Tasteful Friends: "Mid-Century Modern" trailer drops

Not funny

Sad last days, indeed!

Could be funny.

I'll give it a shot.

I can already hear all the bitter old queens getting their caftans in a bunch....

And that’s just the opening scene!

Here’s the strangest thing about this (and there are many strange things about this)

Neither Nathan Lane nor Matt Bomer can do three-camera comedy

Nathan Lane plays to the back row (or in this case, the soundstage next door) and Matt Bomer teleports in from a parallel dimension

…and this was known. Nathan Lane has two failed terrible multicam sitcoms (but he does fine on single cam shows like Modern Family) and Bomer was not good on Will & Grace. Linda Lavin and Nathan Graham obviously know what they are doing.

Linda less so, these days.

A decent trailer. Nothing especially ground-breaking here, but it has potential.

I'll certainly give it a chance.

Nathan Lane is too loud and annoying. Pass.

God, this looks embarrassingly bad.

Matt Bomer is so wooden he winces at knock knock jokes

I worked with Nathan Lee Graham a zillion years ago when I was a shop bottom and he was a waiter at Neiman's in Beverly Hills. He was a total sweetheart. I am happy that he's been successful being a totally gay out actor since Zoolander.

And there's Linda Lavin -- so sad.

Creepy eyebrows

The show is trying too hard to be funny.

Seems positively antique. Is there a live audience?

The Big Bang Theory was on for several years and it's also not funny. This'll probably be a hit.

The problem with this show is the concept completely falls apart because of the decision to cast Bomer. FE the shot of the three men ogling the guy doing pushups does not work with Bomer ogling him because Bomer is still relatively young and in fantastic shape. It would be like doing the Yvonne skit from The Golden Girls and replacing Rose with Daryl Hannah.

…so now you have a situation where you have Bomer, who already struggles to do live studio audience acting, breaking the fourth wall of the concept by his mere presence.

Again if they absolutely for whatever reason had to make this show with Bomer, there would be better options for them to do it believably. The obvious one would be to make Bomer Lane’s son. Already that’s a better concept than what they delivered. A gay father/gay son show would be unique.

I can’t imagine what they were thinking when they went ahead with this, but Bomer lost the White Collar revival because of it (Hulu was conceivably the only place that would buy it.)

Will Linda Lavin's character be recast or killed off? I'm on pins and needles wondering what they'll do.

They already announced her character’s death.

Totally agree with casting Bomer, he doesn't "fit." Tool old to play a houseboy, though.

I think he's a producer on it or something so I can understand wanting to star in it, and I commend him for being an out gay actor. But maybe he should have been the slutty gay neighbor, or even a nephew to Lane's Uncle Bottom.

Linda Lavin's character will probably just "disappear" and never be mentioned again, like Coco the houseboy on the pilot of "Golden Girls"

How this could have happened is beyond explanation.

Bomer seems adrift.

I love Pamela Adlon, though.

Why do they keep making shows that look like this. The dialogue is so not funny. The art direction, the sets, look like Fraiser, Friends, Will & Grace, etc. It’s so annoying. It’s stale.

r6=Polly Holliday

Nathan Lane was great on Modern Family and wonderful on The Good Wife so I will watch this.

Third time is not the charm in this case.

Getting past the Golden Girls comparisons will be difficult. The set is laid out the same way for starters.

When did Bomer's default setting become, "plastic"?

They’re filming on a recycled set from the Homewood Community Repertory Theatre, correct?

I always try to be supportive of gay movies and television. I'm one of a probable handful of people that really enjoyed Ryan Murphy's "The New Normal." Yes, NeNe Leakes, too. The talent involved here both in front of and behind the camera is intimidating. All the ingredients for a successful sitcom are here.

This promo? Didn't laugh once. Didn't even crack a smile. It's as if I'm seeing images of people moving about and speaking, but none of it is causing a reaction in my brain. Is it a screensaver?

I know Matt Bomer has been in some tripe over the years, but is this really the best he could do in the wake of Fellow Travelers? It feels more like an SNL sketch about desperate washed-up actors shamelessly ripping off The Golden Girls.

R32 Expect Bowen Yang to make a guest appearance as the sassy new flight attendant who tries to undermine Matt Bomer's job. Sparks fly and hilarity ensues!

When the show was announced, it was so absurd I assumed it was a ploy to get Disney to make a decision about White Collar because this happens in Hollywood - people will attach themselves to phony and absurd projects as a negotiating tactic to force a decision from another party - most recently Luca Guadagnino and Daniel Craig with “Sgt Rock” at DC Studios, which appears to have been a negotiating tactic to get Lionsgate onboard with Guadagnino’s demands for American Psycho.

