This was a great year of TV. It was a massively terrible year for network TV with few new hits and tons of stupid cancellations (6 shows on this list have already been cancelled or are in their final season) but it was still a great year of TV because, while the executives were making […]
Brooklyn Nine Nine (FOX) After binge-watching this comedy series over the summer, I eagerly awaited the second season. It did not disappoint. The characters are zany without being obnoxious. The strong ensemble cast was only enhanced by some brilliant guest stars (including Kyra Sedgwick, perfectly cast as Captain Holt’s nemesis). There wasn’t an episode so […]
A cast of some of TV’s most wonderful people populates About Alex, the debut feature from Parenthood writer Jesse Zwick. A dramedy about college friends reunited by tragic, awkward circumstances, this ensemble dramedy dives into everything- listlessness, love (requited, unrequited, unspoken, overwrought), depression, anxiety, jealousy, pretension, ambition- only rarely losing its honesty and light touch. […]
How great has The Mindy Project been this season? Seriously. It’s settled down into the actuality of the Mindy + Danny relationship with aplomb. They’ve even managed to eke out a bit of a workplace comedy vibe – using the considerable talents of Adam Pally (as Peter) to amp up everyone else from dragging supporting […]
The Mindy Project is easily my favorite comedy on television. Sometime last year it snuck past Parks and Rec and captivated my attention. Mindy Kaling has always been my favorite part of the series, but the introduction of Adam Pally’s Peter and Xosha Roquemore’s Tamra helped to make this more of an ensemble cast than […]
When we announced that Mark Duplass was our My Cinema Performer of the Year, we acknowledged that it was a close race between him and Chris Messina. Here was a guy winning the My Cinema Award when a solid portion of the work we loved him for happened on the small screen (namely, The Mindy […]
It all started with New Girl. Well, actually it started a year earlier when FOX decided to pair the massive hit/obnoxious trainwreck Glee with two new sitcoms, one of which was Raising Hope (technically it was 3 sitcoms in 2 timeslots, one coming in at midseason). Though both Running Wilde and Traffic Light burned out […]
I’ve written previously about my connection with the Girls’ character Hannah. It is not a connection I made up – I have literally received phone calls and texts from many people after a given episode, so amazed are they by the connection. It’s not entirely flattering: she’s a chubby, semi-unemployed, self-important whiner. But neither is […]
The past week or so has had some amazing sitcom moments. As 30 Rock winds down to tonight’s finale, Kenneth was passed the torch as the new President of NBC and Liz & Criss greeted their new 8-year-old twins at the airport, a mini Jenna and Tracy. But the real standout moment for me came […]
TV comedy is in a major phase right now. A shocking amount of the primetime network schedule is made up of sitcoms, while a fair number of hourlong comedies and dramedies still pepper the drama blocks. There are a few standalone hours of network sitcoms- like ABC and NBC’s 9pm Tuesday offerings (Happy Endings & […]
Let’s just start here- I am a Mindy Kaling girl. For awhile I thought I might be a Tina Fey girl- idiosyncrasies, writerly personality, glasses – or a Rosie O’Donnell girl- commanding, opinionated, occasionally funny. But that’s just because I didn’t know about Mindy Kaling. It’s uncanny; I feel like she’s quoting me half the […]
I can’t stop smiling. Really, you’ve got to believe me, no pilot has made me this unexpectedly* gleeful in recent memory. I love Partners. I love it. It’s hilarious and heartfelt and just nostalgic enough to hit that allusive brand of happiness that almost nothing else can. First of all, I love the concept. My […]