Cultural comedy a keeper, but mystery too messy

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This article was published 24/09/2014 (4389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A limited field of newcomers find their way into Wednesday’s lineup, highlighted by a clever cultural comedy and ailing-teen angst. Also in the mix: a cop drama with an over-the-top creep-out factor and one of this year’s biggest mysteries of all: how did this show even get on?

 

THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA

NBC/premièred Sept. 17

Starring: Debra Messing and Josh Lucas.

Premise: A dramatic comedy — or, perhaps, a comedic drama — aw, heck, it’s a dramedy — about a New York City detective who’s great at her job, but absolutely terrible at everything else in her life.

Lowdown: Messing, still one of the most beloved performers in the NBC universe after her stellar run as Grace Adler in Will & Grace, saw the lights go dim on Smash after two indifferently received seasons, but is back in the Peacock’s prime-time lineup with this muddled mess of a mystery. It won’t remind her fans of Will & Grace, mostly because it’s a throwback to TV shows that existed 20 years before that sitcom was born. The only mystery here is how anybody thought it was a keeper.

Quotable: “This was the first time I’ve read a script for network TV where I didn’t have to choose — do I want to do a comedy or do I want to do a drama? It’s both, and I’m so grateful and so excited to start this adventure, because it does feel like uncharted territory on prime-time TV.” — series star Debra Messing on making the choice of not having to choose.

Bottom line: We’re not saying this will be the first cancellation of the new season; we’re just suggesting that maybe it should be.

 

RED BAND SOCIETY

Fox/premièred Sept. 17

Starring: Octavia Spencer, Dave Annable and Griffin Gluck.

Premise: Teenage patients in the pediatric ward of a fictional Los Angeles hospital create close friendships based on their illnesses, their fears and their shared understanding of the fragility of life.

Lowdown: Yes, it’s a hospital show, but there’s much more of The Breakfast Club and Fast Times at Ridgemont High in this youth-oriented drama than there is of Grey’s Anatomy or Chicago Hope. It’s about teen angst more than terminal diagnoses, and despite an appealing cast, the storyline feels a bit too antiseptic for a show set in a hospital’s hallways.

Quotable: “Eighty-five per cent of all kids that go to the hospital with any one of these diseases in this situation recover. So it’s really about that time that you spend in the hospital and how it changes you and what you learn, and what if you were able to learn what life is actually about when you’re old enough to do something about it.” — executive producer Margaret Nagle, explaining Red Band Society’s optimistic outlook.

Bottom line: The prognosis is fairly good; with a bit of support from the young demographic, this one might just pull through.

 

BLACK-ISH

ABC/Citytv/Sept. 24

Starring: Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laurence Fishburne, Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown and Marsai Martin

Premise: A successful African-American businessman has a great wife, great kids, a great career and a lovely home in the suburbs, but he’s begun to worry that all this assimilation into the mainstream is robbing his family of its cultural identity.

Lowdown: Picked by many critics as the best new comedy pilot of the fall, Black-ish is equal parts smart, funny and likable. Anderson and Ross are an appealing onscreen couple whose relationship feels quite genuine. ABC must really like this show, because it’s scheduled in the coveted post-Modern Family slot.

Quotable: “At the heart of it, it’s a family show that’s basically about a father who feels like he may have given his kids too much. And whenever you give your kids a lot, something is always lost. We have so many people from so many different immigrant groups and different ethnic identities who can relate to this, where, for their kids, when they assimilate, something is lost in their own culture. ” — executive producer Larry Wilmore, on the universal resonance of specific cultural experiences.

Bottom line: Much better than merely good-ish.

 

STALKER

CBS/Global/Oct. 1

Starring: Dylan McDermott, Maggie Q, Victor Rasuk, Mariana Klaveno and Elisabeth Rhm

Premise: Detectives in the LAPD’s Threat Assessment Unit deal with cases involving stalking, intimidation and other forms of harassment.

Lowdown: In purely mathematical, how-to-build-a-drama terms, this is an efficiently constructed procedural; when its subject matter is factored in, however, is veers sharply into territory where “creepy” and “uncomfortable” are the primary descriptives. The title alone will prompt many to tune out because they believe stalking shouldn’t be dramatized/glorified for entertainment purposes.

Quotable: “It was made to be a creepy, eerie show about stalking, and the victims and the stalkers, and this unit (that) investigates these crimes. So it is a scary show. You have to want to tune into the genre, this crime show, this cop show, and watch the good guys catch the bad guys. If that’s not the show you want, (don’t) watch, but if you do, then it could be a fun, thrilling, informative ride.” — executive producer Kevin Williamson, defending the show’s subject matter.

Bottom line: Threat assessment: in this case, viewer tune-out will prove to be a show-killer.

 

RETURNING SHOWS

Survivor (Sept. 24, CBS/Global)

The Middle (Sept. 24, ABC)

The Goldbergs (Sept. 24, ABC)

Modern Family (Sept. 24, ABC/Citytv)

Law & Order: SVU (Sept. 24, NBC)

Chicago P.D. (Sept. 24, NBC/Global)

Nashville (Sept. 24, ABC)

Criminal Minds (Oct. 1, CBS/CTV)

Arrow (Oct. 1, CTV)

Dragons’ Den (Oct. 15, CBC)

Republic of Doyle (Oct. 15, CBC)

 

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @BradOswald