Welcome to a new Wildcard Wednesday! This week marks the end of my thirteenth year here on That’s Entertainment! Since June 17, 2013, I’ve published 1,920 original posts, and like we’ve done for every anniversary, I want to reflect on this past “season” and spotlight a few of my favorite entries. As ever, many thanks go out to you, my wonderful readers, subscribers, and friends — I’m so grateful for your support and kindness as we take a look back at the best of 2025-2026.
Musical Theatre Monday — November 17, 2025
My favorite Musical Theatre Monday post of the past year was a tribute to an underrated show called Top Banana (1951), which not only boasted a tuneful Johnny Mercer score, but featured so many connections to TV comedy as a result of its subject matter and its stars. Spotlighting it here felt perfectly synergistic. That is, it was a beautiful blend of so many things I love, particularly this year, where I was shilling my book — Great American Sitcoms of the 1950s.
Situation Comedy Tuesday — April 01, 2026
The Ten Best COMMUNITY Episodes of Season One
Although many of the shows I covered in 2025 — and even 2024 — took us into the 2010s decade, the start of Community, the first of several shows to premiere in 2009, really launched our official entrance into a new era of sitcom history. Accordingly, I needed a big, ol’ essay to mark the occasion. I’m proud of the work here — especially because I also came to appreciate this show over the course of my study, even as it challenged by own personal ideals.
Situation Comedy Tuesday — May 13, 2026
The Ten Best MODERN FAMILY Episodes of Season One
There are a few candidates for best sitcom season covered here in 2025-2026. Among those would be the fourth year of Parks And Rec and the third year of Big Bang. (As a Parks And Rec fan, I probably lean that way.) However, recency bias has won out today because I’m opting instead to spotlight the first season of the show I’m currently examining on Sitcom Tuesdays — Modern Family, whose impressive freshman year is a winning collection.
Wildcard Wednesday — October 08, 2025
Getting to share the original Big Bang pilot — along with some analysis on the changes that shaped the developing show — was one of my highlights from the past year, for it’s an insightful window into the creative process within the confines of network television. And since I cultivated such an affinity for the series during the course of my coverage, any way that I could pay extra tribute to it in a Wildcard entry was a thematically appropriate pleasure!
Wildcard Wednesday — January 28, 2026
The Literary Society of Broadway (XXXI) – George Abbott Classics
It’s been three years since I launched this monthly series on mid-century Broadway comedies and I have to tell you, I’m still loving this excuse to read interesting plays every month and then ruminate on them. And they’re still making for some of my favorite blogposts — especially this one on some of director George Abbott’s most memorable 1930s comedies, including a show called What A Life!, which inspired one of radio’s most formative sitcoms.
Thanks again to everyone who’s made these last thirteen years possible!
Come back next week for a new Wildcard! And stay tuned Monday for another musical rarity!