We're right at the start of November sweeps, a period of time where networks apparently are supposed to try to draw in big ratings for their affiliates but mostly don't bother and just keep churning out the same ol' shit, except for maybe taking that embarrassing low-rated sitcom off the schedule. But November sweeps is also about the time where you can start to make some judgements about the shows you decided to pick up this fall and decide just what, if anything, you're getting out of them. So let's jump right in!
Black-ish - Black-ish was basically the only new comedy this fall I had any faith in, and it hasn't disappointed me whatsoever. In fact, it's actually exceeded my expectations and fears - I had some worries that the show would water itself down after its surprisingly pointed pilot and become Just Another Family Sitcom, but over the past few weeks it's managed to nicely balance its fresh voice with the burdens of being a family sitcom on ABC. Similar to The Middle, Black-ish keeps its network television audience comfortable by never veering too far away from sitcom convention, but also keeps itself relevant and interesting by peppering in some unique jokes and gags that you wouldn't necessarily expect from a wholesome family comedy, such as the horror movie framework the show used for its Halloween episode,. The show has also managed to present us with some welcome twists on cookie-cutter family sitcom characters - while the pilot mostly presented Rainbow and Andre's marriage as your typical "crazy father and down-to-earth wife" pairing, the show has given Rainbow a unique personality of her own, making her off-beat and strange in ways that differ from what makes Andre off-beat and strange. She's no longer side-eying Andre and saving him from making a fool of himself - she's joining right in on on his ridiculous displays herself. (The best example of this is when Rainbow learns that Andre has put a camera in every room, including the fridge - at first she's a little perplexed, then seconds later she inquires: 'do we have any grapes?') Even the kids on Black-ish, often a weak point on family sitcoms, are coming into their own, developing personalities that allow them to exist as more than just plot devices and ways to make viewers marvel at their cuteness. Black-ish is not quite a perfect show yet (the show could still resist sitcom convention more than it does) but it's surprisingly fully-formed for a show this early in its run, and is one of the shows I most look forward to watching every week.
Marry Me - Marry Me still hasn't really figured out what it wants to be outside of "Happy Endings but without most of the cast", and that comes down to the fact that it has yet to establish a presence for anyone in the cast other than its two lead characters. That's not really unexpected for a show four episodes into its run, but the problem is that Marry Me is already sort of functioning like it's in its third season - it's not really giving us plots that get us to know any of the characters better, and leaves the work to its jokes to make us connect with these people. While those jokes are generally quite good (there's usually at least one line that makes me laugh uncontrollably each week), jokes alone aren't really enough to get me to understand who a character is. Marry Me desperately wants to be the kind of show you watch because you love the characters and will watch them do anything, but it's not doing the work it needs to get to that point. I'll keep watching because the show is genuinely funny most of the time, but it's not at the level of funniness it needs to be if it's going to completely disregard character work altogether. (Also, less Gil, please. He's playing the same character he does on Broad City, except everyone on Broad City realizes he's terrible).
Benched - Speaking of Happy Endings alumni, Eliza Coupe is starring in this new USA comedy, and although there have only been two episodes so far, it's shaping up to be one of my favorite comedies of the fall. That's not saying much at all, but there's some real promise here, with a killer cast (Maria Bamford! Oscar Nunez! Jay Harrigan!), a fairly good premise, and....well, you heard the Eliza Coupe part, right? Benched feels, in many ways, a lot like a network sitcom - it doesn't have the heir of experimentation that have aided many of the years' great cable comedies like Broad City, Review and You're the Worst, but it feels like a good network sitcom, the kind networks were making 4 or 5 years ago but now just make Bad Judge and think it's enough. Benched could stand to be a little funnier (it feels like it's requiring its actors to do most of the legwork right now, which isn't a terrible decision when you have actors as hilarious as these ones, but they'd be better served with really great writing) and its premise comes with a lot of cliches that the show doesn't do enough to subvert, but that's all basic early sitcom stuff. This has the makings of a show that could be something special, and I'm really hoping it realizes that potential, because a great sitcom with this team behind it would be mind-blowing. The biggest thing holding Benched back might be its network, which strangely announced it was abandoning comedy a few months ago (despite renewing its comedy Sirens) but promises this show has its full support. It better, USA. What else are you going to air, some procedural about beautiful and boring cops? (Yes, that's exactly what we're going to air, USA would probably reply).
