SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we've got some news about Hub Network that may be a disappointment to some people, news about multiple pilots being put together by Eva Longoria, and an update on the fourth (and final) season of Mork & Mindy on DVD. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

• TVShowsOnDVD.com is reporting that the fourth (and final) season of Mork & Mindy is finally set to be released in December, although nothing is official yet, and a pre-order is not yet available.
• The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - The Complete Series is set to be released again on November 4 in more traditional packaging (as opposed to the briefcase packaging used on the original release).

SEPTEMBER 30 HOME MEDIA RELEASES 

• The Donna Reed Show - Season One (DVD, $39.98): MPI gives the earlier seasons of this classic series a second chance on DVD, to replace the lesser quality (and now out-of-print) releases from a prior studio.
• Mike & Molly - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD, $38.99): The hit CBS series returns to DVD for another season of episodes.

Who to Follow: Jake McDorman (Twitter), "Will act for food | @ManhattanABC | @Sho_Shameless | @ABCFgreek | "

Claim to Fame: Jake McDorman got his start on the Fox series Quintuplets, which was mostly forgotten (but 22 episodes were produced and aired over two half seasons), but came to real fame with the ABC Family series Greek. After Greek, he went on to the NBC series Are You There, Chelsea?, which didn't last long on NBC again. He also had a regular role in the fourth season of the Showtime series Shameless. Now, he will be appearing in the upcoming ABC sitcom Manhattan Love Story, which debuts Tuesday at 8:30 ET/PT.

Pick of the Tweets: "In one week from now 2 things happen: 1. #ManhattanLoveStory Premieres 2. @OhAnaleigh and I will be live-tweeting Be! Excited! RT! Excited!" (September 23, 2014)

Capitalizing on the early success from its premiere Monday, CBS will double up on The Big Bang Theory to open the night for the next three weeks. An original episode of The Big Bang Theory will air at 8:00 PM, followed by a rebroadcast of a different episode at 8:30PM, ET/PT on Monday, Sept. 29, Monday, Oct. 6 and Monday, Oct. 13. The critically acclaimed comedy Mom, originally scheduled to premiere next Monday at 8:30 PM, will now premiere as part of CBS's signature Thursday comedy block. Mom will premiere after The Big Bang Theory moves back to Thursdays on Oct. 30 at 8:30PM, ET/PT, the night CBS launches its Thursday entertainment lineup (following the conclusion of Thursday Night Football). Mom will return to Mondays at 8:30PM ET/PT on Jan. 5. The sophomore season of The Millers, originally scheduled to premiere on Thursday, Oct. 30, will now debut Monday, Oct. 20 at 8:30PM, ET/PT. The Millers will return to Thursdays at 8:30PM ET/PT on Jan. 8. Confused? See below:

Updated Monday, Sept. 29, Oct. 6 and Oct. 13:
8:00-8:30 PM The Big Bang Theory
8:30-9:00 PM The Big Bang Theory (R)
9:00-10:00 PM Scorpion
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: Los Angeles

Updated Monday, Oct. 20
8:00-8:30 PM The Big Bang Theory
8:30-9:00 PM The Millers (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM Scorpion
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: Los Angeles

Updated Monday, Oct. 27
8:00-8:30 PM 2 Broke Girls (Season Premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM The Millers
9:00-10:00 PM Scorpion
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: Los Angeles

Updated Thursday, Oct. 30
8:00-8:30 PM The Big Bang Theory (New Time Period)
8:30-9:00 PM Mom (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM Two and a Half Men (Season Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM The McCarthys (Series Premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM Elementary (Season Premiere)

Updated Monday, Jan. 5
8:00-8:30 PM 2 Broke Girls
8:30-9:00 PM Mom (New Time Period)
9:00-10:00 PM Scorpion
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: Los Angeles

Updated Thursday, Jan. 8
8:00-8:30 PM The Big Bang Theory
8:30-9:00 PM The Millers (New Time Period)
9:00-9:30 PM Two and a Half Men
9:30-10:00 PM The McCarthys
10:00-11:00 PM Elementary



It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2014, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVRs (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!


