Whats Hot On TV

When I previewed the upcoming fall TV season, I noted that I wouldn’t be watching any of the new comedies out this year. I stopped watching sitcoms a few years ago, as I find nothng compares to Seinfeld, Friends, and Cheers. However, watching some clips of the upcoming Worst Week on CBS, I’m changing my mind. This will be the only one I watch.

Friday night, CBS aired a fall preview of their upcoming new shows as well as what to expect some from of their returning shows. They opened the show with the previews of Worst Week, which was smart, as they hooked the whole audience for the rest of the show, just as this show will capture viewers for the rest of the season.

In a series that isn’t based on, but is suppoed to be similar to, the film Meet the Parents, Kyle Bornheimer stars as entertainment magazine editor Sam Briggs. He and his girlfriend Melanie (Erinn Hayes) become engaged after she becomes pregnant, and they face the unpleasant chore of sharing this news with her parents. Her father is a judge, and even better he’s played by Kurtwood Smith, previously seen as Red on That ’70s Show. Interestingly enough, Judge Clayton and Red Forman seem to be the same person, just advanced thirty years and without the bad wardrobe, but still holding onto the same newspaper.

The clips shown of Worst Week couldn’t be more funny in a slightly dark way. In one, Sam’s future in-laws walk in as he’s telling their daughter he’s going to punch her in the face. He tries to cover, saying he’s just joking, and Judge Clayton asks under which circumstances punching his daughter would be funny. In another series of clips, Judge Clayton collapses in front of a funeral home, and when they call the Clayton home to explain, Sam answers the phone and misunderstands, telling the rest of the family the Clayton patriarch has passed on. Later, when he finds him alive, he brings him home, and Mrs. Clayton passes out in shock. Again, darkly funny.

The only question remaining with me is what they’ll do with a “week” as it lasts all season. I don’t think it’ll do a 24 thing and take all season to present a week. They made some mention in the previews about Sam being the type of guy that has a worst week every week, so each show must be another week. However, he can’t keep breaking the news about the impending marriage and baby forever. Eventually they’ll be married with child. And unlike the Sweathogs that could amazing stay in high school forever, That bun can’t stay in the oven that long.

It’ll be interesting to see how this show’s premise grows with time. That great dark humor seem like it will make the show, helped along by its star, Kyle Bornheimer, and his co-star Kurtwood Smith. It looks much more clever than the other comedy CBS is promoting, Gary Unmarried starring Jay Mohr. That one just looks like any number of things we’ve seen before, unlike Worst Week, which seems like it might turn out to be one of the best things on during the week.

Photos courtesy of cbs.com

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