'The Goodwin Games' Review
More than a year ago, Fox announced The Goodwin Games, a sitcom from the creators of How I Met Your Mother, starring Scott Foley, Becki Newton and T.J. Miller as siblings who are forced to compete for an inheritance from their late father. That show finally premieres tonight at 8:30 p.m. EST, after having its episode order reduced from 13 to seven. Was it worth the wait? Read my review to find out.
Photo courtesy of Fox
CBS Fall Schedule Announced With Five New Comedies
CBS was the final major network to announce its fall schedule today, touting five new comedies (as opposed to only one that debuted last year). We Are Men (about four guys living together in an apartment complex) and Mom (starring Anna Faris as a single mother) will join How I Met Your Mother (in its ninth and final season) and 2 Broke Girls on Mondays.
The Millers (starring Will Arnett, Margo Martindale and Beau Bridges as members of a dysfunctional family) and The Crazy Ones (starring Robin Williams as an egotistical ad executive and Sarah Michelle Gellar as his daughter) will be added to The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men to create an expanded comedy block on Thursdays (which should put the final nail in the coffin of NBC's former Thursday-night comedy dominance). Friends With Better Lives (about six friends in various relationship stages) will debut along with returning show Mike & Molly at midseason.
The Crazy Ones photo courtesy of CBS
ABC Fall Schedule Announced With Five New Comedies
The network upfronts continued with yesterday's announcement of the ABC fall schedule, including four new comedies to premiere in the fall and one for midseason. The Goldbergs (a Wonder Years-esque coming-of-age story set in the '80s) and Trophy Wife (starring Malin Akerman as the title character and Bradley Whitford as her husband) will make up a new Tuesday comedy block, while Back in the Game (about a former softball all-star coaching her son's Little League team) and Super Fun Night (about three friends with a weekly girls' night out) will join The Middle and Modern Family on Wednesdays.
The Neighbors is moving to Fridays to join Last Man Standing. Mixology (which somehow takes place entirely over the course of a single night in a bar) will premiere at midseason, along with the third season of Suburgatory.
The Goldbergs photo courtesy of ABC
Fox Announces Fall Schedule With Five New Comedies
Fox announced its fall schedule today, with five new comedies set to join returning sitcoms New Girl, The Mindy Project and Raising Hope. Dads (executive produced by Seth MacFarlane and starring Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi as two friends whose fathers unexpectedly move in with them) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (a cop comedy from the creators of Parks and Recreation, starring Andy Samberg) will air on Tuesdays following New Girl and The Mindy Project, while Enlisted (about three brothers working on an Army base, from Cougar Town co-creator Kevin Biegel) will join Raising Hope on Fridays in "late fall" (probably November).
Surviving Jack (based on a book by Justin Halpern of $#*! My Dad Says fame, about a father raising two teenagers) and Us & Them (a remake of the British series Gavin and Stacey, starring Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel) are slated to premiere at midseason.
Dads photo courtesy of Fox
NBC Fall Schedule: Six New Comedies, Two Returning
NBC finalized the overhaul of its comedy programming with yesterday's announcement of its 2013-2014 fall schedule, with just two comedies returning and six new sitcoms set to premiere. Three of those will bow in the fall on Thursday nights following the returning Parks and Recreation: Welcome to the Family (pictured), about a white family and a Hispanic family trying to blend when their children get married; Sean Saves the World, starring Sean Hayes as a divorced gay dad; and The Michael J. Fox Show, with Fox as a Parkinson's-afflicted news anchor juggling work and family.
Three more will be held for midseason, along with the miraculous fifth season of Community: The Family Guide, about a family brought closer by divorce; About a Boy, based on the 2002 movie (which itself was based on the Nick Hornby novel) about an immature slacker who befriends his neighbor's son (both scheduled for Tuesdays); and Undateable, from Scrubs and Cougar Town producer Bill Lawrence, featuring a confident guy who decides to help his roommate and his roommate's awkward friends learn how to get women. The premise and the fact that it's currently unscheduled makes me think Undateable will probably end up as this year's show the network holds onto for months and then burns off over the summer.
Photo courtesy of NBC
'Family Tree' Review
Tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST, HBO premieres the new comedy Family Tree, co-created by mockumentary master Christopher Guest (of Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show fame), starring Chris O'Dowd as a man researching his family history. Does it match up to Guest's classic movies? Read my review to find out.
Photo courtesy of HBO
'Community' and More Renewed, Six Comedies Canceled
More renewals and cancellations for TV comedies as we get closer to next week's network upfronts: After cancelling nearly every comedy on its schedule (including The New Normal, just confirmed), NBC has somewhat unexpectedly picked up a fifth season of cult favorite Community. There's no word on whether it will be a shortened season like the just-wrapped fourth season, but it will definitely not include co-star Chevy Chase, who left the show somewhat acrimoniously before the end of the current season.
Also renewed are ABC's Wednesday-night comedies Suburgatory, Modern Family, The Middle and The Neighbors, but the network has canceled the Reba McEntire-starring Malibu Country after one season, as well as beloved cult favorite Happy Endings, although there are persistent rumors that that show might be picked up by USA. Recent midseason entries How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) and Family Tools will not return for second seasons. And CBS has pulled the plug on Rules of Engagement, a fate foretold by that show's co-star Megyn Price in my interview with her last month.
Photo courtesy of NBC
NBC Renews 'Parks and Recreation,' Cancels Five Comedies
With the network upfronts starting next week, when the four broadcast networks present their upcoming fall schedules to advertisers, word has started coming down on the fates of a number of existing shows. NBC made decisions on most of its comedies yesterday, issuing a season-six renewal to Parks and Recreation, while giving the ax to Whitney, 1600 Penn, Guys With Kids and Up All Night.
It's not really surprising to see most of those shows go; Up All Night was already destroyed with retooling, while Whitney barely made it to a second season, and Guys With Kids and 1600 Penn were greeted with negative reviews and mediocre ratings in their debut seasons. Now the network's only comedies whose fates are undecided are Community, The New Normal and Go On (30 Rock and The Office, of course, both ended their runs). NBC will announce its full fall schedule on Monday, May 13.
UPDATE: NBC has now canceled Go On as well, leaving only Community and The New Normal undecided.
Photo courtesy of NBC
'Maron' Review
Tonight at 10 p.m. EST, IFC premieres Maron, the eponymous sitcom from comedian and podcast host Marc Maron. How does it measure up to his popular WTF podcast? Read my review to find out.
Photo courtesy of IFC
'Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous' Review
MTV's recent track record with scripted comedies has been a little spotty, but they give it a try again tonight with Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous, starring and co-created by comedian Bo Burnham. Premiering at 10:30 p.m. EST, the show stars Burnham as the title character, a recent high school graduate who hires a camera crew to record his every move in hopes of becoming a reality-TV star. Does the show's high concept hold up and provide some laughs along the way? Read my review for my take on it.
Photo courtesy of MTV