At their upfronts presentation Tuesday, ABC debuted the trailers for their three new fall entries, including mixed-ish.
The fact that mixed-ish received an early series order ahead of upfronts shows the network’s heavy confidence in the second black-ish series, following Freeform’s grown-ish. Initially set to air this season, the mixed-ish backdoor pilot will air as an episode of black-ish next season.
The updated description for the show: In mixed-ish, Rainbow Johnson recounts her experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the ‘80s and the constant dilemmas they had to face over whether to assimilate or stay true to themselves. Bow’s parents Paul and Alicia decide to move from a hippie commune to the suburbs to better provide for their family. As her parents struggle with the challenges of their new life, Bow and her siblings navigate a mainstream school in which they’re perceived as neither black nor white. This family’s experiences illuminate the challenges of finding one’s own identity when the rest of the world can’t decide where you belong.
The series stars Arica Himmel as Bow Johnson, Tika Sumpter as Alicia Johnson, Christina Anthony as Denise, Mykal-Michelle Harris as Santamonica Johnson and Ethan Childress as Johan Johnson. Anders Holm appears in the trailer as Rainbow’s father and Alica’s husband, but the role will be recast.
Watch the trailer below:
For mixed-ish, Peter Saji and Kenya Barris are writers and executive producers along with Tracee Ellis Ross, Randall Winston, Artists First (Brian Dobbins), Cinema Gypsy (Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland) and Anthony Anderson. It is also produced by ABC Studios.
Source: Shadow & Act
TBS has picked up a third season of comedy series The Last O.G., starring Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish.
Co-created and executive-produced by Oscar winner Jordan Peele, The Last O.G. launched as cable’s #1 new comedy in 2018 and the highest rated cable comedy debut since 2015. The show continues to be a ratings success in its second season, now ranking as cable’s #1 sitcom and reaching a multiplatform audience of 23 million viewers so far.
“The Last O.G. is very meaningful to me and I am blessed to get to work with my family for another season,” said Morgan. “We are going to go to a whole other level this year. JUST WAIT.”
Season two of The Last O.G. saw Morgan’s character Tray going all in on his dreams of becoming a chef, and Tray’s ex-girlfriend Shay (Haddish) collaborating with an unlikely business partner.
Morgan and Haddish will return for the third season, as well as series regulars Ryan Gaul, Allen Maldonado, Taylor Mosby and Dante Hoagland.
“We are so proud of The Last O.G.’s continued success,” said Brett Weitz, general manager of TBS and TNT. “This hilarious and heartfelt show has connected with fans and we couldn’t be more grateful for the big laughs that Tracy and the O.G. gang deliver each week.”
The second season of The Last O.G. was executive-produced by Morgan and Peele for Monkeypaw Productions; Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum for The Tannenbaum Company; Saladin Patterson; and Joel Zadak of Artists First.
Source: Deadline
Issa Rae is hella booked and hella busy.
Fresh off of filming her latest film, The Photograph, with Lakeith Stanfield, the intrepid creator is still keeping her creative eye on fresh content.
Set in the Georgian city of Atlanta during the 1980s, Silver Sparrow revolves around a pair of young girls who form a friendship. However, only one of them is aware that they are sisters and knows that their father, James Witherspoon, is a covert bigamist.
Rae is set to executive produce an adaptation of Jones’ acclaimed novel. The project is just the latest endeavor of Rae’s production bucket.
She has multiple projects in development for a number of different outlets, all in different stages of development. In 2017, it was announced that the Insecure creator and star was executive producing a drama set in Los Angeles during the early ’90s for HBO. The network also picked up two more shows from Rae: the affluent Black teen drama Sweet Life and Him or Her, a single-camera half-hour comedy set to chronicle the dating life of a bisexual Black man.
Source: Shadow & Act
ABC is not moving forward with the project known as Untitled Leslie Odom Jr. Comedy. The church comedy pilot, produced by Kerry Washington, was inspired by the real-life couple pastors Touré Roberts and Sarah Jakes-Roberts. Leslie Odom Jr. and Kelly Jenrette would have led the cast, which also included Alexis Fields.
The network’s 2019-20 lineup was made official Tuesday, and all pilots are no longer in contention besides NYPD Blue, Heart of Life and Nana, which are all being redeveloped.
The story revolved around the characters Omari and Hope, “who are joint pastors at a young, hip, diverse church in Los Angeles. Through their services, online streams and books, they are experts at uniting people across different races, genders, orientations and opinions. But when it comes to uniting the people in their blended family, they are way out of their comfort zone, and as a result, the teachers often find themselves the pupils.”
ABC opted for a light load this pilot season, ordering just six series. Two of them were comedies, the black-ish spinoff mixed-ish and United We Fall, starring Christina Vidal. The Leslie Odom Jr. pilot and another pilot at the network starring Hannah Simone were considered sure bets for series orders. However, it seems that the network has decided to wait a year before making a vast expansion into new programming. ABC is in a transition period after the Disney-Fox deal and a change of network president from Channing Dungey to Karey Burke.
