2016 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 13th season, with the last 8 episodes of season 12 still sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Since I don’t know how last season ended, I’ve avoided looking at what lies ahead this year.

The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in late October, following the midpoint of the NFL season.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – The grouping of DC’s also-rans returns for its second season, with a promised appearance from the Legion of Doom.

7:30

The Great Indoors – Former Community star Joel McHale returns to network TV with this comedy about the new generation gap in the workplace.

8:00

Pitch – Strangely, I don’t usually enjoy movies or TV shows about baseball despite loving the sport in real life, which means I don’t know if I’ll get in to this tale of the first female professional baseball player.  Having Gregg Olson and Chad Kreuter on board as technical advisers certainly can’t hurt.

9:00

The Good Place – Kristen Bell stars as a new arrival to the afterlife in this new comedy from the creator of Parks and Rec. Continue reading →

2015 Emmy Awards – Comedy

Emmy_statueWith the Emmy Awards scheduled for Sunday night, here are my predictions for the awards for Comedy shows.  I most likely have seen most of these shows, so, unlike my annual Oscar predictions, I will not mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth, but will have a somewhat informed decision.

Outstanding Comedy

Louie

Modern Family

Parks and Recreation

Silicon Valley

Transparent

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Veep

Modern Family won last year and would seem to be the obvious choice here, since the voters love it.  But Veep is certainly my dark horse candidate, so I’ll go with that.

Outstanding Actress In A Comedy

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer

Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won this award the past two years, and I see no reason why she won’t repeat again this year.

Outstanding Actor In A Comedy

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Louis CK, Louie

Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

William H. Macy, Shameless

Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Jim Parsons brought home the award last year for his role as Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, but managed to not be nominated this year.  My guess is that Jeffrey Tambor takes home the trophy for Amazon’s hit series.

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Book 21 (of 52) – Yes Please

Yes Please - Amy Poehler

Yes Please – Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler becomes the latest in the recent trend of memoirs from female comedians with Yes Please, a collections of stories about her life and essays imparting some of the life lessons she has picked up along the way.  I have a weird relationship with Poehler, in that I usually enjoy her work, but I don’t normally go out of my way to see any of it.  For example, despite critical acclaim, I have not seen any episodes of Parks and Recreation beyond the pilot.  Following that, I initially had no plans to pick up this book.  Thankfully, events conspired to change my mind.

Around Black Friday, and possibly on Black Friday, Amazon had a deal going on for 30% off any single book.  I looked around and didn’t really see anything that was essential that I get, but, thanks to my previous interest in similar books from Tina Fey and Sarah Silverman, Amazon was suggesting that I go for Amy Poehler’s book.  With the additional discount, this brought the recently published hardcover down to about $10, so I figured why not.  If I enjoyed it half as much as I did Fey’s Bossypants, it would be well worth the cost.

And enjoy it I did.  Poehler is a little older than me, but close enough in age that we shared many of the same pop culture experiences growing up or were in a similar headspace when more current world events were going on.  Plus, she was, for a small time, part of the Chicago comedy scene that I wish I had the courage to either join or enjoy.  She tells tales of her time on SNL, being a mother and the love she has for her children, founding Upright Citizens Brigade in Chicago and moving it to New York, where it grew in to an institution, and much more.  Having finished the book, I was a little sad that I wouldn’t have Amy Poehler in my life anymore.  I wonder if Parks and Rec is streaming on Netflix?

2014 Emmy Awards – Comedy

Emmy_statueWith the Emmy Awards scheduled for Monday night, here’s my predictions for the awards for Comedy shows.  I most likely have seen most of these shows, so, unlike my annual Oscar predictions, I will not mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth, but will have a somewhat informed decision.

Outstanding Comedy

The Big Bang Theory

Louie

Modern Family

Orange Is The New Black

Silicon Valley

Veep

Modern Family would be the obvious choice here, since the voters seem to love it.  But Veep is certainly my dark horse candidate, so I’ll go with that.

Outstanding Actress In A Comedy

Lena Dunham, Girls

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Taylor Schilling, Orange Is The New Black

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won this award last year, and I see no reason why she won’t repeat again this year.

Outstanding Actor In A Comedy

Ricky Gervais, Derek

William H. Macy, Shameless

Louis CK, Louie

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Once again, I am predicting a repeat of last year’s winner, with Jim Parsons bringing home the award again for his role as Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory.

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NBC Upfronts

the_blacklist_-_keyartThanks to Sunday Night Football and the Winter Olympics, NBC is finishing this season as the number 1 network in the coveted 18-49 demographic.  Without the Olympics, things will not be as easy in the fall, so the network did some major upgrades, dropping poor performers like Community and Revolution and bringing in new shows starring the likes of Katherine Heigl, Debra Messing, and Kate Walsh.

The Blacklist, the one breakout scripted hit from last fall for NBC, returns to Mondays for the fall, before moving to Thursdays in the February after getting the post-Super Bowl slot.  It will be replaced by State of Affairs, Heigl’s return to television as a CIA analyst who advises the president.  Casey Wilson and Ken Marino team up for the new comedy Marry Me, slated for Tuesdays.

NBC looks to have abandoned the Must See TV concept on Thursday, replacing the first hour of comedy with a new season of The Biggest Loser.  Two new comedies, Bad Judge, starring Kate Walsh, and A to Z, featuring the charming Cristin Milioti, follow it, at least until The Blacklist moves in the spring.  Parenthood will return for an abbreviated 13 episode final season.  Fridays see a new adaptation of DC’s Constantine, one that will hopefully make everyone forget about the Keanu Reeves film.

Not on the schedule yet are the final season of Parks and Recreation and a third season of Hannibal, plus new shows including Mr. Robinson, starring Craig Robinson as a musician forced to work as a substitute teacher, One Big Happy, a comedy starring Elisha Cuthbert as a gay woman who decides to have a baby with her best friend, right before he falls for a new woman, Emerald City, a miniseries re-imagining characters from The Wizard of Oz, and, of course, the previously announced Heroes Reborn.

There doesn’t appear to be much that I will be watching on NBC in the fall, and even less once Parenthood comes to an end.  I may end up trying some of the new shows, and hopefully they will be worth the effort.

2013 Emmy Awards – Comedy

With the Emmy Awards scheduled for Sunday night, here’s my predictions for the awards for Comedy shows.  I most likely have seen most of these shows, so, unlike my annual Oscar predictions, I will not mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth, but will have a somewhat informed decision.

Outstanding Comedy

30 Rock

The Big Bang Theory

Girls

Louie

Modern Family

Veep

The sentimental favorite would be the final season of 30 Rock, but my feeling is it will end up being one of the two critical darlings, Louie or Girls.  I’m going to go with Louie, as there may be a backlash against Girls and Lena Dunham.

Outstanding Actress In A Comedy

Laura Dern, Enlightened

Lena Dunham, Girls

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

I think this category is where 30 Rock gets celebrated and creator, writer, and star Tina Fey will take home the statue.

Outstanding Actor In A Comedy

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Jason Bateman, Arrested Development

Louis CK, Louie

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

While I can see Jason Bateman pulling an upset, I think the Netflix-based release of Arrested Development will work against him here.  My guess is Jim Parsons takes home the hardware for his role on the top rated comedy on television.

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