I wonder if Disney felt like calling his bluff and actually ordered the series.

[quote]I wonder if Disney felt like calling his bluff and actually ordered the series.

Well, Disney owns Hulu which greenlit this series and Disney also owns Fox Television Studios which produces "White Collar." Thus Disney owns the IP for White Collar.

Yes, that’s the flaw in my theory, because bluffing with a fake project only really works if you’re doing it with a competitor.

Yikes - not very funny clips.

Where's the fourth character?

This seems forced - yes a gay Golden Girls would have a built-in audience, but this looks messy. I just don't think Matt Bomer is great for comedy - he's too pretty - and young looking even though he's 47.

The fourth just died-duh.

R17 - I totally agree. I like Bomer - but it's really not believable for him to be besties with Nathan Lane or the other guy, who look 20 years older (even if they're not).

I know Rue was 12-13 years younger than her castmates - but she didn't appear generations younger like Matt does. Matt could pass for early 30s. Plus he's so pretty sometimes he's hard to look at.

They need an older lesbian couple - neighbors perhaps. And Bomer needs to be replaced with a handsome aging man in his 60s.

As a former Palm Springs resident, I really don't want MORE gays there because of this show - but I guess it's too late.

"I've got a straight — I win!"

"In this house, the worst hand you can have is STRAIGHT."

This is like an SCTV parody of an uber-gay sitcom. Nathan Graham is the only one who comes out dignity intacto.

Not with that brow line.

What ever happened to the Mid-Century Modern denier? He had a complete meltdown over the pilot announcement and claimed it was never gonna happen and everyone will be sued by Susan Harris.

[quote] As a former Palm Springs resident, I really don't want MORE gays there because of this show - but I guess it's too late.

Don't worry, I doubt this show is going to be a big tourist draw.

I'd be very happy to watch a GG-esque "comfort tv" show right now, but this doesn't look good at all. You still need sharp writing and engaging characters. Leslie Jordan would have been great for this.

A review from someone who went to a taping - he sounds very fair in his assessment - but it's everything we're talking about.

I have to agree that Matt Bomer seems the miscast one in this.

As someone said upthread, this would likely work better if he was playing Nathan Lane's gay son.

That would be some unexplored territory on TV. Father and son who are both gay. Both might end up going after the same guy.

Jesus Christ r44.

ChatGPT summary:

The upcoming sitcom Mid-Century Modern, created by Will & Grace co-creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, and produced by Ryan Murphy, follows three gay men who move in together in Palm Springs after a friend’s passing. The cast includes Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, Linda Lavin, and Nathan Lee Graham, and the show has been compared to The Golden Girls.

The reviewer attended a taping and found the show underwhelming, describing it as average at best. They criticized the writing as unfocused, with inconsistent tone and jokes that often fell flat. Despite a strong cast, the chemistry between the main actors felt nonexistent, and even Nathan Lane, the show’s anchor, struggled with a poorly defined character. The supporting cast had mixed performances—Matt Bomer played a simple, somewhat Rose-like character competently but not memorably, while Nathan Lee Graham’s role was one-dimensional. Linda Lavin’s character was described as forgettable.

The taping involved frequent rewrites, indicating trouble with the script. The audience response was lukewarm, and actors often seemed thrown off by laughter, suggesting weak comedic timing or lack of confidence in the material. The reviewer attributes most of the show’s problems to the writing, noting that successful sitcoms usually have a strong foundation in writing, tone, and chemistry.

Overall, the show reminded them of the Will & Grace reboot—hit-or-miss with an off-kilter feel. They predict Mid-Century Modern may get a second season before likely being canceled unless the quality improves. However, they acknowledge that casual viewers might enjoy it more.

Linda Lavin was 87 when she taped this before she died. What the FUCK were they thinking? Casting an 87 year old as a series regular - what could possibly go wrong?

This show could practically write itself. Sounds like they had too many cooks in the kitchen.

Nathan Lane is 69. Nathan Graham is 56. Bomer is 47. It's too much age range.

I feel like anybody posting in DataLounge could do better - and I'm serious.

[quote]I feel like anybody posting in DataLounge could do better - and I'm serious.

Well then, thank god you didn't write it.

The title is dreadful and forced.

I wonder if anyone from the show is a DLer

Linda Lavin is by far the best thing about the trailer. Unfortunately,

If they sit in that kitchen and eat cheesecake in their pajamas - I'm going to throw up. The premise of this show has been talked about in the gay community for almost 40 years.

Hell - hang out on Arenas in PS for a night - you've got every character you need.