Monday, September 29, 2014

• Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Stark Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Watch Neil on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Clark Gregg (The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Clark drops by Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Kate Walsh (Bad Judge) - Kate appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Jim Gaffigan (My Boys/Welcome to New York) - Jim is a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Al Madrigal (About a Boy/Welcome to the Captain/Gary Unmarried) - Al stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Jeff Garlin (The Goldbergs/Curb Your Enthusiasm) - Jeff visits Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• Martin Short (Mulaney/I'm a Big Girl Now) - Martin is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) - Kim shares why she's having the best sex of her life now and being happily single in the city on The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Karen Gillan (Selfie and John Cho (Selfie/Kitchen Confidential) - The stars of ABC's Selfie are guests on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. They also chat with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. John can be heard on Covino & Rich on SiriusXM Indie radio channel 102 at 1pm.
• Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity will be on HuffPost Live at 12pm.
• J.K. Simmons (Growing Up Fisher/Family Tools) - J.K. talks about Whiplash on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
• Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The New Class) - Mario is a guest on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 12:30pm ET.
• Andrea Martin (Working the Engels) - Andrea appears on The Better Show, so check your local listings.
• Lea Thompson (Caroline in the City) - Lea chats on The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 2am on BET.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

• Martin Short (Mulaney/I'm a Big Girl Now) - Catch Martin on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Don Rickles (C.P.O. Sharkey/Daddy Dearest) - Mr. Warmth is a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Nathan Lane (Modern Family/Encore! Encore!/Charlie Lawrence) - Nathan visits Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Garry Marshall (Creator of Happy Days/Laverne & Shirley/Mork & Mindy) - Garry stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent/Arrested Development/The Larry Sanders Show) - Jeffrey appears on The Colbert Report at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Kate Walsh (Bad Judge) - Kate is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• B.J. Novak (The Office) - B.J. visits Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• Keke Palmer (True Jackson, VP) - Keke chats on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons and Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Reed Between the Lines/Girlfriends) - The stars of ABC's black-ish are guests on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Lena Dunham (Girls) - Lena is a guest on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Analeigh Tipton and Jake McDorman (Manhattan Love Story/Are You There, Chelsea?/Quintuplets) - The stars of ABC's Manhattan Love Story chat with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. They also join the Chew Crew on ABC's The Chew at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
• Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - Jennie shows the remodel of her personal home on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• Christopher Meloni (Surviving Jack/The Fanelli Boys) - Christopher is a guest on Good Day New York on WNYW-Fox5 in New York between 7-10am.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

• Cristin Milioti (A to Z/How I Met Your Mother) - Watch Cristin on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• John Mulaney (Mulaney) - John appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Tim Allen (Last Man Standing/Home Improvement) - Tim stops by Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Stark Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil continues to make the rounds on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Gone Girl on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
• Patton Oswalt (The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton drops by The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Lena Dunham (Girls) - Lena is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
• Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) - Nick stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Nasim Pedrad (Mulaney) - Tune in to see Nasim on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• Tom Lennon (Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Tom is a guest on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Ana Gasteyer (Suburgatory) - Ana visits LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings. She will also be on The Better Show, so check your local listings.
• Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda chats on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Christopher Meloni (Surviving Jack/The Fanelli Boys) - Christopher talks about being crowned the "best butt in primetime" and shares who he still keeps in touch with from SVU on The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Jeff Garlin (The Goldbergs/Curb Your Entusiasm) - Jeff chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. He will also be on Good Day New York on WNYW-Fox5 in New York between 7-10am.
• James Van Der Beek (Friends with Better Lives/Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - James dishes with Rach on his new show, CSI: Cyber, and shares an adorable pic of his kids on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Reed Between the Lines/Girlfriends) - Tracee is a guest on Larry King Now at 2/5pm PT/ET on Ora.tv and Hulu.
• Craig Robinson (The Office) - Craig discusses the USO Comedy Tour on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
• Kate Walsh (Bad Judge) - Kate will be on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 12:30pm ET.
• William Shatner ($#*! My Dad Says) - William discusses his new project Brown Bag Wine Tasting on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Patricia Heaton (The Middle/Back to You/Everybody Loves Raymond) - Patricia is a guest on The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 2am on BET.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

• Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory/Roseanne) - Catch Johnny on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) - Sarah is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• John Mulaney (Mulaney) - John appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - Melissa stops by Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
• Martin Short (Mulaney/I'm a Big Girl Now) - Martin visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Mario appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Marilu Henner (Taxi/Evening Shade) - Marilu will be on HuffPost Live at 4:30pm.
• Emeril Lagasse (Emeril) - Emeril is a guest on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
• Ana Gasteyer (Suburgatory) - Ana can be heard on Wake Up with Taylor on Sirius XM Stars channel 109 sometime between 6-9am. She will also be on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 12:30pm ET
• John Mulaney (Mulaney) - John talks about his new show Mulaney on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am. He will also be on Good Day New York on WNYW-Fox5 in New York sometime between 7-10am.
• Kate Walsh (Bad Judge) - Kate discusses her new show Bad Judge on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
• Cristin Milioti (A to Z/How I Met Your Mother) - Cristin chats about her new show A to Z on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. She can also be heard on Covino & Rich on SiriusXM Indie radio channel 102 at 2pm.
• Nasim Pedrad (Mulaney - Nasim talks about her new show Mulaney on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
• Sheryl Lee Ralph (Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl will be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 8:50am.
• Tom Arnold (Tom/The Tom Show/Roseanne) - Tom is a guest on The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 2am on BET.
• Freddie Prinze Jr. (Freddie) - Freddie appears on The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 2am on BET.

Friday, October 3, 2014

• Simon Amstell (Grandma's House) - Watch Simon on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Jim Jefferies (Legit) - Jim is a guest on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
• Tim Allen (Last Man Standing/Home Improvement) - Tim stops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Bella Thorne (Shake It Up) - Bella appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT. She will also be on Good Day New York on WNYW-Fox5 in New York between 7-10am.
• B.J. Novak (The Office) - B.J. chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Mario talks about his secret health crisis on The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.
• Ana Gasteyer (Suburgatory) - Ana discusses her new album (I'm Hip) on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. She also appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Nasim Pedrad (Mulaney) - Nasim will be on Good Day New York on WNYW-Fox5 in New York between 7-10am.
• Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) - Kim is a guest on The Better Show, so check your local listings.
• Cristin Milioti (A to Z/How I Met Your Mother) - Cristin talks about her new show A to Z on Wake Up with Taylor on SiriusXM Stars Channel 109 sometime between 6-9am.
• Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne/The Big Bang Theory) - Laurie will be on The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 2am on BET.
• Joseph Marcell (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Joseph is a guest on Arise TV at 3pm on their website and at 7pm on Centric.

All listings are subject to change. Visit our blog and main site for daily updated listings. Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

Bounce TV (http://bouncetv.com) launched Sept. 26, 2011 as the nation's first-ever broadcast television network designed for African American audiences. Three years after its debut, the network continues to grow in strength and popularity with affiliates, sponsors and viewers. WMAR-TV in Baltimore, MD (E.W. Scripps Company) and WSYM-TV in Lansing, MI (Journal Broadcast Group) are the newest Bounce TV affiliates. Their additions drive the network past 90% of African American television households and 73% of U.S. TV HHs. Primetime viewership is up +61% in Households, +51% in A18-49 and +54% in A25-54 September to-date vs. Sept. '13 while quarterly primetime viewership has risen by +44% in Households, +14% in A18-49 and +18% in Adults 25-54 in the third quarter to date* vs 3Q13.

The acquisition of a package of demo-targeted motion pictures in a new film licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD), including: Greased Lightning starring Richard Pryor, the classic Bill Cosby-Sidney Poitier pairings Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do It Again; Wesley Snipes starring in Boiling Point and One Night Stand; Rumble in the Bronx starring Jackie Chan; Cuba Gooding, Jr. in Judgment Night; Prince's follow-up to Purple Rain, Graffiti Bridge and more. In addition, production on the new Bounce TV original series Mann & Wife will begin in November. Husband and wife team David Mann (Madea's Big Happy Family) and Tamela Mann (Sparkle), stars of the hit Tyler Perry sitcom Meet the Browns, reunite for this new sitcom, to debut in 2015. And finally, the season two premiere of the Bounce TV original sitcom Family Time will be Tues. Oct. 14 at 10:00pm while the season three premiere of Off the Chain will be Wed. Nov. 12 at 10:00pm (All times Eastern.)

Saturday Night Live celebrates its 40th season with SNL Vintage, a weekly look back at iconic episodes throughout its storied history. Airing on Saturdays in primetime at 10pm ET/PT, the first classic episode will be telecast this Saturday (Sept. 27) and return audiences to SNL's debut season in 1975 with an episode hosted by Richard Pryor and musical guest Gil Scott-Heron. Then on Oct. 4, an episode from the 25th season with host Christopher Walken and musical guest Christina Aguilera will be shown. Since its inception in 1975, SNL has launched the careers of many of the brightest comedy performers of their generation. The program has won 45 Emmy Awards and now holds the title for the most nominated television show in Emmy history with 187. SNL has been honored twice, in 1990 and 2009, with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and cited as "truly a national institution."

