Past New Comedies posts: 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11
Young Sheldon (CBS) - I am not a fan of The Big Bang Theory and on the few occasions I have watched it, Sheldon Cooper has annoyed me more than amused me. But Young Sheldon is an entirely different story. With a very "ABC family comedy" feel, it was funny and also heartwarming. Young Sheldon Cooper was funny but the entire family made this show what it is (more on them below). It's a testament to the creators of the show that a non-Big Bang fan is interested in watching a prequel every single week. But it hasn't made me anymore interested in Big Bang.
RUNNER-UP: LA to Vegas (FOX) - This ensemble airline comedy was uneven in its first year but there were times, particularly towards the end of the season, where I felt like it could be come another great workplace comedy in the vein of Superstore. We'll see if it gets the chance as its fate is still undecided.
Worth Mentioning: Alex, Inc. (ABC)/Me, Myself, & I (CBS)
Dylan McDermott, LA to Vegas (FOX) - Dylan McDermott went against type in a big way as Captain Dave Pratman on LA to Vegas. The mess of a captain was supremely confident yet also kind of pathetic but it was played in such a hilarious way by McDermott who seemed to relish getting to play such a broad character after years of being a dramatic actor. The show also did a good job of showing a slightly more vulnerable side of Captain Dave at times to make him a little more human. Bonus points for playing on an internet joke and bringing on Dermot Mulroney as Captain Dave's rival!
RUNNER-UP: Zach Braff, Alex Inc. (ABC) - Alex, Inc. was a wildly uneven show and it won't get a chance to figure it out, but I really liked Zach Braff in the lead role. I didn't think the workplace stuff worked great but the home life and Braff's chemistry with Tiya Sircar was really promising.
Worth Mentioning: Iain Armitage, Young Sheldon (CBS)/Bobby Moynihan, Me, Myself, & I (CBS)
Yara Shahidi, Grown-ish (Freeform) - The Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish never made it to ABC, but I gave it a chance on Freeform and while it was a little too young for me, I was quite impressed with Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson. She never stood out much to me on Black-ish but when given her own chance to shine, she didn't disappoint. She portrayed a college freshmen going through the ups and downs of a first year in a very believable way. At times she was sure of herself, at other times she was conflicted about everything in her life. Shahidi's performance and strong voice in narration helped elevate the show to being better than it should have been.
Worth Mentioning: Tiya Sircar, Alex, Inc. (ABC)/Kim Matula, LA to Vegas (FOX)
Lance Barber, Young Sheldon (CBS) - This is not the strongest category but Lance Barber playing Sheldon Cooper's dad, George Sr., is the most deserving. I thought Barber did a great job playing the role of the old school father trying to deal with his brilliant and quirky son. I just found myself wishing that the show did more to build up the relationship between Sheldon and his dad especially because we know thanks to The Big Bang Theory that this character dies at some point in the future. Barber is more than up to the job of taking on a bigger role in season two.
RUNNER-UP: Nathan Lee Graham, LA to Vegas (FOX) - As the flamboyant flight attendant Bernard Jasser, Nathan Lee Graham got off a couple funny one-liners and snappy comebacks. He also had a nice relationship and chemistry with his buddy and fellow flight attendant, Ronnie (Kim Matula).
Worth Mentioning: Christopher Paul Richards, Me, Myself, & I (CBS)/Montana Jordan, Young Sheldon (CBS)
Raegan Revord, Young Sheldon (CBS) - This is a the third year in a row I have awarded the Supporting Actress Comedy award to a firecracker young girl but Raegan Revord is just as deserving as recent winners Julia Butters and Giselle Eisenberg. As Sheldon Cooper's sister, Missy, Revord was hilarious but also not given enough to do in my opinion. She is everything that Sheldon isn't and I would love to see her biting sarcasm and funny delivery be used on a far more consistent basis in season two. I want to see this show become every more of an ensemble comedy.
RUNNER-UP: Olivia Macklin, LA to Vegas (FOX) - As stripper Nichole, Olivia Macklin had some great moments in LA to Vegas. Often a ditzy stripper, one of her funniest episodes was when her straight laced mom came to visit and she had to hide her true identity.
Worth Mentioning: Ally Walker, Ghosted (FOX)/Kelen Coleman, Me, Myself, & I (CBS)
9JKL (CBS) - Horribly unfunny in every way, 9JKL had an Everybody Loves Raymond-like premise but it was nothing like that classic show when it came to quality. With a terrible misuse of Linda Lavin, Elliot Gould, and David Walton, I watched one episode of 9JKL and part of another but that was about all I could stomach. I have lamented many times how too many new multi-camera sitcoms make that particular method seem dated and that's unfortunate. Some of the best written sitcoms in television history were multi-camera with a live audience. Every 9JKL that comes along sets the style back even further.
RUNNER-UP: Living Biblically (CBS) - The show that replaced 9JKL on Monday nights on CBS was almost as bad. With an outlandish concept of a man trying to live literally according to the Bible, it was only not named the worst by virtue of just slightly more believable performances.
Worth Mentioning: Champions (NBC)/A.P. Bio (NBC)
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