1) An older ex-LA gay - that's a requirement - somebody who worked in design or hair - who goes on and on about working with stars, but was always adjacent

2) 50 something, corn-fed Midwest guy who recently comes out and is starting his life over in Palm Springs on a budget - cuz his wife took everything and he has kids in college / weddings to pay for. He's new to the scene and is fumbling his way through. (I didn't know there were BEARS in Palm Springs! Isn't it too hot?)

3) 55+ sexual compulsive from San Francisco. Nuff said. Throw in the HIV+ and medications for drama and serious episodes.

4) Well-intentioned recently widowed schlubby 60 year old gay man who was partnered for 40 years - he misses his old life but hasn't dated in 40 years and doesn't know how.

You can meet all 4 of these guys within 30 minutes in Palm Springs. Next door neighbors - 40-50 something golf-playing lesbians who work at the dog shelter (new dog every week!) and are always asking for favors for the rescues and to borrow tools that they never return. One of them used to be married to guy #3 over 30 years ago and they have a grown daughter together.

Voila! We've got a show.

R51, I would watch the fuck out of your show.

[quote]Will Linda Lavin's character be recast or killed off?

From what I've read, Linda had filmed seven or eight shows before her passing. Her character will be written out as having died, and I think there will be an episode around it.

If her character is good, I could see Linda getting a posthumous Emmy nomination and possibly winning.

R52 - I wasn't making any of that up either - I could give you 10 examples of each of those characters from people I know in Palm Springs.

Not the lesbian neighbor formerly married to one of the characters - that was a stretch for comedic effect.

I'm just saying - this assignment was not that hard. Nobody had to study to ace it. And yet they seem to have fucked it up completely.

But it’s not, so she won’t.

Which is easier to believe: KoMut and Ryan Murphy, who probably would work together only slightly better than Scott Rudin and Harvey Weinstein, decided to collaborate on a sitcom which appears to be terrible, badly cast, unfunny, has actors who have no chemistry together, and who are ambivalent or unhappy about making it; as well as an 87 year old actress who has been cast as a regular despite the tremendous risk that poses and who does indeed die mid-production;

Or Simon Halls, sitting at the bar at the Frolic Room, downing one too many bottles of scotch, and ruminating about his failing marriage, has a hilarious (evil, but hilarious) idea to issue a fake press release announcing his straying 46-year old husband has been cast in a gay remake of The Golden Girls, and drops all of his clients names in it (save Lavin, and Graham had not been cast yet)…

…and then Disney, seeing this press release announcing a deal with them which never happened, has an even more hilarious, even more evil idea, and decides to punish Halls/Bomer by forcing them to make it. And then ordering it to series.

It could happen. Happened all the time during the Golden Age.

R57 - I don't know. Read the synopsis and character description. It's pretty awful.

They did 10 episodes. I don't think this is going to get many more - particularly with Linda dying.

Either they re-tool it completely or it's on the trash heap of history.

First Trump, now THIS. 2025 - may you rot in HELL!

The sets look nothing like The Golden Girls.

Layout is what they said. Who cares is what I say.

Yawn.

R57 that would be a great plot for a movie tbh

The subtext that resonated with The Golden Girls was that of friends becoming chosen family, something that both older people and gays could identify with. It permeated the show without ever being spoken ...

... unlike this, which SPELLS IT OUT IN HUGE CAPITAL LETTERS IN CASE ANYONE MISSED IT.

And misspells it out, metaphorically.

None of the characters had any charm.

They weren't endearing in any way.

Also, having them ostensibly such different ages and stages in life makes it less relatable. The show should have followed the GG premise of three people hitting 60-ish, but unable to retire and needing to live together, then roll in the mother for Lane's character.

There are plenty of actors who could have taken Bomer's place as an age(d) pretty boy who had been kept and spent his entire life depending on his looks, but loses everything when his older partner dies and leaves him nothing. Tuc Watkins comes to mind.

Hire me, Ryan Murphy!

[quote]Matt Bomer's day of being an insatiable cumdump at Club 541 is ruined when he gets home and finds Linda Lavin has taken all his DOXY-PEP to cure a sinus infection; Nathan Graham is insulted when some elderly women at Billy Reed's mistake him for a waiter; Nathan Lane debates subleasing the house during Coachella to a couple of influencers.

It IS a good idea for a movie!

[quote]Linda Lavin is by far the best thing about the trailer.

There's a new corpse in town ...

[quote]They need an older lesbian couple - neighbors perhaps.

Then at least they could have the scene once proposed by a DL-er, where four gay men have to change the tire on a Subaru Forester while Team Lesbian has to watch with the highest level of stoicism they can muster.

Fucking terrible. Everything about it.

Was this written and filmed in 1982?

Nathan Lane is always the fattest, stinkiest, loudest turd in any punchbowl. And once again he does not disappoint.