The new season of VH1's hit morning show, Big Morning Buzz Live hosted by Nick Lachey, will return Monday, September 29 in a new 9am ET/8am CT time slot with host Nick Lachey being joined by comedian Michelle Buteau who is making her co-host debut. As a comedian, the New Jersey native has toured the country performing at colleges, clubs, and festivals with television stand-up appearances including the The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Last Comic Standing. She has also appeared on Enlisted on Fox, Comedy Central's Key and Peele and @midnight. Buteau was also a series regular on VH1's Best Week Ever. TV personality and singer, Nick Lachey, returns for his second season as host, ready to wake up America and engage his guests by knowing what it's like from the other side of an interview. He also recently announced a new solo album, "Soundtrack of My Life," where Lachey covers songs from his favorite film soundtracks set to be released on November 11.

Lachey and Buteau will kick off the season with interviews featuring Anthony Anderson, Jordin Sparks, Emeril Lagasse, Billy Bush, Nick Carter, Jordan Knight, Kit Hoover, Ty Pennington, and more. In addition to the superstar sit-downs and candid roundtables, the Big Morning Buzz Live viewers can also expect an eclectic line up of performances from chart-topping favorites to up-and-comers. Week one will feature Grammy award winning band Train, Tove Lo, The Script, Banks, and Jungle. Stay with us on Friday for next week's full week of guests!

"On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy was killed, and the world changed. What if you could change it back?" Hulu is about to take viewers on a journey to find out in 11/22/63, a new Hulu Original series from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions (Person of Interest, Fringe, Lost), acclaimed author Stephen King, executive producer/writer Bridget Carpenter (The Red Road, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights) and Warner Bros. Television. Based upon the best-selling 2011 novel written by King and published by Scribner, 11/22/63 is a thriller in which high school English teacher Jake Epping travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But his mission is threatened by Lee Harvey Oswald, his falling in love and the past itself... which doesn't want to be changed.

A nine-hour event series, 11/22/63 has received a direct-to-series order from Hulu, and the project marks the first original programming collaboration between Hulu and WBTV. J.J. Abrams, Stephen King, Bridget Carpenter and Bryan Burk are executive producers of 11/22/63. Carpenter will write the teleplay, based on the novel by King. Bad Robot's Kathy Lingg is co-executive producer, and Athena Wickham is producer. Hulu will be the U.S. home for 11/22/63, and Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution will distribute 11/22/63 globally.

black-ish - Wednesdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, September 24, 2014 at 9:30PM ET/PT

by Skees

Anthony Anderson returns to TV with yet another sitcom in black-ish, a sitcom about a black family living in an upper middle-class white neighborhood. It seems like it wouldn't have many challenges, except Andre (Anderson) is dealing with a conflict within his own life: he's tired of his family being thought of as "black," but at the same time he is tired of his family not "being" black... instead, he has to settle for his family being, well, black-ish.

Cast Details:

Anthony Anderson as Andre Johnson
Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson
Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson
Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson, Jr.
Miles Brown as Jack Johnson
Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson
Laurence Fishburne as Pops

Anthony Anderson (Andre Johnson) was first introduced to the small screen in the TNBC series Hang Time. Since then, he has had regular roles on series such as All About the Andersons, The Bernie Mac Show, Law & Order, and (most recently) NBC's Guys with Kids.

Tracee Ellis Ross (Rainbow Johnson) is the daughter of singer Diana Ross, and is best known for her role as Joan Clayton on the long-running series Girlfriends. In 2011, she starred in the BET sitcom Reed Between the Lines.
 

Yara Shahidi (Zoey Johnson) is a relative newcomer to the small screen, but she previously appeared in the syndicated sitcom The First Family. She has had guest appearances in series such as The Wizards of Waverly Place, Family Guy, and Cold Case.
Marcus Scribner (Andre Johnson, Jr.) is a fourth-generation Los Angeles native making his debut as a regular in a series. He has previously had single episode roles in series including Castle and New Girl.

Miles Brown (Jack Johnson) is a nine-year old dancer from Oxnard, CA. He has appeared in episodes of Shameless and Raising Hope.

Marsai Martin (Diane Johnson) was first discovered when she was five years old, and recently moved to Los Angeles, where she has appeared in a Meineke commercial. This series marks her television debut.

