FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE

Article first published as TV Review: FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE on Seat42F.

First, there was Seinfeld. Then It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Happy Endings. Now, we have FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE, premiering tomorrow on Netflix.

FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE is another comedy about a group of pals who aren’t all that likeable, and yet, because of terrific actors and magnetic, entertaining personalities, we’ll want to keep watching them, if not rooting for them.

This series isn’t a retread, though; it’s the natural evolution of the trend. Seinfeld was a light, fun, nonsense sitcom, and proud of it. Sunny took it a bit dirtier, while Happy Endings matured the emotional heft. FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE deals with real issues and isn’t laugh-a-minute with one-liners, but it is amusing, and it does feel like a premium cable comedy, something that would also be at home on HBO, as well as its berth on Netflix.

We begin with Ethan (Keegan-Michael Key, Key and Peele) and Sam (Annie Parisse, Person of Interest), carrying on an affair they’ve been having since college. Both are married, but both unions have some serious problems, so they regularly hook up when they can. It’s that not often, since they live in different cities. As the pilot begins, Ethan announceshe’s moving back the Big Apple, restoring their friend group from their Harvard days, but complicating the tryst.

Ethan and Sam are the most central characters at first, so even though they may not be likeable, they need to be people we can relate to. And they are. Ethan loves his wife, but he doesn’t always want what she wants. He’s an author considering breaking into Young Adult fiction, tired of his award-winning novels not selling, but detests the genre for reasons that perfectly describe him. Sam thinks her husband is dumb, and is a little more desperate for escape, though she clearly likes her (rarely seen on screen) children.

Yes, these are people with arrested development, lacking the emotional maturity they need to progress. We all remember times like that, or may still be struggling with some of the emotions (although hopefully making different choices). I am eager for the affair to become public knowledge to see what happens, but at the same time, I worry what that would do to the friend group at the center of FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE.

The other four primary players are: Ethan’s wife, Lisa (Cobie Smulders, How I Met Your Mother), who has just taken a job at a horrible hedge fund; rich trust fund lothario Nick (Nat Faxon, Married); aspiring (and failing) actress Marianne (Jae Suh Park, The Big Short); and oft-overlooked book agent Max (Fred Savage, The Grinder, Wonder Years). Lisa has the most material of the four in the first half of the season, and Cobie excels at it, but Max has the funniest bits, and Marianne seems like a simmering cauldron ready to erupt.

Yes, they are all too involved in one another’s lives, and it’s not entirely realistic they are all still so close, but it’s a premise one can overlook to enjoy all of these great actors playing together. Toss in Max’s partner (Billy Eichner, Difficult People), who doesn’t like Max’s friends, and Sam’s husband (Greg Germann, Ally McBeal), who seems to have levels that haven’t yet been explored, and this is the makings for a long-term series I’d enjoy watching. I hope Eichner and Germann are promoted to series regular in season two, as I love how they are outsiders who don’t get the friend group, which is a valuable thing to have when telling this story.

While this may not be completely original territory, and as I’ve said, it’s hard to like most of the characters, I could not stop watching, plowing through half the season before pausing to write this review, and eager to watch the second half as soon as I’m done. This is a great cast, and the story, while at times frustrating, is compelling. I hope it runs a good, long time.

FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE will release all eight episodes of season one tomorrow exclusively on Netflix.

"One Last Ride" for PARKS AND REC

Article first published as TV Review: 'Parks and Recreation' Series Finale - "One Last Ride" on Blogcritics.

Parks and Recreation, the last great sitcom in NBC’s once-proud legacy of comedy, came to an end this week with the hour-long “One Last Ride.” In it, the Parks Department gang goes on one final mission, while we see flash forwards to the futures of all of our main characters, as well as several secondary characters. It’s an emotional triumph.

As the episode opens, many in the group are getting ready to leave Pawnee, Indiana. While they have all moved on, none currently employed at the office in which they so memorably worked together, they’ve stayed in touch and still lived nearby. But now, some are moving halfway across the country, and it’s a true end of an era. Leslie (Amy Poehler) plans on commemorating it with a very in-depth recounting of their time together.

Thankfully, Leslie’s plan, which most of the others find boring, is interrupted when a citizen shows up to ask to get a swing fixed. Despite the fact that the Parks Department isn’t yet open for the day and that none of them have any authority to help, Leslie sees this as a chance to recapture their glory days, and as has happened so many times, the rest grudgingly agree to assist.

Leslie is the glue that holds them all together, and while she can be annoying, without her, they wouldn’t have built the family they all cherish so much. That’s why she and her husband, Ben (Adam Scott), get the lion’s share of the focus in “One Last Ride,” with hints that Leslie eventually becomes President of the United States after serving successfully as governor of Indiana. Her dedication and her persistence helps them all, and at the end of the day, they do all realize and value that.

The various other futures, which are shown in different years to give us a more complete view of the characters’ timelines, are appropriate. All the characters end up happy, professionally fulfilled, and romantically satisfied. It may not be realistic to have such across-the-board success, but with Leslie behind them all the way, often popping back into their lives when they need her, it makes sense that this particular group would defy the odds and do well for themselves. Donna (Retta), Ron (Nick Offerman), Tom (Aziz Ansari), Andy (Chris Pratt), April (Aubrey Plaza), even Garry (Jim O’Heir), who, despite his plethora of names over the run, I still think of as Jerry, end up where they should be. This fixing of the swing is not the last time they are all together.

The central cast of Parks and Recreation is strong, but the series has always benefited from a solid second and third string. “One Last Ride” pays tribute to that, too, with flash forwards for Craig (Billy Eichner) and Jean-Ralphio (Ben Schwartz), and appearances from Chris (Rob Lowe), Ann (Rashida Jones), Lucy (Natalie Morales), Joe (Keegan-Michael Key), Perd (Jay Jackson), Mona-Lisa (Jenny Slate), Ethel (Helen Slayton-Hughes), Gayle (Christie Brinkley), Jen (Kathryn Hahn), Brandi (Mara Marini), Dr. Saperstein (Henry Winkler), Joe Biden (himself), and more. What’s notable about all of these guest stars is that they slide seamlessly into the main narrative, not distracting or disrupting the main story. Not everyone that arguably should be included is, but that’s OK because they aren’t the point of the finale. They are all well used, and while it doesn’t feel like a role call is being conducted, we’re left with quite a significant list who are involved.

Similarly, the futuristic technology included is a fun touch, but not all that important to what’s going on. This has been a trend all season, as these episodes have been set in 2017, and other than one really funny bit, the tech isn’t essential to any scene.

The hour ends far too soon, taking us back to the present setting of the show. It’s an installment full of humor and heart, one that makes fans laugh and cry, and captures both the spirit and the core point of Parks and Recreation. All told, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to send off the odd comedy about a bunch of misfits who achieve great things as a team. It will be sorely missed, both because of its own merits, and because it leaves the network that brought us Seinfeld, Friends, and The Office without another sitcom of this level of quality.