B Positive

Yes, sitcoms are fine — mostly on Thursdays

TV keeps teetering between two extremes – comedy is king and comedy is dead.
Now we’re at the latter. Laughs are scarce … except on Thursdays, when they reach excess.
Now the best ones are back: After a four-week break, CBS’ Thursday comedies have new episodes Jan. 21. Three are very funny (including “B Positive,” shown here), one is adequate, all are welcome.
And all are in a tough time for situation comedies. As Variety, the trade paper, put it: “Three episodes of CBS’ ‘Young Sheldon’ were the only sitcoms to make this year’s list of top 100 telecasts with total viewers. Among adults 18-49, there were none.” Read more…

It’s positively a good show, great star

This is just what we need as the dark winter approaches. There’s a fresh, new star – well, new to many people – in a first-rate comedy.
The show – “B Positive,” at 8:30 p.m. Thursdays on CBS – is no surprise, really. It’s from producer Chuck Lorre, whose comedies range from good to great; its Nov. 5 debut is sandwiched between two of his shows, “Young Sheldon” and “Mom.”
The first two episodes offer the sort of sharp writing we expect from Lorre, plus a bonus. That’s Annaleigh Ashford (shown here winning a Tony award), one of the show’s two stars. Read more…

CBS finally sets its season-openers

A major chunk of the new TV season has finally been scheduled.
CBS announced November starts for 10 of its series. That includes all three “NCIS” shows and five of its six comedies — including one new show, “B Positive” (shown here) — plus “SWAT” and “All Rise.”
That still leaves 10 others waiting to be scheduled. Most are hourlong dramas, including the two “FBI” shows and the three Friday ones.
The move matches others made by big-three networks. NBC will launch several of its shows around the Nov. 10 season-opener of “This Is Us”; two days later, ABC starts its big moves with a crossover of “Station 19” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Read more…