Laurence Fishburne (Pops) is well-known to viewers everywhere, as he has had a long and successful career on TV, on film, and on stage. He first appeared as a regular on the soap opera One Life to Live, and came very close to having the role of Michael on Good Times (until Ralph Carter got it). He also played Cowboy Curtis on Pee-wee's Playhouse and has most recently appeared on the NBC series Hannibal. Some of his movie credits include, among many others, The Matrix and Boyz n the Hood.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" – airs Wednesday, September 24th, 2014 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Andre Johnson seems to have the perfect life, with a perfect home, perfect family, and perfect job. But one thing is constantly nagging him: he's the only black guy at work, the only black family in the neighborhood, and at times he feels like he is even the only black person in his entire family. Things only get worse when he gets a promotion at work, which seems fine, except it is as Senior Vice President of the Urban Division. At home, his oldest son Andre Jr. is now going by Andy... and wants to play field hockey instead of basketball, and is ready to have a Bar Mitzvah. The challenge for Andre is to figure out how to balance all of this against the culture that he grew up in.


Analysis:

I've always heard before that you can pigeonhole every series into just a few concepts, and while I've definitely seen exceptions to this rule, this isn't one. Once again, we've got a "fish out of water" sitcom about a black family moving to a predominantly white neighborhood. We've seen this before, most famously with The Jeffersons, and more recently with The Hughleys. The difference with this series is that it's taking that on with a single-camera approach and no laugh-track to go along with what happens.

There is a big difference with those previous shows, though. When The Jeffersons aired, the idea of a black family living in a wealthy white neighborhood was still a new idea, as nothing like it had certainly ever been seen on television, and some parts of the country were only decades away from that actually being illegal. The Hughleys came along and brought a few laughs to the concept, but it was only marginally successful (it did air for four seasons, but was canceled and moved to UPN after two on ABC).

Much like those previously mentioned series, the character of Andre is the husband who would like to live in the mostly white neighborhood while constantly reminding his family that they are black, while Rainbow is the wife who tries to maintain the sanity and just take race out of the picture. The kids seem to be living in a world that is more "white," which seems to infuriate Andre. One refreshing change, though, is the character of Pops, who is Andre's father and seems to not even care about the racial disparity, thinking that his son is a fool when he tries to create an African alternative for Andre Jr. to have instead of a Bar Mitzvah. Speaking of Pops, though, one thing that bothered me a bit was how there is only a nine year age difference between Anderson and Fishburne, and seeing them together on-screen does not make the most convincing father-son pairing. I do think Fishburne is perfect for the role, though, but the makeup department could make him look a bit older.

Of course, despite all of that, I can't be completely negative about the series. Besides Fishburne and Anderson, I felt that the show is very well cast. The family actually feels like a natural family, and the actors cast seem to be perfect for their roles. Additionally, I think that Andre's narration (along the lines of The Middle) adds a bit to the series, and the series certainly benefits from it. Otherwise, some of it would just seem outright offensive with no explanation. And there were some funny moments in the pilot, just perhaps not enough.

Conclusion:

I feel that my expectations going into watching this were not exactly met after watching this. The clips from the promos for the series seem pretty good, but those small moments probably were some of the best moments from the pilot, unfortunately. But I can't say that I am giving up on this series just yet. Part of the problem--and this was something that critics brought up when the idea for the show was just being floated as words on paper--is that the premise of the show, particularly the focus on being the only black family in a mostly white neighborhood, is no longer the novelty that it once was. That doesn't mean that it can't be a part of the series, as such situations can create material for a sitcom even in the 2010s, but focusing on it for every episode really does not make a particularly entertaining series when it is set in the modern era. I'm hoping to see future episodes focus more on the family dynamics and getting to know the characters for who they are, not just focusing on the fact that the family is different from most of their neighbors. If the series can move a little more in that direction, I think that it has the potential to be another new Wednesday night hit for ABC... otherwise, it will be nothing more than a niche comedy that will be burning off episodes within a few months or just completely off the lineup.

