It's always tough for me to really evaluate the potential of new comedies. In general, their trailers are almost always pretty bad, even if the show itself isn't. There's just so much to a joke that is based on set-up, character profiles, and timing--none of which are easy to convey in a three minute collage of clips. More often than not, I'm underwhelmed, or downright cringing. But, comedy is more particular to individual tastes that other genres typically, so to each his/her own, I suppose. I have to give NBC credit for trying, but I don't know that adding another comedy block was the best plan of action. I think they're hoping for a breakout hit like ABC scored with Modern Family two years ago, but based on what I've seen so far, I have some serious doubts. Given the outright slaughter of all their new comedies from last year, expanding their slate is a bold move, but one that I'm doubting will pay off. That said, NBC's new comedic offerings don't look half as awful as ABC's or CBS's, so maybe they have a chance after all.
Here are the three new comedies premiering this fall on NBC.
UP ALL NIGHT
Description: Stars Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?), Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live), and Will Arnett (Arrested Development). Parks and Recreation writer Emily Spivey wrote the pilot and will executive-produce with Saturday Night Live's Lorne Michaels.
First Impressions: On paper, this looks like it has all the makings of a good show (in spite of the cast of showkillers), but at the end of the day, the "age old" question of "Can you really have it all?" is simply a little too age old. This is territory that has been explored entirely too many times to see fresh or interesting. To boot, it's territory that I've never been fond of. Being as happily childless as I am, I simply can't relate to the any of this. What's worse, shows like this make people's desires to have children even more confounding. I have never looked at a pile of tiny socks and turned to mush and I have never mortgaged my entire identity so that I can help overpopulate the earth, and the idea of watching nothing but that week-to-week doesn't really interest me. That said, Applegate and Arnett seem to work well together (maybe showkiller + showkiller = success?) and I can see where this show would appeal to most people. The trailer had its moments and did manage to imbue this most unfortunate of subjects with some charm. I can't say I'm chomping at the bit for this one, but it doesn't look like a total disaster either.
WHITNEY
Description: Stars Whitney Cummings (Comedy Central), Chris D'Elia (Glory Daze), and Beverly D'Angelo (Entourage).
First Impressions: Okay, on the other side of the spectrum, we have a comedy with a theme that I can certainly understand, but that looks pretty awful in the long-run. The notion that marriage is the quickest way to ruin a good relationship is one of the greatest truisms around, but when the annoying and unappealing Whitney Cummings is the one delivering this message, I can't bring myself to be interested. I'm honestly not too familiar with her work on Comedy Central, but I'm hoping this is a case of network restrictions stifling cable-style comedy. There were a couple of scenes in the trailer that elicited a bit of smile, but most of them were at the hands of the guy playing her husband, which, for a show called "Whitney" seemed a little odd. Whatever the case may be, the few brief moments of charm were greatly outweighed by the heaping bowlfuls of cliche and cringe-worthiness. Given that the trailer basically showed the entire pilot (seriously, never before have a seen a trailer that essentially laid out the entire first episode in near chronological order like that), I'm not too enthusiastic about the series as a whole. Were this not a Whitney Cummings' vehicle, I'd be more willing to give it a chance, but I find her completely unappealing and her humor seems painfully forced. All in all, I don't think this show is featuring anything new or innovative and isn't covering familiar ground in a way that sucks me in. As ever, I'll give it a shot, but I'll be truly surprised if this holds water.
FREE AGENTS
Description: Stars Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), Kathryn Hahn (Hung), Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Joe Lo Truglio (Reno 911!). From creator John Enbom (PARTY DOWN) and Emmy Award-winning director Todd Holland (MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE).
First Impressions: GILES!!! That was honestly the first impression, and pretty much the main good impression. Wow, this is another American reboot of a British series (which is a phenomenon that often yields diminishing returns) and while the cast and concept seem solid, the execution looks pretty bad. The people sitting around the table might have thought Hank Azaria's laundry list of sexual positions was hi-larious, but it just didn't quite have the right snap to it. I don't know, maybe this is a case where the trailer simply doesn't do the show any favors, but I found this pretty bland and hackneyed. I'm hoping the actual program has a lot more charm and a lot more laughs in store. It has Giles in it (even if he's playing the anti-Giles), so I'm immediately more invested than I would be otherwise, and the cast and creative team seem promising, so I have my fingers crossed that this one is better than it looks. From the trailer alone, it seems like a lot of stock characters dealing with a lot of things we've seen a million times before. If the show can set itself apart somehow, I think it could have some potential. Maybe I just watch entirely too much TV (blasphemy!), but these days, I need something unique or innovative to really invest. Otherwise, they'd better just hope that the chemistry between the leads is palpable because that appears to be central to the entire show. If that's a bust, the show likely will be as well.
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