SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

At Freeform's upfront presentation opened by Iliza Shlesinger (Truth & Iliza) held in New York yesterday, The Walt Disney Company's millennial-focused television network announced a bold and robust programming lineup built around top talent, premium original content and prominent Disney properties including Marvel, ABC Studios and Disney theme parks. Coming in early 2018 is Alone Together, a half-hour, single-camera comedy starring Esther Povitsky (Lady Dynamite) and Benji Aflalo (Not Safe with Nikki Glaser). Esther and Benji are platonic best friends who want nothing more than to be accepted by the vain and status-obsessed culture of Los Angeles. Next up, Marvel's Cloak & Dagger is the story of Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) – two teenagers from very different backgrounds, who find themselves burdened and awakened to newly acquired superpowers which are mysteriously linked to one another. Tandy can emit light daggers and Tyrone has the ability to engulf others in darkness. They quickly learn they are better together than apart, but their feelings for each other make their already complicated world even more challenging. The network has ordered 10 one-hour episodes slated to debut early 2018.

Coming in summer 2018 is new drama Siren takes us inside Bristol Cove--a coastal town known for its legend of once being home to mermaids. When the arrival of a mysterious girl proves this folklore all too true, the battle between man and sea takes a very vicious turn as these predatory beings return to reclaim their right to the ocean. The series stars Alex Roe (The 5th Wave) as Ben, a bright marine biologist who finds himself drawn to Ryn, a mysterious new girl in town played by Eline Powell (Game of Thrones), who is a strange young woman with a deep dark secret. Fola Evans-Akingbola (An American Exorcism) stars as Maddie, also a marine biologist who works with Ben, and is highly suspicious of Ryn. Ian Verdun (Life's a Drag) stars as Xander, a deep sea fisherman on a quest to uncover the truth; and Rena Owen (Star Wars Episodes II and III) as Helen, the town eccentric who seems to know more about the mermaids than she lets on. Moving on, Marvel's New Warriors is a new comedic live-action adaptation of the popular Marvel comic featuring young adult heroes. This marks Marvel's first foray into comedy for a television series. The comedy is about six young people with powers living and working together. With powers and abilities on the opposite end of the spectrum of The Avengers, the New Warriors want to make a difference in the world ... even if the world isn't ready. Not quite super, not yet heroes, the series is about that time in your life when you first enter adulthood and feel like you can do everything and nothing at once – except in this world, bad guys can be as terrifying as bad dates. The network has ordered ten 30-minute episodes slated to debut in 2018.

Among the other items of note is a Christmas movie starring Tyra Banks called Life-Size 2 and new drama The Bold Type will have a special two-hour premiere on Tuesday, July 11, at 9:00 p.m. EDT. The series stars Katie Stevens, Aisha Dee, Meghann Fahy, Sam Page, Matt Ward and Melora Hardin.

Backpedaling just got harder...Flaked is back! In this season of Flaked, Chip can't get out of his own way. Find out how his love interest, bromance, recovery and lies come to fruition on June 2 only on Netflix. In the new season of Flaked, Chip returns to Venice after a short exile and finds that he is no longer welcome. People have not forgotten that he sold out the local community. And for what... ? Chip's lost everything: his store, his friends, his reputation, his bicycle... he doesn't even have a guest house to live in. All he's got left is London, and she's beginning to look elsewhere - spiritually, if not physically.

Chip starts to claw his way back into the affections of the community, first asking Dennis to be his sponsor, then helping his friend in a new business venture, and even doing an honest day's work... But the lies are never too far behind, and just when it looks as though he's won back his friend and stabilized his relationship, everything splinters again and he slips back into the bottle... It becomes clear that he needs to make a choice: his best friend or the love of his life. Lies or sobriety. Flaked is created by Will Arnett and Mark Chappell and executive produced by Arnett, Chappell, Ben Silverman, Peter Principato, and Mitch Hurwitz. The series stars Will Arnett ("Chip"), David Sullivan ("Dennis"), Ruth Kearney ("London"), George Basil ("Cooler") and Lenora Crichlow ("Rosa").

Disney Channel has ordered Raven's Home, the That's So Raven spin-off, continuing the story of the award-winning family comedy that resonated with kids, tweens and families around the world. Production on the multicamera series is set to begin this month in Los Angeles for a scheduled premiere in 2017. Starring are the previously announced Raven-Symoné and Anneliese van der Pol, who will reprise their roles as best friends Raven Baxter and Chelsea Daniels. Issac Brown (black-ish, Miles from Tomorrowland) and Navia Robinson (Being Mary Jane) have been cast as Raven's 11-year-old twins Booker and Nia, respectively, and Jason Maybaum (Superstore) will play Chelsea's nine-year-old son Levi. Sky Katz (America's Got Talent) also joins the cast as Nia's best friend Tess.

Geared toward kids 6-14 and their families, the series will pick up with Raven and Chelsea, who are now divorced single mothers raising their two separate families in one chaotic, but fun household full of friends. When one of Raven's kids begins to show signs that they have inherited her trait of catching glimpses of the future, the already hectic household gets turned upside down, keeping even Raven on her toes. As previously announced, Raven-Symoné will serve as an executive producer on the series. Longtime writer/producer partners Scott Thomas and Jed Elinoff (Disney Channel's Best Friends Whenever, Emmy nominees for R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour) will also executive produce.

Comedian Iliza Shlesinger is bringing her incisive perspective to a new weekly half-hour late-night talk show, Truth & Iliza. Truth & Iliza is getting a six-week run starting Tuesday, May 2 at 10pm EDT and will serve as a platform for Iliza's societal observations and sketches fueled by her opinions as well as in-studio celebrity guest and expert interviews. The show will be centered around a themed question which Iliza will seek to answer using audience interaction, field pieces, commentary and, of course, jokes. Iliza will draw from her decade of stand-up experience to focus on the sociopolitical issues of the day, providing a forum for viewers to discuss everything from the necessary to the inane to the taboo. Iliza recently wrapped up her national 15-city theatre tour - Iliza: The Confirmed Kills Tour. Girl Logic, her first book from Weinstein Books, will be published in the fall 2017. Iliza's scripted web series on the ABC app, Forever 31, has been ordered for a second season, and her third comedy special Confirmed Kills is currently available on Netflix.