Mulaney - Mulaney has actually significantly improved upon its pilot, attempting to give itself at least a bit more direction and experimenting with the idea of actually having a plot rather than just being bits of recycled stand-up pieces. Unfortunately, it hasn't really improved to the point where I feel sadness about the fact that it's pretty much doomed to cancellation at this point (its order has been cut and it fell to a 0.7 rating this week, AKA the number that got Manhattan Love Story and A to Z cancelled). The show has bits and pieces that work (I really enjoyed Nasim Pedrad's character doing a Little Shop of Horrors homage about a potential new apartment in the shows' third episode) but it still fails to make any sort of an impact on the whole, feeling at times like a collection of scenes that are supposed to parody the idea of a sitcom rather than being, you know, an actual sitcom. Part of me wonders if Mulaney would've been better off on a cable network like FX or Comedy Central, where it would be free to play with the form without having to worry about being a multi-camera sitcom on a major broadcast network. As of now, it feels like an unsuccessful compromise of being a mainstream show and an experimental analysis of the form of a sitcom. It's a tricky balance to pull off - Community, which more or less attempted the same thing, managed to pull it off successfully by just being both being really good at both sides of the equation and understanding when it was time to get weird and when it was time to ground itself. Mulaney seems like it's always attempting to do both at the same time - its scenes are generic and unimaginative but they're delivered like they're tongue-in-cheek, which doesn't satisfy the need of being a good experiment or a good sitcom. So I can't say I expect much more out of Mulaney, but hopefully it can at least send John Mulaney and the rest of this talented cast to a place that does a better job of complimenting their skills.
And now, while we're here, we may as well check in on some returning shows, right?!
New Girl - New Girl has been having a surprisingly excellent rebound season, managing to dust off the messiness of last year and start fresh by basically just simplifying itself to being a show about five funny people. This "back-to-basics" approach is one that plenty of shows that flame out attempt to regain their composure, but most wind up just giving everyone a sense of whiplash as they veer from messy and complicated territory into a show that's basically just the same show it was in its second episode. New Girl has managed to avoid that by never keeping its characters more complicated emotions far away, even when the show itself travels into silly, go-for-broke farce territory. The shows' most recent episode, "Background Check", was a great example of this - a bottle episode that stranded the entire cast in the loft for 20 minutes in basically real time, it brought out both the most wild and the most sincere in all of its characters. The show may not be hitting the heights it was in its first two seasons, but it's arguably more consistent then ever, and seems to finally be on solid ground.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Brooklyn Nine-Nine has become sort of a "turn off your brain" show for me, which is not all meant to be insulting - in fact, it's a compliment that I've given some shows I seriously loved in the past, shows like Archer and Happy Endings. What I mean by this is that it's a show that is almost entirely focused on its comedy, allowing me to just sit back and get myself immersed in its ridiculous world, then simply enjoy the ride. Every episode has me laughing more consistently than nearly anything else on TV, and when the show does attempt to raise the stakes and analyze its characters' psyches a bit, it does so surprisingly eloquently - proven especially by the Gina/Boyle affair, which was both some really hilarious absurdity and surprising advancements for both of their characters (who arguably got the least progression in Season 1, other than like, Hitchcock and Scully...who I still can't tell apart). So while a show like Brooklyn seems like one that would be a nightmare to closely analyze week in and week out, it's a show that I really love just sitting back and hanging out with.
Doctor Who - I'm going to do a post about the full season after it wraps up next week, but I would like to take this time to say how much I am really, really enjoying this season. Peter Capaldi is fantastic. Jenna Coleman is fantastic, and the show has done the near impossible task of turning Clara into a legitimately interesting companion. Having a female Master is fantastic. Doctor Who has the tendency to totally fuck up its finales so I'm not going to make any definitive statements just yet, but this is shaping up to be a contender for the best season of new Doctor Who yet.
With that, let me end with the news that you were probably reading this post for, because you read every post on the internet hoping it will give you the answer - Galavant has a premiere date, and it is January 4. Life finally has meaning again.