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, September 24 at 9:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

black-ish Photo Gallery

Preview:

Courtroom drama is no laughing matter... until now! USA Network's new original half hour comedy Benched now has a premiere date and will premiere Tuesday, October 28 at 10:30pm ET/PT immediately following USA's laugh-out-loud reality hit Chrisley Knows Best. Benched, starring Eliza Coupe (Happy Endings), is a single-camera comedy about a high-powered corporate lawyer's fall from grace into the rough-and-tumble world of the public defenders. Tuesday night brings laughter to USA Network, kicking off with a two-hour block of the Emmy Award winning Modern Family at 8pm ET/PT, followed by Chrisley Knows Best at 10pm ET/PT and culminating with Benched at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Benched from ABC Signature Studio, stars Coupe as Nina Whitley, a distinguished corporate lawyer who has given up everything in her climb to the top. However, when she's hit with her ex-fiancé's engagement announcement and learns that she hasn't made partner at her high power firm, Nina snaps -- breaking vases and burning bridges. Now that Nina is shunned from the corporate world, the only place she can get a job is at the Public Defender's office: home to the underfunded, understaffed, overworked, "if you can't afford a lawyer, one will be provided... " lawyers. In addition to her new clients, Nina must learn to connect with her co-workers, including the roguish Phil (Jay Harrington, Better Off Ted), the idealistic Carlos (Oscar Nunez, The Office), the useless empathetic Cheryl (Maria Bamford, Adventure Time) and the dedicated intern Micah (Jolene Purdy, Under the Dome). If that didn't sound tough enough for Nina, she'll also be going head-to-head with her ex-fiancé, Trent, (Carter MacIntyre, Drop Dead Diva) the rising star of the District Attorney's office. Joining the all-star comedic cast are previously announced guest stars Fred Melamed, Molly Shannon, Chris Parnell, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, Erinn Hayes and Mechad Brooks.

The third network to add Raising Hope this fall will be... WGN America. The comedy launches with a three night premiere event beginning Wednesday, September 24 at 8P East/5P West. The premiere event will air from 8-11pm ET/5-8pm PT on all three nights from Sept. 24-26. The series will then air every Wednesday in primetime from 8pm-12am. Elsewhere in primetime, How I Met Your Mother will air in primetime on Thursdays from 8pm-1am. Movies will air Tuesdays and Fridays, while Mondays will have AFV from 8-11pm and Parks & Recreation from 11pm-12am. Weeknights in late nights have sitcoms from 1am-4am, with an hour each of Parks & Recreation, Rules of Engagement and 30 Rock. The weekday daytime schedule has Walker Texas Ranger at 9 & 10am, In the Heat of the Night at 11am & 12pm, and the news at 1pm. Afternoons as Law & Order at 2 & 3pm, new addition Blue Bloods at 4 & 5pm, and AFV at 6 & 7pm.

Weekends has Walker Texas Ranger at 9 & 10am and In the Heat of the Night at 11am & 12pm as well, but another In the Heat of the Night at 1. Law & Order: Criminal Intent airs at 2 & 3pm, followed by Law & Order at 4pm & 5pm. Bones airs at 6 & 7pm into Blue Bloods in primetime from 8pm-12am, but original series Manhattan airs on Sundays at 10 & 11pm. Late nights on weekends has a mix of comedies and movies, with Mad About You on Sunday nights at 4:30am. Keep it right here for continued updates.

OWN's popular Tyler Perry sitcom For Better or Worse returned last Wednesday night (9/17/14) with its fall premiere episode at 9pm delivering the series' best performance since it debuted on the network one year ago (9/18/13). The premiere episode earned 1.2 million total viewers and a 1.0 rating in the network's key women 25-54 demo. Wednesday night's episode grew double-digits in both the women 25-54 demo (up +52%) and in total viewers (up +52%) vs. the spring season average (4/9/14-6/11/14). Additionally, it ranked #2 in the time period in all of cable for women 25-54. For Better or Worse, about the ups and downs of dating and marriage, centers on Angela Williams (Tasha Smith), the owner of a successful beauty salon, and her husband of 13 years, Marcus (Michael Jai White). Marcus is a former professional football player who is partnered with Richard Ellington (Kent Faulcon) and Joseph Jetson (Jason Olive) on a sports program called "C-Sports Now." Marcus's business relationship with Richard and Joseph is complicated, however, by the fact that Richard is married to Keisha (Kiki Haynes), Marcus's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his teenage daughter. In addition, Joseph's ex-girlfriend, successful real-estate agent Leslie (Crystle Stewart), is Angela's best friend, which sometimes makes it difficult for everyone to keep their business and private lives from mingling. For Better or Worse is produced for OWN by Tyler Perry Studios and is written, directed and executive produced by Tyler Perry.

We are in the summer season in television but it's almost over! We will be back with our normal weekly ratings report with the first four nights numbers and analysis next week, but we still have our regular how the sitcoms for this past week: