Excellent article! You're totally right about the "can't even" tone of comedy, which is often mixed with a saccharine moralizing that just annihilates the kind of gut-laughter I associate with my favorite comedies. At best, these shows aspire to keep their audiences incessantly smirking.
Appreciated you naming the "Glorious Shit" style of comedy. I am hungry for more joke-intensive TV. Detroiters on Netflix is great, but I suppose that is not technically a new release. And Joe Pera Talks with You was fantastic but has since been cancelled and removed from HBO Max :/ Bring back the funny!
Oh yes! Gemstones is brilliant. So funny. It does verge into that prestige TV drama territory, so I get that it doesn't immediately come to mind as a comedy. Edi Patterson's lines kill me
By the way, there's a 99% chance you've seen this SNL sketch, but it's so good I'm spamming you with the link on the 1% you haven't: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMpRJwP5y9Q
I like Tires. The only thing is, it should just be called The Shane Gillis Show and make him the center. It's hedging its bets by making such a dick second banana. He is the star, the main focus. Any other character is thinly drawn by comparison and the acting is not as good. But yeah funny show and season two is much better than the first.
Not a show but Friendship, when it was released this past spring, felt like the first comedy film in almost twenty years. Love how they shit on Marvel too.
Tim Robinson is so hit or miss for me. 90% of ITYSL is not my kind of comedy at all, but the other 10% is the funniest stuff I've ever seen in my life. I'll roll the dice on Friendship hoping I get the Robinson I like.
Runs to defend "Abbott Elementary" of which I have seen all of 9 episodes. I am not entirely sure that I laughed once but to adapt Greil Marcus on the Go-Gos and Top 40 radio the pleasure of watching that show is the pleasure of watching people get it right, not cheating, and testing themselves against that piece of conceptual art called the network sitcom. Also I am here for the defense of public school teachers.
Abbott Elementary is great. It's a comedy the way that Growing Pains was a comedy--you won't laugh out loud, but it's got heart-warming, well drawn characters, and a light tone--you don't regret watching it.
I’ve seen a handful of episodes, it just wasn’t my thing. I watched the Always Sunny crossover episodes and all I could think was “I wish I was just watching Always Sunny.” Hearing Quinta Brunson say “cunt” on FX was pretty funny though.
I also forgot to say that Janelle James told Vulture that it was a triumph of her approach to Ava that the audience really seems to think she is a real person and not just a one-dimensional hot mess
Powerful positive review. Looking forward to watching it.
Thanks, I'm willing to bet you'll like it.
Excellent article! You're totally right about the "can't even" tone of comedy, which is often mixed with a saccharine moralizing that just annihilates the kind of gut-laughter I associate with my favorite comedies. At best, these shows aspire to keep their audiences incessantly smirking.
Thanks! The all-knowing arched eyebrow is the mortal enemy of laughter
Appreciated you naming the "Glorious Shit" style of comedy. I am hungry for more joke-intensive TV. Detroiters on Netflix is great, but I suppose that is not technically a new release. And Joe Pera Talks with You was fantastic but has since been cancelled and removed from HBO Max :/ Bring back the funny!
I forgot to mention Righteous Gemstones in this too. The fact that Edi Patterson was never nominated for an Emmy is a crime against the arts.
Oh yes! Gemstones is brilliant. So funny. It does verge into that prestige TV drama territory, so I get that it doesn't immediately come to mind as a comedy. Edi Patterson's lines kill me
To be fair, the first two seasons of The Hot Mess Lives Of Nonbinary Ivy League Grads were pretty good. (Great article, btw.)
Lmao. So good I CAN’T EVEN 🤪
By the way, there's a 99% chance you've seen this SNL sketch, but it's so good I'm spamming you with the link on the 1% you haven't: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMpRJwP5y9Q
I had not! Spot on.
I like Tires. The only thing is, it should just be called The Shane Gillis Show and make him the center. It's hedging its bets by making such a dick second banana. He is the star, the main focus. Any other character is thinly drawn by comparison and the acting is not as good. But yeah funny show and season two is much better than the first.
Not a show but Friendship, when it was released this past spring, felt like the first comedy film in almost twenty years. Love how they shit on Marvel too.
Tim Robinson is so hit or miss for me. 90% of ITYSL is not my kind of comedy at all, but the other 10% is the funniest stuff I've ever seen in my life. I'll roll the dice on Friendship hoping I get the Robinson I like.
If it helps, he did not write the screenplay. It's a dark film too and I have a feeling, having been in the trenches like you were, you like it dark.
Another fairly recent comedy show I'd recommend is Southside, the first two seasons are great at least, haven't seen the third yet.
thanks for the tip!
I'll definitely check this out. I've also enjoyed the King of the Hill reboot.
Beavis and Butt-Head is back too
Runs to defend "Abbott Elementary" of which I have seen all of 9 episodes. I am not entirely sure that I laughed once but to adapt Greil Marcus on the Go-Gos and Top 40 radio the pleasure of watching that show is the pleasure of watching people get it right, not cheating, and testing themselves against that piece of conceptual art called the network sitcom. Also I am here for the defense of public school teachers.
Abbott Elementary is great. It's a comedy the way that Growing Pains was a comedy--you won't laugh out loud, but it's got heart-warming, well drawn characters, and a light tone--you don't regret watching it.
I’ve seen a handful of episodes, it just wasn’t my thing. I watched the Always Sunny crossover episodes and all I could think was “I wish I was just watching Always Sunny.” Hearing Quinta Brunson say “cunt” on FX was pretty funny though.
I also forgot to say that Janelle James told Vulture that it was a triumph of her approach to Ava that the audience really seems to think she is a real person and not just a one-dimensional hot mess
I forgot to say that some of the people behind the scenes worked on "The Office" and it is obvious in retrospect
It does feel like they’re playing at a disadvantage but I think you still gotta judge by the end result of the laughs it gets.
this rocks. this level of writing, related to a comedy show, rocks.
Thanks! Glad to hear it resonated.