Could Mid-Century Modern have been greenlit as a joke? Here's what ChatGPT says:

That would be an incredibly cynical (and hilarious) take, but while it’s unlikely that Mid-Century Modern was greenlit purely as a joke, there is precedent for questionable projects making it to air despite being obviously flawed from the start. If we entertain this theory, there are a few ways a “bizarre joke” greenlight could have played out:

1. The Executive Inside Joke Theory

Sometimes, executives greenlight projects they know are bad just to see what happens—whether as a morbid curiosity experiment, a case of mismanaged ego, or a weird industry “dare.”

• Example: Quibi’s entire business model. People inside Hollywood knew it was doomed, yet it received billions in funding.

• Example: Fox’s 1990s sitcom Woops!, about a post-apocalyptic world where all of humanity except six idiots is dead. How did that get made? Who knows.

• If Hulu execs knew the show was terrible but let it happen anyway, it could be their equivalent of a Hollywood “bad art project.”

2. The “Let’s Burn Money” Experiment

Hollywood has greenlit expensive failures before because someone in power wanted to see it happen.

• MCM might have been somebody’s personal passion project, and despite its obvious flaws, it got a “why not?” from Hulu.

• Maybe Ryan Murphy, Mutchnick, or Kohan convinced someone to bankroll it as an experiment—“What if we do a Golden Girls-style show, but just let it be a trainwreck?”

• Streaming services sometimes greenlight things for reasons beyond quality, such as meeting diversity quotas, filling a contractual obligation, or keeping a specific creator happy (Netflix does this a lot).

3. The “Reverse The Producers” Scenario

In The Producers, the goal was to make a Broadway show so bad that it flopped on purpose—but what if MCM was greenlit precisely because Hulu expected it to fail?

• Maybe Hulu needed to fill a content quota but didn’t actually want a long-term sitcom commitment.

• If they knew MCM was bad, they could have expected a tax write-off or a contractual loophole allowing them to cut other projects.

• They may have assumed nobody would watch, allowing them to quietly bury it and say, “See? Multi-cam sitcoms don’t work anymore,” thus avoiding future investments in the genre.

R71 give it a rest. It’s not nearly as amusing as you or ChatGPT thinks it is. Try Google Gemini for a change dear.

I laughed a few times at the trailer.

Coming to the Roku Channel: THE ATTENTION YOU ORDERED, with Jonathan Van Ness, Billy Porter, and ALOK as millennials and housemates in Berkeley.

But things really heat up when Academy Award winning actress and proud mother of a trans child JAMIE LEE CURTIS moves in as ALOK's mom after her condo in the planned community Boomer's Acres burns down!

R43. Leslie Jordan did do a Golden Girls inspired series called The Cool Kids with Vicki Lawrence, David Alan Grier and Martin Mull. It was basically The Golden Girls if they all lived at Shady Pines.

R47. Betty White was 88 when Hot in Cleveland premiered and 93 when the series ended.

R75 - fair point, but it's still unnecessarily risky.

The shame is, it was a decent idea. There are 4 real life men in PS that wrote a book about their shared experiences living together.

And yet THIS was the steaming pile of shit 💩 they came up with?

How was this so awful when Matt was so good in Fellow Travelers?

The Cool Kids was also released by 20th so it’s odd they would resurrect the concept when it flopped.

A lot of things about this do not make sense, primarily the part about the cast having no chemistry together. The reason this is odd is because this was a pilot, not a straight to series order. Pilots are focus tested and chemistry is one of the big things they gauge for. Plenty of recastings happen after a pilot is tested, famously Lisa Kudrow recast as Roz in Frasier. Even a big name can get recast (Craig T. Nelson in Modern Family.)

So if the goal is to recreate the “found family” dynamic of The Golden Girls, why would they insist on marshaling through when nobody in the cast has chemistry or appears to be enjoying themselves?

Nothing about this makes sense. Bomer was trying to get Disney to reboot White Collar (which is not a bad idea). Then suddenly he decides to do a sitcom for Disney, which has a ridiculous premise, and reports from people who’ve attended tapings indicate it’s unfunny and the cast has no chemistry. And then, a month before it premieres, Disney announces Hulu will not pick up White Collar which means it’s DOA.

I give it a 50% chance that the entire thing is the result of Simon Halls getting drunk and putting out a bogus press release and Disney retaliating by forcing them to make it. The other 50% chance involves everyone at Disney including Ryan Murphy and Kohan and Mutchnik having forgotten how sitcom development works.

You know, I think I'm gonna just wait until it actually airs before I pass judgment.

What kind of freak are you R81? You don’t belong HERE.

Just what we need, another journey down The stereotype road ......