Saladin Patterson, the showrunner of TBS comedy The Last O.G. starring Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish, wrote the script.
Source: Shadow & Act
NEW YORK (AP) — ABC’s fall schedule will include a reboot of the TV variety series “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” hosted by Tiffany Haddish.
ABC said Tuesday the comedian-actress will produce the series, set to air on Sundays.
Haddish will encourage children to share their advice on topics including dating and sportsmanship, the network said.
ABC also will launch another spinoff of its comedy “black-ish” this fall.
Titled “mixed-ish,” the spinoff will focus on the preteen version of the mom that Tracee Ellis Ross plays on “black-ish.”
The young Rainbow, nicknamed Bow, faces the challenges of growing up in the 1980s as part of a mixed-ethnicity family, ABC said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Tim Conway, the impish second banana to Carol Burnett who won four Emmy Awards on her TV variety show, starred aboard “McHale’s Navy” and later voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for “Spongebob Squarepants,” has died. He was 85.
Conway died Tuesday morning in a Los Angeles care facility, according to Howard Bragman, who heads LaBrea Media. Conway’s wife, Charlene Fusco, and a daughter, Jackie, were at his side. The cause was a disorder in which there is an excess of fluid on the brain, Bragman said.
Burnett said in a statement Tuesday that she was heartbroken. “He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being. I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He’ll be in my heart forever.”
Tributes also came from across the comedy world, including from Conan O’Brien, who said “no one made me laugh harder than Tim Conway” and Kathy Griffin, who called him “a wildly talented, comedy giant.” Al Roker tweeted out a link to Conway playing a hysterically incompetent dentist.
A native of Ohio, Conway credited his Midwestern roots for putting him on the right path to laughs, with his deadpan expression and innocent, simple-minded demeanor.
“I think the Midwest is the heart of comedy in this country, and a little bit of the South, too,” he told the Wisconsin State Journal in 2005. “For some reason, we’re just more laid-back, more understanding. … And Midwesterners have a kinder sense of humor.”
Those qualities probably contributed to his wide popularity on “The Carol Burnett Show,” which he joined in 1975 after years as a frequent guest. The show aired on CBS from 1967 to 1978 and had a short summer stint on ABC in 1979.
“We really didn’t attack people or politics or religion or whatever. We just made fun of, basically, ourselves,” he said.
The show operated with just five writers, one producer, one director and without network interference. The ensemble cast surrounding the redheaded star included Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner.
“I don’t think the network would allow a show like ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ now because we had such freedom,” Conway said in his interview with the State Journal.
Lawrence on Tuesday mourned the passing of her co-star, saying in a statement that “the angels are laughing out loud.”
“Hysterical, crazy, bold, fearless, humble, kind, adorable… all synonyms for Tim Conway. I am so lucky to ever have shared a stage with him.”
While America was laughing at Conway, so were his co-stars: Burnett and Harvey Korman were often caught by the camera trying not to crack up during his performances.
The short, nondescript Conway and the tall, imposing Korman were a physical mismatch made in comedy heaven. They toured the country for years with a sketch show called “Together Again,” which drew on characters from Burnett’s show.
Besides the four Emmys he won with Burnett (three as a performer, one as a writer), he won Emmys for guest appearances in 1996 for “Coach” and in 2008 for “30 Rock.”
Conway also had a modest but steady movie career, appearing in such films as “The Apple Dumpling Gang” (1975), “The Shaggy D.A.” (1976), “Cannonball Run II” (1984), “Dear God” (1996) and “Air Bud 2” (1998).
“The Apple Dumpling Gang” and “Cannonball Run II” allowed him to work with his comedic hero, Don Knotts, who died in 2006.
“If there’s any reason at all I’m in the business, I think it’s Don,” Conway once said. “He’s an icon in this business. He’s an icon that’s never going to be duplicated.”
He also found success in the 1980s in a series of comedy videos based on an oddly short character named Dorf. (Carefully costumed, Conway performed the bits on his knees.) Among them were “Dorf on Golf” and “Dorf Goes Fishing.”
More recently Conway voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for the hugely popular children’s series “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
He was born Thomas Conway in 1933 in the Cleveland suburb of Willoughby. He attended Bowling Green State University and served in the U.S. Army. He got his career start on local TV in Cleveland in the 1950s, where his duties included comedy spots on a late-night movie show.
He was spotted by Rose Marie of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” who got him an audition for “The Steve Allen Show.” He became a regular on the show in the early 1960s. It was Allen who had advised him to change his name from Tom to Tim to avoid being confused with a British actor.
