In the ’90s, families waited all week for ABC’s sitcom lineup TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday).
Now, it’s TGIW (Thank God It’s Wednesday) as ABC airs a block of “The Conners” at 8 p.m., followed by “The Goldbergs” at 8:30 p.m., the award-winning “Abbott Elementary” at 9 p.m. and the new supernatural journalism sitcom “Not Dead Yet,” which airs Episode 6 at 9:30 p.m.
Created by “This Is Us” alumni Casey Johnson and David Windsor, the clever premise follows American newspaper reporter Nell Serrano (Gina Rodriguez), who recently moved to London with her boyfriend but now returns to Los Angeles after their breakup. Her new assignment is to write obituaries, causing her to suddenly see the ghosts of the folks she’s writing about.
Fans of Rodriguez will cheer her return after “Jane the Virgin” (2014-2019), which won her a 2015 Golden Globe over Edie Falco (“Nurse Jackie”), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”), Lena Dunham (“Girls”) and Taylor Schilling (“Orange is the New Black”). In “Not Dead Yet,” she is totally relatable again as the wounded but resilient Nell, sporting blazers over graphic tees.
Inside the newsroom, Hannah Simone (“New Girl”) plays the reliable best friend Sam, while Joshua Banday (“Upload”) plays their jocular co-worker Dennis. They all bond over their hatred of their boss Lexi (Lauren Ash of “Superstore”), who is demanding but not exactly evil like Patricia Arquette in “Severance” (2022). Hopefully she gets some character growth soon.
Outside of the office, Rick Glassman is lovably nerdy as Nell’s roommate Edward, who steals her bad first date Ross (Trent Garrett) for his own video game pal. Nell’s dating life fuels the show, with some suitors showing promise (Langston Kerman’s Jesse), and others failing or ghosting. Angela E. Gibbs shines as Cricket, the bartender widow of Nell’s first obit subject.
Speaking of which, it’s fun to see which guest stars show up as the weekly ghosts, who only disappear when she hits publish. Martin Mull plays Monty in Episode 1; Mo Collins plays Jane Marvell in Episode 2; Brittany Snow plays Piper in Episode 3 and Don Lake plays Rand in Episode 4. I refuse to reveal the ghost in Episode 5 because the twist is too good to spoil.
It’s highly possible that I’m biased toward any show based in journalism, but even if you’ve never stepped foot in a newsroom, you can enjoy the funny antics of this half-hour sitcom. It doesn’t hurt to have “Abbott Elementary” as its lead-in show, though I doubt it’ll win awards like that show or, say, “Ted Lasso,” which returns to Apple TV+, wait for it, next WEDNESDAY!
TGIW is a legit phrase to coin, folks. After all, Wednesday is often called Hump Day, which was once quoted by the GEICO camel, who was voiced by Chris Sullivan, who played Toby in “This Is Us,” whose producers have now created “Not Dead Yet.” See what I mean? TGIW, baby.
At least until Thursday, when more funny “Ghosts” arrive on CBS.
Appointment television is “not dead yet.”
Hold off on the obituary.
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