Omfg that seems awful

When I think of gay humor I think dry, bitchy witt....think The Boys in the Band without the crippling drama ("Vicious" with Ian Mckellen nailed this). This is slapping me in the back and saying "IT'S FUNNY!!ISN'T IT FUNNY?!!!" while cackling like a mad man.

Gays deserve better.

Since half of "The Cool Kids" cast is dead, it's probably just as well that it didn't last.

Ted Danson's new Netflix show ("A Man on the Inside") is set in a retirement facility.

R5, I disagree. I liked Bomer on Will and Grace

You would be the type for that tripe.

I pointed out at the time this was announced that casting an 86-year-old in a pilot was insane.

Look how that turned out…

1850s mobile home

[quote]I pointed out at the time this was announced that casting an 86-year-old in a pilot was insane. Look how that turned out…

You never know. Look at John Ritter, Jon-Erik Hexum, Lee Thompson Young, Phil Hartman, Cory Monteith, Freddie Prinze et al. All relatively young actors who died while appearing on a successful TV series.

Except in this case, they had to know the odds were against her being able to complete any decent run.

R70, I still believe Kirker holds that title, but I suppose Nathan is right up there.

I'm embarrassed that this was produced in this century.

And I'm a little embarrassed for those who found the trailer amusing, or who take a "well maybe it will be fun" attitude. This makes that fat, ugly fey fuck with the anus face from Modern Family sound like Addison deWitt.

I wonder if the idiot who thought this show was all a fake made up by Simon Halls to ruin the career of Bomer for divorcing him (still together are they?) and insisting that the Golden Girls people would sue the fuck out of this show can admit he was wrong yet. Or is he the one also insisting this must be the result of a drunken press release and Disney green-lighting it out of spite?

Emmy Awards for everyone!

Ooof!! R96

I can hear the weepy alcoholic acceptance speech from Nathan Lane at the Golden Globes next year.

Matt Bomer was impressive in Fellow Travelers but an excellent series doesn't come along all the time and a person needs to eat.

R95 Obviously you were correct. The show is very real and Bomer is starring in it because no one will hire him for anything else.

I was listening to Frank Grillo and he said he had just bought a new house and he was receiving offers to do extremely bad European action movies that paid very well. His agents sat him down and pleaded with him to stop making them because they were damaging his reputation in Hollywood and they believed in him as an actor.

Obviously that didn’t happen here.

I wonder if Bomer had to tread on a lot of toes to get Fellow Travellers made, and the lack of work afterwards is the industry's revenge.

[quote]You never know. Look at John Ritter, Jon-Erik Hexum, Lee Thompson Young, Phil Hartman, Cory Monteith, Freddie Prinze et al. All relatively young actors who died while appearing on a successful TV series.

[quote]Betty White was 88 when Hot in Cleveland premiered and 93 when the series ended.

You do know that the average life expectancy of a woman in the US is 77, and that prune face had exceeded that by a decade. Yes, her sour face may have continued to shrivel for another 30 years. It is possible. But it's not fucking likely. Betty Whote was famous enough that her death would likely have improved the number of viewers, at least for an episode or two after the fact. But the number of curiosity seekers who would tune in to see how a series handled the death of actress Linda Lavin can be more than two or three individuals in the world.

Yes r101 the industry hated Fellow Travelers so much it put the costar in a $265 million blockbuster with Scarlett Johansson and above the title billing.

r103 I didn't say they hated it, did I? I specifically referred to the process of getting it made. He worked on getting it into production for years.

Why, like it was a hot property? He swiped the project from Ryan Reynolds and Reynolds is now retaliating?

What does the title mean?

r105 No, the opposite. That some people thought it shouldn't have been made and decided to punish Bomer's perseverance. Something clearly happened to hurt his career so badly that he'd go from the acclaim of Fellow Travelers to this. I'm simply wondering aloud whether the long process of getting FT to air could've played a part in that.

You tell yourself stories to live…but they’re dull stories. Move on.

R106 it’s about a group of architectural historians, Rose.

[quote] That some people thought it shouldn't have been made and decided to punish Bomer's perseverance.

Then why was he nominated for multiple industry awards

R106 the title acknowledges Palm Springs’s significant MiMo residences while also being a play on “middle age” (mid century = 50)

However again this would only make sense if the majority of the cast was 50. Three late forty/fifty year old men with Lane as the Sophia makes sense. However Palm Springs is associated with people who have already retired.

Again, people on an internet chat board should not be pointing out the sloppiness of this concept, it should have come up during development.

Thank you Captain Obvious^

r110 Do you actually think the same people responsible for casting and green-lighting are the same ones responsible for award nominations?

[quote]You know, I think I'm gonna just wait until it actually airs before I pass judgment.

