SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

It's time for another edition of Fri-Yay! That means we will take a look back on some sitcom happenings in recent days or weeks or other fun sitcomy stuff. It's a sitcom lover's paradise! Happy Fri-Yay!

by Vincent

This past week on Tuesday, NBC debuted a pair of sitcoms, Young Rock and Kenan. They premiered with a lot riding on them, as NBC's future comedy identity may be wrapped up in their success or their failure. And so far, there seems to be more promise of success than failure, particularly for Young Rock, which debuted to better ratings than nearly any sitcom has consistently pulled this year and NBC's highest rated sitcom premiere in over 3 1/2 years, delivering a 1.0 A18-49 rating in Live+Same Day.

Young Rock is especially promising as it debuted to generally strong reviews and is from a respected sitcom producer Nahnatcha Khan, who was behind the successful Fresh Off the Boat and the excellent Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, both airing on ABC. With a big star like The Rock at the helm, there's hope this could be the next big sitcom, and a resurrection of network comedy in what's been a very tough year for the medium, with declining Live+Same Day ratings for nearly all comedies including the big guns of The Goldbergs, The Conners and Young Sheldon.

Fox comedy The Moodys returns for a second season and will premiere with two back-to-back episodes Thursday, April 1 from 9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT and 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT on Fox. The series will then make its time period premiere Thursday, April 8 at 9:30 PM ET/PT. Starring and executive-produced by Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominees Denis Leary (Rescue Me) and Elizabeth Perkins (Sharp Objects). Season 1 aired during three nights during the 2019 holiday season with 6 episodes airing. The Moodys replaces Call Me Kat, which wraps up its 13 episode run on March 25. Last Man Standing will slide over to 9pm on April 8, while The Moodys airs at 9:30pm. Last Man Standing will likely have a one-hour series finale on May 20. The Moodys should wrap up by May 13, as the series follows a tight-knit, but slightly dysfunctional, family through their misadventures. The Moody family includes SEAN SR. (Leary); his wife, ANN (Perkins); and their three grown children - DAN (Francois Arnaud, "The Borgias"), the youngest of the siblings and the "creative one"; BRIDGET (Chelsea Frei, "Sideswiped"), the middle sister and the "overachiever"; and SEAN JR. (Jay Baruchel, the "How to Train Your Dragon" franchise), the oldest sibling and the "failure-to-launch."

The series picks up with Sean Sr. contemplating retirement - road trips across the country in an RV with Ann, while Sean Jr. takes over the family HVAC business. In reality, however, Ann has no intention of leaving her new psychology practice, and Sean Jr. continues to brew up schemes to get rich quick. Bridget, who is in the midst of a divorce, returns home while her fancy new townhouse is being renovated; and Dan leaves Brooklyn for Chicago to live with his girlfriend, Cora (guest star Maria Gabriela de Faria, Deadly Class), only to realize the relationship is moving too quickly. Once again, the Moodys are all under the same roof. Yep, one big, happy family. Season Two guest stars include Gerry Dee (Mr. D), Josh Segarra (Arrow) and more.

This holiday season, Fox Entertainment and its free ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) streaming platform, Tubi, will jointly encore Fox's critically acclaimed comedy, The Moodys, starring and executive-produced by Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominees Denis Leary (Rescue Me) and Elizabeth Perkins (Sharp Objects). Beginning this Wednesday, Nov. 25, Tubi will stream all six episodes of The Moodys' freshman season, while Fox will air the sitcom's first two episodes on Sunday, Dec. 20, from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT. The Moodys marks Fox's first scripted series to be made available on Tubi. The platform currently streams the network's hit unscripted programs The Masked Singer, I Can See Your Voice, Lego Masters, Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back, Beat Shazam and Ultimate Tag.

Recently renewed for a second season to premiere this coming spring, The Moodys follows a tight knit, but slightly dysfunctional, family through their misadventures. The family includes SEAN SR. (Leary), his wife, ANN (Perkins), and their three grown children - DAN (Francois Arnaud, Midnight, Texas), the youngest of the siblings and the "creative one"; BRIDGET (Chelsea Frei, Sideswiped), the middle sister and the "overachiever"; and SEAN JR. (Jay Baruchel, Man Seeking Woman, How to Train Your Dragon franchise), the oldest sibling and "screw-up," still living at home with his parents. The Moodys also features María Gabriela de Faría (Deadly Class), Josh Segarra (Orange Is the New Black), Kevin Bigley (Here and Now) and Gerry Dee (Mr. D.).