Following the Allen show, Conway gained attention as the incompetent Ensign Charles Parker on the Ernest Borgnine sitcom “McHale’s Navy” from 1962-66. That led to series of his own, including “Rango” and “The Tim Conway Show,” but they were short-lived.
“McHale’s Navy” fans loved watching Ensign Parker infuriate the ever-flammable Captain Binghamton (played by Joe Flynn), but it was Conway’s work on Burnett’s show that would bring him lasting fame.
Conway and his wife, Mary Anne Dalton, married in 1961 and had six children. The marriage ended in divorce. He later married Charlene Fusco.
In addition to his wife and daughter Jackie, Conway is survived by children Tim Jr., Patrick, Jamie, Kelly, Corey and Seann, as well as two grandchildren, Courtney and Sophia.
According to several of our sources, comedian TJ McGee has passed away.
Our sources have confirmed that McGee passed away from a heart attack that we heard came on suddenly two days ago. No further word has yet been discovered on how this heart attack came about.
As soon as we discover more we will pass along the information.
Kerry Washington joins “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons,’” the live sitcom special coming from late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and television icon Norman Lear. Washington is set to play Helen Willis in the special, airing live WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 (8:00-9:31 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. This historic event will take viewers down memory lane, recreating an original episode from each of the Emmy® Award-winning series “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.” This legendary night of television will be hosted by Lear and Kimmel, directed by 10-time Emmy winner James Burrows and produced by Sony Pictures Television.
Previously announced stars include Woody Harrelson (Archie Bunker), Marisa Tomei (Edith Bunker), Jamie Foxx (George Jefferson), Wanda Sykes (Louise Jefferson), Ellie Kemper (Gloria Stivic), Will Ferrell (Tom Willis), Justina Machado (Florence Johnston), Ike Barinholtz (Meathead), Sean Hayes (Mr. Lorenzo), Amber Stevens West (Jenny Willis Jefferson), Jovan Adepo (Lionel Jefferson), Anthony Anderson (Uncle Henry), Stephen Tobolowsky (Mr. Bentley) and Jackée Harry (Diane Stockwell).
From 1971 through 1979, “All in the Family” was in the homes of millions of Americans, tackling controversial subjects for the first time such as women’s rights, racism and homosexuality. The series followed Archie Bunker as the highly opinionated, working-class family man who viewed the world on his terms. When not arguing with his liberal son-in-law, Archie took refuge in his wife, Edith, who tried to understand Archie’s conservative ways and outdated beliefs. The award-winning series shaped ongoing political and social conversations among American families in the post-civil rights era.
The success of “All in the Family” launched “The Jeffersons,” running from 1975 to 1985. It was the first television series to feature an interracial couple, and it would go on to be one of the longest-running African-American shows on TV. The series followed George and Louise Jefferson moving on up to the east side and showcasing what it was like to be successful in a predominantly white world. The series changed the landscape and helped shift conversations about race and class, paving the way for other African-American actors and TV shows.
“Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’” will be produced by Smoking Baby Productions, ACT III Productions, Gary Sanchez Productions and Sony Pictures Television. Norman Lear, Jimmy Kimmel, Brent Miller, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Justin Theroux will executive produce; and the live special will be directed by James Burrows.
The live production of Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons is fleshing out its cast.
Anthony Anderson and Ike Barinholtz have been added to the cast, as well as Amber Stevens West, Sean Hayes, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jovan Adepo and Jackée Harry. They join Jamie Foxx, who has already been cast as George Jefferson, Wanda Sykes, who will play Louise Jefferson, Will Ferrell as Tom Willis, Justina Machado as Florence Henderson, Elie Kemper as Gloria Bunker Stivic, Marisa Tomei as Edith Bunker and Woody Harrelson as Archie Bunker.
Anderson will play George Jefferson’s brother Henry, who was once Archie Bunker’s neighbor in Queens. Adepo will play Lionel, George and Louise’s son, who marries Jenny, Tom and Helen Willis’ daughter, who will be played by Stevens West. Tobolwsky will play Harry Bentley, the Jeffersons’ neighbor, and Harry will play Louise’s friend Diane Stockwell. Barinholtz will play Archie’s foil and son-in-law, Mike “Meathead” Stivic, and Hayes will play Mr. Lorenzo, another of Archie’s neighbors as well as a househusband.
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons is a love letter of sorts to Norman Lear’s profound effect on TV.
As the special’s title suggests, the special will recreate two episodes from Lear’s classic series All in the Family and The Jeffersons with today’s stars. As Lear himself has said, the special shows how much the series’ stories still resonate today as much as they did back in the ’70s and ’80s.
“They have said over and over again that these two shows were meant for the ’70s and would not work today,” said Lear about the special. “We disagree with them and are here to prove, with two great casts depicting All in the Family and The Jeffersons, the timelessness of human nature.”
Lear and Jimmy Kimmel are executive producing along with Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez Productions and Justin Theroux. The live event will take place May 22 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.