I'm with R81, and yes, I know it makes me a freak and an aberration here, and I'm gonna fuckin own it

We’ll pass gas while you wait for this shit show to unfold.

You make a lame fart joke while criticizing the humor of a show you haven't seen yet?

[quote]The problem with this show is the concept completely falls apart because of the decision to cast Bomer.

He's actual friends with one of the creators. I mean, neighbors, walking their dogs together, friends. I'd guess that's probably why he's here/decided to do this and also how he ended up on the Will & Grace reboot.

It wasn’t a fart joke it was a play on not passing judgment. You really are too invested in crap tv.

Fart. Crap.

You really are too invested in scat.

Come back to us with first critics’ reviews and the ratings on this—we won’t be waiting.

R117 everyone involved in the show is Simon Halls’s client (save Graham and the late Lavin)

Billie Lourd is in this. She’s to acting what the orange goon is to the presidency.

She is also Simon Halls’s client

I know a former publicist who used to deal with Simon and he loathes Simon.

The man voluntarily represented Brett Ratner and Bryan Singer, what’s not to love?

This is embarrassing for Bomer. What a comedown at this point in his career, where he's coming off of two acclaimed projects. He shouldn't be doing this trash.

“What do you mean, ‘They ordered it?’”

Bomer does not have the timing for comedy. He was awful on Will and Grace and seemingly as bad in that clip. He was also awful in Magic Mike, even with that face and body.

He does cocky-breezy well - like White Collar and as Chuck's old roommate from Stanford in Chuck.

He'd actually probably be fantastic in sci fi or action movies, like Fast and the Furious, Mission Impossible, or a Trek movie.

I remember someone described Magic Mike as like watching hot men, who never developed a sense of humor, attempt to do improv.

Will & Grace was very bad, if you watch the alternating scenes with Schwimmer you can see how he doesn’t have the right instincts.

[quote]Will & Grace was very bad, if you watch the alternating scenes with Schwimmer you can see how he doesn’t have the right instincts.

Who doesn't have the right instincts? I'm curious.

For me, each of the four actors is a mile away from the right instincts.

McCormack and Messing have two Emmys and nine nominations between them and Schwimmer was the star of the most successful sitcom of the last half century

But I suppose r130 knows better

He'd actually probably be fantastic in sci fi or action movies, like Fast and the Furious, Mission Impossible, or a Trek movie.

🤣that was funny. Thanks—

They should just recast Linda Lavin with Polly Holiday.

R133 Or me! I'm available!

Nathan Lane on Colbert’s show tonight.

Will & Grace was very bad, if you watch the alternating scenes with Schwimmer you can see how he doesn’t have the right instincts.

R129 - Bomer seems fine to me. He is playing straight man to McCormack's laugh lines.

Everyone get off Matt Bomer’s case!

Will and Grace was very bad. Full stop. No other discussion required. The end.

I bet this show will actually be popular with the same audience that loved Will & Grace - mostly women. I’ve seen Reddit posts by some who attended filming of the show & thought it was hilarious. Bomer’s fans are mostly women, too.

The White Collar revival is not officially dead yet. Hulu passed on it, but Netflix may consider it.

I detest sitcoms. Except for Seinfeld and All in the Family, they're entertainment for the lame and simplistic.

R140 it will be after this stinker airs.

[quote]McCormack and Messing have two Emmys and nine nominations between them and Schwimmer was the star of the most successful sitcom of the last half century

R31, why didn't you say it wasn't about acting at all, but instead was about popularity (and nominations made in recognition of how many bags of money a series made)?

R143 because, you fucking retard

Will & Grace won its first Emmys in its second season, when it was not a significant hit, it had just started in the Thursday 9pm time slot where it would become more successful, and it only ranked #22 in the Nielsen rankings, far below #5 Friends, its nightly lead-in. It was not a making very much money, and it won over much more watched Friends and Frasier as well.

Have you ever considered thinking before you type things?

Fine, you didn’t like Will and Grace. But it’s hard to deny the four leads did great work.

Deny. Deny. Deny. Deny.

R141 is the person at the party who claims to only watch PBS and historical British dramas. Then you roll your eyes at her and walk away.

Here's Nathan's appearance on Colbert last night. He plugs the show in the second clip, but I'm including the first part here as well because he shared some lovely memories of working with Gene Hackman on The Birdcage.

Part 2:

Bomer should be doing another prestige streaming/cable series instead of this trash. I can't believe he agreed to this. Is he really in need of money?

“What do you mean, ‘Fellow Travelers’ was financed by a high-interest loan from the Yakuza?”

"Oh my God, it's Zachary Levi. Floor it, Simon!"

In an interview after Fellow Travelers, Bomer said he would like to do something comical after all the angst of playing Hawk Fuller. He also has a part in a movie that stars Keanu Reeves but don’t know when that comes out.

