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MThirty years after Friends was founded, he is still a brave writer who shows the passion of twenty somethings who are learning to navigate life and love in the walls of impossible palaces in Manhattan. Brave or, perhaps, foolish.
A new sitcom from Mindy Kaling (who started her writing and singing career in the US version of The Office and has recently been produced. high school drama I’ve never been and university sitcom The Sex Lives of College Girls) gives us five friends instead of six who are split between two rooms across the corridor. Two of them are people of color instead of keeping the Kauffman-Cranes way that is now free of melanin to the life of the city, but a sharp eye can still look at their ancestors. The ear can have many problems. Kaling’s script tries hard but never shines, let alone fades away like the Friends dialogue did.
Our quintet consists of: AJ (Ella Hunt), an ambitious first-year analyst at a commercial bank who moves in with her college friend Abby (Avantika) after her boyfriend breaks up; he is the unrequited love interest of Kel (Nicholas Duvernay), a medical student who dreams of becoming an actor but has immigrant parents who set their hearts on him becoming a doctor. They are joined by socialite and romantic Davis (Will Angus), who soon falls for the new girl in the hall, who also happens to be his new co-worker; and Josh (Jack Martin), an up-and-coming son of luck who doesn’t let his military credentials stop him from landing his dream job – a TV investigative reporter – at his father’s company. The job should go to Elena (Emilia Suarez) who pays the salary. Josh thinks she is very beautiful, but how can he make her see what a good person she is? Will it be before or after they find out that the reason AJ looks so good is because they slept together at a drunken party and gave her the ghost before dawn?
All of this is painstakingly set up during the 46-minute pilot, which is twice as long as this kind of thing, even if it’s good, can handle. The next part comes to 35, and after a few minutes, but no one flies. Kel dropped out of med school after fainting in isolation class. We have traditional scenes of him embarrassing himself at auditions, and scenes of him telling his family that their wishes for him will never come true. This is accompanied by pictures of him embarrassing himself in front of Abby, but their friendship continues and grows – maybe to something else?! – still.
Likewise, irrational obstacles and barriers abound. You wouldn’t think the arrogant but handsome big man AJ would argue with at the coffee cart outside his new office. Or what can happen between them. Or if he and his team manage to meet their target time on their first day. And will Abby be able to resist the attraction between her and her client Austin Blanchett (“Cate’s nephew”) or will she be led to break the contract? And so on, and so on.
None of this would matter if the conversation was interrupted and/or short. But when people talk about AJ’s boss firing someone for being called “Erika”, AJ replies, “But it’s not a very weird way to say ‘Erica'”. Josh’s cardigan running joke – his friends hate it! He thinks it gives him a “calm balance”! – makes you realize that each of the actors is working 10 times harder than everyone else and, of course, Kaling herself.
There are bright spots, which are often given by players who are more rounded. Michael Benjamin Washington (best known for his small but memorable roles in 30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt Untouchables) brings his mysterious energy to the group’s landlord, Antoine, and adds a much-needed flavor to the whole scene. a peaceful slope because some players have to run at high speed from the point they made to the point they made. Jay Ellis as AJ’s boss, Bill Gibson, is also a welcome counterpoint to the escapism and chaos everywhere else, and he brings heartbreak to what sometimes threatens to be a half hour of growth and learning – a small slice of schmaltzy pudding on a plate.
On the other hand, pudding might be all we can put up with right now. NSFW is, if nothing else, a simple watch whose charms can grow on a crowd. The comedy hit level takes as the episodes continue and if you are a good person, you will want to see if these kids make it in Manhattan. If not, there are many reviews I can recommend.
