Sticking with NBC's "Me too! Me too!" approach to programming, their fall slate follows in ABC's footsteps and makes a major play for new comedy blocks. ABC hit it big with last year's foray into the thought-dead genre, so now NBC is trying to do the same. From what I've seen, NBC is kidding themselves if they think they have the next Modern Family on their hands, but a couple of their new offerings appear to have some potential.
New half-hour comedy Outsourced and hour-long Love Bites are set to premiere after The Office on Thursdays this fall, while Friends With Benefits and Perfect Couples appear to be slated for midseason. There's something called The Paul Reiser Show that's on the list, but I haven't seen it on any official schedule yet, and I kind of have a feeling it won't actually pan out, so I won't be reviewing it here. Plus, you know, I'm lazy. (Also, I just watched the trailer and it looks criminally un-funny, so yeah, count me out.)
OUTSOURCED
Description: Stars Todd Dempsy (Ben Rappaport, off-Broadway’s “The Gingerbread House”), Rizwan Manji (“Privileged”), Sacha Dhawan (BBC’s “Five Days II”), Rebecca Hazlewood (BBC’s “Doctors”), Parvesh Cheena (“Help Me Help You”), and Anisha Nagarajan (Broadway’s “Bombay Dreams”), Diedrich Bader (“The Drew Carey Show”), and Jessica Gower (Network Ten’s “The Secret Life of Us”). Robert Borden (“The Drew Carey Show” and “George Lopez”) is executive producer/writer. Ken Kwapis (“The Office”) developed the project through his company, In Cahoots, and serves as executive producer/director.
My Take: Ummm... wow. It's hard to really know where to start here. I have to give them credit for trying something new, but this isn't really working for me so far. I'm stuck between finding this funny or cringe-worthy. I have a sinking feeling this is just going to be one episode after another of Americans looking like assholes whilst mocking Indian culture. Yeah... not exactly my bag, thanks. I honestly don't know what to make of this one. Handled in just the right way, it's the kind of concept that could be a witty juxtaposition of cultural norms, but so far, I'm not sure they're capable of pulling that off. In case the equivocacy thus far hadn't tipped you off, I'm on the fence with this one. I salute them for being daring. Having a mostly unknown cast and setting your comedy in India is ballsy, if nothing else. There's certainly a lot of room for funny in this concept, but I'm afraid it's going to veer into un-funny, America-is-better-than-you-are territory awfully quickly. Anything that is overtly "We're number 1!" is a major turn off for me, so I'm really hoping this comedy takes jabs on both sides (with the serious jabs coming America's way) and using this show as a platform to expose cultural quirks in a hilarious way. That's a tall order to fill, so I'm apprehensive at the very least. We'll see how it goes, but I have to admit, I'm nervous. It just feels like the kind of show that will make me embarrassed to be American... you know, more so. It has some impressive creative talent behind it, so I'm hoping to hell they pull this one off. I'm not sure it'll find an audience immediately, but to NBC's credit, one of the few things they do right is give their comedies time to grow.
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Description: From Oscar and Emmy winner Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, Arrested Development). Stars Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars, Party Down), Danneel Harris (One Tree Hill), Fran Kranz (Dollhouse)--a role which is being recast, Ian Reed Kesler--who is also being recast, and Jessica Lucas (Cloverfield). David Nevins (Lie to Me, Arrested Development) joins Grazer as executive producer. Also serving as executive producers are David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers), who directs the pilot, writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber ((500) Days of Summer), and Jeff Kleeman.
My Take: Well, it's hard to know exactly what this one is going to look like in the end because half the lead roles are being recast as we speak. Most irksome? That my darling Topher Brink (aka Fran Kranz) is getting the boot. Grrr! Argh! He seemed perfect for the role (which I have to imagine is being tweaked as well) and can absolutely hold his own in the acting department. He has great comedic timing and a hell of a lot of depth. I was really looking forward to seeing him again (you know, in a less Thoughtpocalypse kind of way). Sigh. Considerably less irksome? That guy playing the womanizer (with the plan to sleep with a representative from the major religions) is also being recast. I didn't recognize him (after checking IMDb, it appears he's been in stuff here and there, but nothing noteworthy--you know you're in trouble when the official description doesn't list anything) and didn't find him appealing at all. He certainly didn't strike me as a ladies man (at least not a successful one). Anyway, he won't be missed. Regarding the elements which will be staying the same (presumably), I love Ryan Hansen and think that if anyone could pull this off (and temper the Fran Kranz ouster), it's him. His days as douchey Dick Casablancas on Veronica Mars always make me smile. He wasn't terribly appealing back then (which was the point), so I'm actually pretty surprised at how he came across here (i.e. likable and attractive). The other leads are basically unknown to me, but they seemed to acquit themselves well. The concept is pretty basic and standard and I don't think it'll take more than a season for one (or both) of the primary leads to fall in love with the other, but all in all, it looks like it could be some mindless fun. Ryan Hansen is funny even when the script isn't, so in spite of some "meh" jokes in the trailer and some less-than-stellar line deliveries by his co-star (maybe it's just her voice, but it feels like she's playing a character, not that she is that character--"Well, what would you expect from the acting school of One Tree Hill?" chimes the audience), I think he's abundantly suited to anchoring a comedy. The creative team has some promise, even if 500 Days of Summer didn't really do it for me... My main quibbles with that movie had little to do with the comedy, so here's hoping the writers are better equipped for serialized TV rather than film. This feels like NBC's latest attempt at bringing back the glory days of Friends (hell, let's put "Friends" in the title!), but the odds of it being the cultural hotspot of its predecessor are slim. It looks like it could be a really solid comedy, but again, it's hard to know exactly what this is going to be. I'll give a serious shot to just about anything with Ryan Hansen at the helm. God, I miss Veronica Mars (speaking of which, did everyone see Jason Dohring on Lie to Me? I really miss him as well).