[quote] Bomer said he would like to do something comical after all the angst of playing Hawk Fuller.

When he finds it, let us know.

I did love Nathan Lane's suggestions for the next season at the Kennedy Centre, particularly the "new version of The Sound of Music, from the point of view of the Nazis. But you don't want to hear their list of their Favourite Things".

Would Max Bialystock work for Trump, do you think?

So 3 main characters? Shouldn't it be 4, like SATC, GG, etc.?

The 4th is the mother played by Linda Lavin.

Four million views of the trailer in a little over a week is very good news for a relatively niche new sitcom, hopefully it does well enough to get at least one more season to iron out all the kinks that all new sitcoms have. However, the jokes already seem better than in that rough first season of W&G.

Having said that, can Nathan Lane maybe look at his co-stars when he's delivering the jokes? Because a lot of the time it just looks like he's looking at the cue cards.

Oh no now the OP trailer has gone private.

Still up

can Nathan Lane maybe look at his co-stars when he's delivering the jokes

R158 - I can see him looking at them.

Yeah, I suppose I was being too critical. I think Mullally also looked elsewhere most of the time when she was delivering her jokes, and that was in the later seasons as well. It's part of the charm, I guess. I just need to get back into that sitcom mentality. And I might be in the minority, but I fucking love the laugh track, always have. Love the feeling that I'm watching it with other people.

You should get out more.

See now these line readings should not have gotten past the pilot testing stage

In the event that they absolutely had to do this show, with this concept, with this cast

Why on earth they didn’t cast Bomer in the “straight man” role (the Dorothy) is beyond me. He cannot land a joke.

I feel sorry for Bomer, doing this dreck.

[quote] In the event that they absolutely had to do this show, with this concept, with this cast

I'm assuming Simon Halls knows where the bodies are buried, and they DO absolutely have to do this show, with this concept, with this cast.

He’s a flak. You make him sounds like a studio head or something.

No, he doesn’t have that kind of power.

Simon Halls has very little power.

The worst he could do is call one of the trades and report something that isn’t true and they would print it without fact checking it.

Flaks do [sometimes literally] know where the bodies are buried, though.

*flack, flacks

Well, he doesn’t get this greenlit. That theory is beyond dumb.

I'm just speculating because among other things it feels really weird that James Burrows is directing this soon-to-be trainwreck. With his pedigree wouldn't he have his pick of [bold]any[/bold] sitcom directing jobs?

Well he was involved with the Frasier reboot so I guess not.

R172 How many four camera sitcoms are out now? Burrows was probably thrilled to direct this.

Back in the late 90s when I was a cute young twink a disgustingly drunk Nathan Lane tried to pick me up at the old Works bar on the UWS. He was by himself and very sloppy, I felt embarrassed for him.

Linda and the gang on the cover of TV Guide this week. I'll be Bonnie Franklin never made the cover after she croaked.

tv guide still exists?

Seriously?

I'm also surprised that TV Guide still exists. Who the hell buys it? People who are 100 years old?

Not quite 100 years old, but I haven't bough an issue at any point in this millennium.

They can’t even blend his makeup properly. Amateur hour.

He need to stop with the procedures immediately. He's starting to look like a wax figure. Enough is enough, Matthew!

DVR Alert: Nathan and Matt appearing on “The View” tomorrow.

^By the way, I guess I should clarify that I meant Nathan Lane since there are two Nathans in the cast.

The show drops on Friday and there are no reviews.

🚂 💥

Let’s see if the review embargo ends today and we start seeing some.

If not, that is a bad sign for the quality of the show.

If it’s good, they would want reviews to drop ahead of the release to build anticipation.

First reviews are being posted.

I can see Linda getting an Emmy nomination for this

[quote] Schwimmer was the star of the most successful sitcom of the last half century

…in Britain.

Ouch.

Max Mutchnick is responsible for so much crap.

This is embarrassing to watch.

So bad.

Ryan Murphy is an ugly old queen.

If this show becomes popular the cost of living in Palm Springs will skyrocket.

lol r193 that is funnier than any line in Midcentury modern

I guess there’s a reason Hulu is dropping all the episodes at once.

I should read thread titles more carefully. I clicked on this thread because I thought it was a Tasteful Friends about a MCM trailer home.

As for this series I've only seen a few clips, but the acting seems too hammy, and OTT and the set looks like something out of a Tasteful Friends thread. Now I've come full circle so I shall bid you adieu.

Yes that is actually unusual for Hulu.

Actually Solar Opposites does same-dat drops but otherwise Hulu tends to do weekly.