MTV announced a new spin-off of Ridiculousness, with an all-new food themed, Deliciousness hosted by cookbook author of 'Pull Up a Chair' and host of Dinner at Tiffani's Tiffani Thiessen (Netflix's Alexa & Katie, Beverly Hills 90210, Saved by the Bell). Joining her on the couch will be a dais of panelists including Angela Kinsey (The Office), Kel Mitchell (All That, Kenan & Kel) and Tim Chantarangsu (Basic to Bougie). The brand new series will kick off with a one week holiday-themed special event from December 14 to December 18 at 7PM ET/PT. From food blunders to restaurant fails to kids in the kitchen and more, Deliciousness celebrates our greatest indulgences - food and drink. Helping to satisfy the foodie in all of us, each episode will showcase the internet's most viral and entertaining videos.

Get a double dose of holiday cheer when Ridiculousness returns with 10 all-new holiday themed episodes beginning at 6PM ET/PT leading into Deliciousness at 7PM ET/PT. Hosted by Rob Dyrdek, Ridiculousness is an internet video clip show with celebrity guests and co-hosts Sterling "Steelo" Brim and Chanel West Coast. Want a pizza the action? Follow Ridiculousness on social media for all your Deliciousness cravings and join the conversation by using #Deliciousness online: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're hearing about the renewal of a limited series at Fox, learning about the launch of Peacock, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Fox invites you to survive the holidays with the all-new comedy event series The Moodys, starring Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominees Denis Leary (Rescue Me, Animal Kingdom) and Elizabeth Perkins (Sharp Objects, Weeds), airing over three nights, with back-to-back episodes, beginning Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 9:00 PM ET/PT and 9:30 PM ET/PT on Fox. The series continues the following week with back-to-back episodes on Monday, Dec. 9 at 9:00 PM ET/PT and 9:30 PM ET/PT) and Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 9:00 PM ET/PT and 9:30 PM ET/PT.

The Moodys follows a tight-knit, but slightly dysfunctional family of five, all of whom gather in their hometown of Chicago for the "perfect" holiday. From break-ups to arrests to sharing one bathroom, each family member is packing his/her own eccentricities and hiding secrets from the others - as if the holidays were all about carols and eggnog! The family includes Sean Sr. (Leary), his wife, Ann (Perkins), and their three grown children - Dan (Francois Arnaud, The Borgias), the youngest of the siblings and the "creative one"; Bridget (Chelsea Frei, Sideswiped), the middle sister and the "overachiever"; and Sean Jr. (Jay Baruchel, Man Seeking Woman, the How to Train Your Dragon franchise), the oldest sibling and "screw-up," still living at home with his parents. The series also features Maria Gabriela de Faria, Josh Segarra, Kevin Bigley, Gerry Dee, Ulka Simone Mohanty and Megan Park. From CBS Television Studios and Fox Entertainment, The Moodys is written and executive-produced by Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg and Tad Quill, with Fisher and Greenberg directing. Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Trent O'Donnell, Phil Lloyd and Jason Burrows also serve as executive producers. The Moodys is based on Jungle Entertainment Pty Limited and Australian Broadcasting Corporation series A Moody Christmas.

Former Major League Baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez is no stranger to the comeback story. Now, he wants to help fellow celebrities get their shot at redemption on an all-new series, Back in the Game. From Michael Strahan's SMAC Productions and Amber Mazzola's Machete Productions, Back in the Game premieres Wednesday, November 6 at 10pm ET on CNBC. Professional athletes and entertainers are some of the best paid people in the world. But the reality is, their careers are often short-lived and they can find themselves in serious financial distress when the big paychecks stop coming their way. In this four episode hour long series, the legendary baseball icon and mega-successful businessman, Alex Rodriguez, gives back by mentoring notables who have fallen on hard times and need help getting back on their feet.

In the series premiere, Alex enlists the expertise of his friend, serial entrepreneur, Marcus Lemonis, aka The Profit, to help former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield take control of his financial future. Additional episodes feature Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte, actress Nicole Eggert (Charles in Charge, Baywatch), and former American Idol host Brian Dunkleman, who open up about the stories behind their mistakes and humiliation. Alex digs deep into their finances and personal struggles, and introduces them to his trusted team of experts to try to launch new careers, repair reputations, build self-esteem and ultimately, get them back on path of financial stability. But after years of living large, will they be willing to listen to their new coach?