TV Retrospective: "Roadies" - Season 1

Scene from Roadies

Cameron Crowe is a perplexing figure in pop culture. Having had an impressive run of films both as writer and director that included Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, and Almost Famous, he has slid into a less distinctive and acclaimed portion of his career following the notorious Elizabethtown. It paved the way for middling films like We Bought a Zoo and Aloha. With Roadies, his first TV series, things looked like they could turn around. After all, it was Crowe exploring his home turf of music culture through a serialized programming. How did it go? Well, it went about as well as it could for a director whose authenticity mixes with sentimentality way too much. It has its highs as well as its lows, but usually finds itself somewhere in the middle, creating one of Showtime's most underwhelming series in quite some time.

Considering that Crowe explored similar subjects in the autobiographical Almost Famous, one would be forgiven for thinking that he's tackle 80's or 90's music touring. After all, it's what he knows best. However, the first red flag appeared when he set the series in contemporary times and began to incorporate an aesthetic that is at times disconcerting. Everyone knows that Crowe knows his stuff around the backstage area, yet many episodes feel reserved to central characters having unrelated conversations about their relationships and conflicts with other roadies. In fact, the show Roadies doesn't live up to the title for any other reason than that it shows a group of heavy lifters yakking aboard a bus for the majority of the 10 episodes. It does serve as interesting fodder that humanizes an often overlooked career in the music industry. However, it feels hollow otherwise and rarely delivers the excitement of backstage life.

Among the series' high points is an episode where elderly roadie Phil (Ron White) talks about working with Lynrd Skynrd. It's here where you see what Crowe probably wanted the show to be. It was a flashback to something that not only made backstage life exciting, but it humanized a character in a memorable and engaging manner. Considering how little activity characters of Phil's stature get on the show, it helps "The All Night Bus Ride" stand out more. Considering the shocking revelation that the final few episodes revolve around his death, it makes sense. However, nobody else is given a moment quite as sentimental in the other episodes where even the business side of things seems oddly brushed off.

Most of the time, the series is infuriating for not being particularly memorable. On average, the episodes tend to revolve around what feels like a mass-produced formula. There are bands who perform songs in full, almost as if advertisements. There are classic rock tunes that play over the opening credits, creating a folksy vibe. To his credit, Crowe knows how to pick catchy songs. The issue is that his narrative skills aren't at their peak here. In fact, most of the time it feels like the characters are looking at their watches, waiting for the hour to pass before the sentimentality gets tacked on for an overwhelming finale. It's a formula that Crowe has done better, and unfortunately doesn't do much here. Considering that it wants to make things personal and emotional, it rarely does it for very long or in any meaningful way.

That isn't to say that the show is misguided. There have been way worse shows that have terrible stories and lack clairvoyance. Roadies at least has a competent approach to their intents. You feel like there's the basis for characters, who all have their familiar yet endearing tic. As much as the show lacks the appeal of being about the roadies it's titled for, it does have a central cast that does seem to work well together. Luke Wilson in particular is good in the way that Luke Wilson can be. The real star is Imogen Poots as Kelly Ann: a somewhat sensationalized roadie whose trajectory involves arguably the show's most intimate moments. 

While most of the time it seemed like the series had to overcome the nadir that is "The Bryce Newman Letter" and its scathing critique of music critics, it did have the few moments where Crowe managed to find something pure and relevant to the modern context. "The City Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken" is the series' best episode despite not showing much roadie lifestyle. Instead, it chooses to explore the bond that they share over not saying "Cincinnati" and the process to overcome a curse. It may be pure romantic comedy cheesiness, soundtrack and all, but it manages to create the feel good atmosphere that Crowe clearly wants to do. The same could be said for the finale "The Load Out," which turns a funeral into another moment of bonding.

The overall issue is that Roadies doesn't feel like it's about roadies. Yes, they do tour around the country and do technically do roadie things. The issue is that there's not much emphasis on it in a way that creates for interesting story telling. Anything that does succeed comes from the characters talking about anything but their careers. It's more of a romantic comedy vibe than something as heart bearing as Almost Famous. If one enjoys sweet and sentimental alongside an inaccurate portrayal of roadies, then the show may be worth viewing. However, to watch it as a whole is to find something stuck in a single gear where nothing really gets solved or moved forward. Even the finale features the cliche "running through the airport" moment as manager Rafe Spall runs to stop the band from breaking up (it's a cliffhanger).

Does this show have longevity? Speaking as it does seem like nobody really watched it, there's an off chance that it won't be around much longer. While at times a competent show, it doesn't seem to have captured the atmosphere with an immediacy akin to Shameless or Homeland. It's merely a show, much like HBO's own music series Vinyl, that felt like it just existed. The issue there is that with a promising creative staff, it could've been so much more. Instead, it's just a middle of the road series that at times was blissful, but was mostly toe-tapping and slow. The show could get better, but it has to feel like it has stakes to do so. I doubt that Crowe is interested in that. The first season clearly wasn't.

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5