Emmy FYC: The Moms of Comedy

We're showcasing our favorite TV triumps while Emmy nomination ballots are out. Here’s Jorge with some pitches for your maternal instinct…

Ever since scripted television has existed, there has been a fictional mother inside our homes. Since sitcoms tend to revolve around family unites, the funny mom is one of the oldest, most beloved, and most comforting TV tropes. With over 450 scripted series for Emmys consideration this year alone, the Television Academy has thousands of performances to consider.

So to make voters lives a little easier here is a list of some of the best Moms in Comedies of the 2016-2017 season. You could fill the entire Actress in a Comedy Series category with just sitcom moms. Consider this an FYC for all of the following women...

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Back to 'Broad City'

Let’s take a short break from film news and reviews and check in with TV. After a long wait the funniest show on TV is coming back. Which one is that you might ask? Why Broad City of course. Ilana (Ilana Glazer) and Abbi (Abbi Jacobson) are back after being away for than a year. And how our world have changed since they’ve been gone. However they seem to have remained as funny as ever. This time they will find themselves entangled with RuPaul, Jane Curtain, Steve Buscemi and Wanda Sykes. They will leave their beloved New York to gun-loving Florida. And Abbi’s nemesis Bevers is somewhat unrecognizable! We are beyond delighted at the prospect of a few hours on our couch with these hilarious women. You will be too after checking the trailer.

Broad City returns on August 23rd. In the meantime tell us what is your favorite moment from the previous three seasons.

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Stage Door: "Six Degrees of Separation" Revived

Stage Door bringing you intermittent theater reviews when we manage to get there. Here's Nathaniel R

It's so basic to binge plays during Tony season as opposed to a more sensible and committed once-a-month diet of live theater. Alas, just as the more familiar mainstream obsession of the Oscar circus encourages studios to backload their releases to the last quarter of the year, most of the "big" theater shows open as late as they can for Tony consideration. This makes April and May a madhouse of theater-going for those who care about such things. Because most of the musicals are too expensive, I've been catching up with the plays. We've already covered The Little Foxes (a must see) and the Pulitzer-winning economic tragedy Sweat. So let's talk Six Degrees of Separation nominated for 2 Tonys: Best Revival of a Play and Best Leading Actor (Corey Hawkins).

"Chaos, control. Chaos, control. You like, you like?"

That's Stockard Channing's most sweetly funny line reading (among thousands of exquisite ones) in the 1993 movie adaptation of this stage classic. That was also, roughly, my reaction to the Broadway revival with Allison Janney, John Benjamin Hickey, and Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton), taking over the roles Channing, Donald Sutherland, and Will Smith played onscreen...

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Yes No Maybe So: "Battle of the Sexes" (plus some Holly Hunter trivia)

By Nathaniel R

Keep talking, Bobby. The more nonsense you spout, the worse it's going to be when you lose.

One of this fall's potential crossover films, in that it has both crowd pleasing and awards appeal (should it be any good that is) is the retelling of the super-famous Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs tennis match from 1973. Though I was alive at the time, I was way too young to know anything about that. I grew up in the age of Martina Navratilova vs Chris Evert and John McEnroe vs Everyone, though, and that match was a common cultural reference point. And tennis was the only sport I really fell in love with. Why? Couldn't say for sure but I suspect it was because it has more easily understood interpersonal dynamics (just two people... or four) at war... only non-violently. My best childhood friend and I even played tennis regularly together. I never got very good but later in high school he made the team! Which is all a terribly long way of saying, tennis movies hold instant interest in theory. They don't make them very often and they're largely unsuccessful when they do. Don't believe me, try to name more than one or two! (I'll wait).  

So let's breakdown the first trailer to Fox Searchlight's Battle of the Sexes after the jump. Are we optimistic, worried, or somewhere inbetween?

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