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| Left to right: Judy Greer and Nat Faxon |
Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
This past Thursday, FX launched two new comedies, which may just be considered the anti-marriage block. Along with You're the Worst, Married premiered with an episode that pretty much established a lot of familiar tropes. Lina (Judy Greer) and Russ (Nat Faxon) are a couple whose sex life is suffering and leaves them in pursuit of trying to find ways to spice things up. In "Pilot," the general focus is around Russ as he talks to his two friends Jess (Jenny Slate) and AJ (Brett Gelman) about potentially getting a mistress. From there, Russ gets a mistress and his family lie interferes in ways that are comedic.
The issue with Married is that it hearkens back to another "Married" series: Married... with Children. The Fox behemoth that launched the network with crass dysfunction may seem tame by today's standards, but was nonetheless a crucial sitcom of the 90's. In a sense, Married plays like a far tamer version with nothing too shocking or inappropriate happening. This could be overlooked by compelling character developments, but in all honesty, Russ is not that interesting of a character. He is downtrodden and doesn't really seem to strive for much int he ways of shock. We don't get enough time with Lina in this episode to know her feelings, but she plays like a backdrop that instigates action for the male protagonist.
For comedies, it is impossible to fully grade properly on the first episode. Jokes are often sidetracked to introduce characters and the jokes that are supposed to land don't because we have no investment in them yet. Provided that the series could get better, maybe Lina and Russ could be an interesting duo, but there isn't much here that feels fresh or exciting. It feels like a marriage that is in need of something more. Even in the realm of wacky hijinks, there isn't much wacky about this. Maybe it is because Russ is inherently not interesting, but it is a little disheartening to figure out how to improve this series with a premise so simple that it could easily do anything it wanted week-to-week.
Of course, it does seem to be that the most disarming aspect of "Pilot" is that we don't get to see the couple interact in an exciting way. Yes, there is an animal funeral that is clever, but the mistress story doesn't have any interesting plot beats. The supporting characters spew intriguing advice, but they are momentary to the episode's overall progression. To sum it up, the male protagonist is just not that interesting. Maybe that is the point of Married and that he will slowly come out of his shell. We see some insecure traits pop up, but it feels a little too one-sided and for all perceptions, it just looks like he is too aggressive about sex.
Maybe this series will appeal to a specific demographic that FX hasn't reached: the young, married generation who likely have kids in this age bracket. Admittedly, that is a tough sell to everyone else. Even then, the channel has done wonders by focusing on the dark, strange, mature Louie and could stand to add more adult-oriented comedies to their line-up. Even then, Married plays it safe and leaves much to be desired. With an impressive cast, one could reckon that there HAS to be something more to the series. Otherwise, it is a married couple with problems, and that it more sad than funny.
Who knows how Married will do in the long run. While Greer has proven to be a compelling comedic actress, there isn't much for her to do here. She could end up surprising in the next episode, but the show doesn't feel confident in its structure. Also, while FX doesn't have a particularly strong comedy line-up, I don't know that it will fail to get renewed solely because it needs a couple of shows to appease audiences. Louie has become infrequently aired and their other big shows, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League, are airing on FXX. Honestly, FX is better at making compelling dramas right now (see: Fargo and The Strain) than comedies, which can be commended for their attempts to fix it. However, I don't see exactly how this series will stick around if it continues to meander and only occasionally get interestingly sly with its humor.
This past Thursday, FX launched two new comedies, which may just be considered the anti-marriage block. Along with You're the Worst, Married premiered with an episode that pretty much established a lot of familiar tropes. Lina (Judy Greer) and Russ (Nat Faxon) are a couple whose sex life is suffering and leaves them in pursuit of trying to find ways to spice things up. In "Pilot," the general focus is around Russ as he talks to his two friends Jess (Jenny Slate) and AJ (Brett Gelman) about potentially getting a mistress. From there, Russ gets a mistress and his family lie interferes in ways that are comedic.
The issue with Married is that it hearkens back to another "Married" series: Married... with Children. The Fox behemoth that launched the network with crass dysfunction may seem tame by today's standards, but was nonetheless a crucial sitcom of the 90's. In a sense, Married plays like a far tamer version with nothing too shocking or inappropriate happening. This could be overlooked by compelling character developments, but in all honesty, Russ is not that interesting of a character. He is downtrodden and doesn't really seem to strive for much int he ways of shock. We don't get enough time with Lina in this episode to know her feelings, but she plays like a backdrop that instigates action for the male protagonist.
For comedies, it is impossible to fully grade properly on the first episode. Jokes are often sidetracked to introduce characters and the jokes that are supposed to land don't because we have no investment in them yet. Provided that the series could get better, maybe Lina and Russ could be an interesting duo, but there isn't much here that feels fresh or exciting. It feels like a marriage that is in need of something more. Even in the realm of wacky hijinks, there isn't much wacky about this. Maybe it is because Russ is inherently not interesting, but it is a little disheartening to figure out how to improve this series with a premise so simple that it could easily do anything it wanted week-to-week.
Of course, it does seem to be that the most disarming aspect of "Pilot" is that we don't get to see the couple interact in an exciting way. Yes, there is an animal funeral that is clever, but the mistress story doesn't have any interesting plot beats. The supporting characters spew intriguing advice, but they are momentary to the episode's overall progression. To sum it up, the male protagonist is just not that interesting. Maybe that is the point of Married and that he will slowly come out of his shell. We see some insecure traits pop up, but it feels a little too one-sided and for all perceptions, it just looks like he is too aggressive about sex.
Maybe this series will appeal to a specific demographic that FX hasn't reached: the young, married generation who likely have kids in this age bracket. Admittedly, that is a tough sell to everyone else. Even then, the channel has done wonders by focusing on the dark, strange, mature Louie and could stand to add more adult-oriented comedies to their line-up. Even then, Married plays it safe and leaves much to be desired. With an impressive cast, one could reckon that there HAS to be something more to the series. Otherwise, it is a married couple with problems, and that it more sad than funny.
Who knows how Married will do in the long run. While Greer has proven to be a compelling comedic actress, there isn't much for her to do here. She could end up surprising in the next episode, but the show doesn't feel confident in its structure. Also, while FX doesn't have a particularly strong comedy line-up, I don't know that it will fail to get renewed solely because it needs a couple of shows to appease audiences. Louie has become infrequently aired and their other big shows, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League, are airing on FXX. Honestly, FX is better at making compelling dramas right now (see: Fargo and The Strain) than comedies, which can be commended for their attempts to fix it. However, I don't see exactly how this series will stick around if it continues to meander and only occasionally get interestingly sly with its humor.
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