the Holidays - Season 2
- He's Come Undone - Season 2
- Gypsies, Tramps and Weed - Season 3
- My Uncle the Car - Season 3
- Loose Lips Sink Relationships - Season 4
- Dyeing is Easy, Comedy is Hard - Season 4
- A Chorus Lie - Season 4
- Bacon and Eggs - Season 5
- Me and Mr. Jones - Season 6
- Back Up, Dancer - Season 7
- Forbidden Fruit - Season 8
- Buy, Buy Baby - Season 8

Saturday, September 16: BEST GUEST STARS
- Girl, Interrupted (Neil Patrick Harris) - Season 2
- A Chorus Lie (Matt Damon) - Season 4
- Fagel Attraction (Michael Douglas) - Season 4
- Hocus Focus (Glenn Close) - Season 4
- Bacon and Eggs (Kevin Bacon) - Season 5
- Women & Children First (Demi Moore) - Season 5
- Dolls and Dolls (Madonna) - Season 5
- Me & Mr. Jones (James Earl Jones) - Season 6
- I Do, Oh, No, You Di-in't Part 1(Jennifer Lopez) - Season 6
- I Do, Oh, No, You Di-in't Part 2 (Jennifer Lopez) - Season 6
- Back Up, Dancer (Janet Jackson, Will Arnett) - Season 7
- Board Games (Jeff Goldblum) - Season 7
- Friends With Benefits (Alec Baldwin) - Season 7
- Buy Buy Baby (Britney Spears, Wanda Sykes, George Takei) - Season 8