LOVE BITES
Description: From Emmy Award-winning writer-producer Cindy Chupack (Sex and the City). Stars Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) and Jordana Spiro (My Boys), whose character names are Annie and Frannie--no, I'm not kidding, although I wish to hell I were. This is kind of a weird one and doesn't have much in the way of a regular cast. Apparently each episode will include several vignettes or something... Their story will anchor the series, while other romantically-challenged characters will come and go each week. Hence, LOTS of guest stars, not so many regulars. Chupack is creator, executive producer and writer. Marc Buckland (My Name Is Earl) also is executive producer and directs the pilot.
My Take: Okay, wow, this might just not speak to my sensibilities, but this looks positively painful. I actually quite like Jordana Spiro, but she and what's-her-face appear to be aiming for Romy and Michelle and are failing, failing miserably. Spiro's ditzy dingbat voice might be a character affectation, but that makes it no less annoying or disingenuous (maybe that's the point? the character is all a front? here's hoping...). More than that, I've never been a big fan of meaningless A-plots, and this show appears to have based itself around that concept entirely. I watch television because it's serialized. While lazy viewers might like a show that they can tune into once in a while and still know exactly what's going on, those are my least favorite shows. If I wanted a self-contained, one-time thing, I'd watch a movie, thanks. Anyway, the concept is dubious for me at best and the creative team leaves much to be desired. I watched exactly 10 minutes of the Sex and the City movie and they had pretty much the exact same gag with the two hot guys turning out to be gay. It was uber-predictable the first time, so you can imagine how thrilling it was to see it once again. Way to recycle, Chupack. I appreciate it when people go green. Quite frankly, can we excise the actual leads of this show and follow the attractive gay guys instead? Pretty please? This feels more like a string cornball casting stunts than an actual series and that is an immediate turn off. I'll never understand the concept of introducing characters, developing them in a way that makes the audience really care about them, and then never having them on the show again. It's like what happened with Cupid. I ended up caring more about the story-of-the-week than the series regulars, so it was beyond irksome when I'd never seen the actually interesting characters ever again and was stuck with total crap. The writing is weak and rife with cliches, the base concept is way too A-plot based to appeal to me, and the two leads aren't coming across as nearly as well as they could. Best part of the trailer? Getting to see Kyle Howard again. He was always one of the better aspects of My Boys. Which, while My Boys was never a home run or anything, appears to have been a million times better than this. Spiro and Howard could do (and have done) better.
PERFECT COUPLES
Description: Stars Kyle Howard (My Boys), Christine Woods (Flash Forward), David Walton (Heist), Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Hayes MacArthur (She’s Out of My League), and Olivia Munn (Attack of the Show). Jon Pollack (30 Rock) and Scott Silveri (Friends) are the executive producers while Andy Ackerman (Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine) is the director.
My Take: Are we sensing a theme here? Dadgummit, NBC is going to find the second coming of Friends if it's the last thing they ever do! Or at least they're going to try. And try. And try. This one even has a Friends producer on board. Holy hell, this slate of new comedies is redundant. Speaking of redundant, hey look! It's another My Boys alum! Oh wait, it's the same alum! Anyway, and once again, this one just isn't really jumping out and grabbing me. It doesn't look awful, but it definitely smacks of the inexplicable cliche that men are clueless morons and women are irrational shrews, a la Knocked Up. Okay, not that bad. Nothing could be that bad, but you know what I mean. If the writers can find a way to make these people truly endearing and charming, this show could really work, but I'm cautious. The base concept doesn't leave as much storyline wiggle room as audiences' generally go for (you know, what with the perils of dating being essentially removed). There's just something about established couples that doesn't have people glued to their screens. Okay, there are actually a whole lot of things. It'll be interesting to see exactly what angle the writers take with this, but so far, none of these characters seem all that engaging. They strike me as annoying more than anything. But, as with any show, they might just need time to really establish themselves. I've seen a couple of clips of the show that make it look a lot more promising. The creative team is solid, so if there's enough here that it can work, they're the ones to pull it off. I have to admit, the gag with the dramatic walk-away soundtrack made me smile. The stuff about how annoying married couples can be? Not so much. Here's hoping the writers avoid that. Maybe you have to be married to find that kind of pettiness hilarious... I, for one, am not, and do not. At least Kyle Howard is getting work?
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