I just wish if they wanted to do a GG knock off, then do a GG knockoff and have them all be older. And it would have been better to beat the cliche and make the mom into a dad. A hottie young gay like Bomer luving with the other 2 makes no sense.

Seriously r199. IRL a guy like Bomer would have nothing to do with those two trolls. And also living with the harpy mother of one of the trolls? Forget it.

[quote] Episode 2, “Working Girls,” focuses on Arthur’s new role as a salesman at a luxury boutique and Jerry’s lifelong obsession with Donny Osmond, giving fans further insight into their backstories.

Jerry is Bomer's character. Why would a man in his forties be obsessed with Donny Osmond? He'd be too young to have known Donny Osmond at the height of his fame in the 70s.

Because the role was intended for someone over a decade older

Donny and Marie went on the air in 1976 and Bomer was born in 1977

The role was written for someone in their late 50s/ early 60s, which again, makes sense given the concept of the show. A gay version of the Golden Girls would have men of that generation.

For whatever reason, they kept Bomer and kept the cultural references the same

I repeat myself, none of this makes any sense.

Used to be sad

Set in my ways

Then I moved with my son

Into a house

Of eldergaaaaays ...

Sha ba doo be DAH

Too gay. Won't go. The sister-part cannot fill the now-dead mother part. Nathan Lane is far too prancy.

“The series comes from “Will & Grace” creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, who understand the mechanics and rhythms of a sitcom. The cast, however, does not (with one exception), which is perhaps why it feels like everyone is playing to the back row. It’s so bad in the pilot that I’m curious if people will stick around and keep watching. I hope so, because the show improves. Not enough. But it’s better than the first episode suggests.”

Chicago Tribune.

Watched the first two episodes. It was mindless entertainment and amusing.

I’ll probably watch the rest of the episodes when I want to just chill

Omg, it's out?! Gonna go watch it now. I just wish they did weekly releases, just for DL.

Premiere was hysterical, I can't believe all these reviews shitting on it. I think they're just conditioned to prefer the style of something like Abbott Elementary, a show I could never get into, while traditional sitcoms are seen as passé.

It's already such comfort food right from the get-go, with delightful wordplay. And the jokes are a lot filthier than on Will&Grace, too. Feels like I'm on DL when I'm watching it.

They were probably on DL when they were making it.

NLG mispronounces "coup de grâce" in the premiere as "coup de gras", which means a cup of fat. Also, it's usually used with the indefinite "un" article, not the definite "le" like in that scene.

Anyway, it's such a common mispronunciation among English speakers, I find it kinda endearing at this point.

Since it's on Hulu, will there be a crossover with "Only Murders in the Building"?

15 reviews so far, 93% Fresh on Rottentomatoes.

Mid-Century Modern’ Team Talks Linda Lavin’s “Devastating” Death, ‘Golden Girls’ Comparisons & ‘Will & Grace’ Crossover Potential

“Matt Bomer is a talented actor, as showcased in 2023’s Fellow Travelers, but none of that is on show here. Sitcoms are not a genre Bomer is associated with, and from the very first episode, it is clear why. His line delivery is cringeworthy as the airhead flight attendant, Jerry. You could be fooled into forgetting that Bomer has years of experience working on the big and small screen with the way he delivers this dialogue.”

These stereotypical gay TV characters and shows are annoying and insulting.

I tried watching this.

The pilot just wasn't funny. It was very cringe. It's weird because they're all good actors but here, not so much. My thinking was that instead of cramming the gay jokes in every two minutes they maybe need to get to the root of what being funny is. The jokes are too forced. They're not 30 Rock, they can't pull off a joke every other minute.

The other episodes very slightly better, but not by much. I did smile at the "Little bitch says what?" bit in episode 8. I liked the Mindy character a lot. Maybe not the jokes but the difference between her and the other characters. The same with the Linda Lavin mom character.

I think that's one of the issues. You could very easily guess what characters might say on "The Golden Girls" because they were staunchly into their archetypes. When Sophia talks about being an old woman and is depressed. Rose will try and be helpful to cheer her up but will say something dumb. Blanche will turn everything into a sex joke if she has an opening to do so. She'd suggest she try a man. Dorothy will be serious about it, and make fun of Rose for saying something stupid or Blanche for being a slut.

Afterwards I watched (another multi-cam sitcom) Max Greenfield and Cedric the Entertainer's, "The Neighborhood" which has been on for years. That was actually funny but it plays off the differences between both families and the characters even within the same family.

They really grow into their characters by the fourth episode, especially Bomer who's the most wooden at first. He gets so faggy at times, it's so hot seeing that on a butch guy. I wonder if he's like that at home with his husband. His kiss with Zane Phillips was very steamy as well. These aren't your straight actor on another straight actor pecks of yesteryear, thank god we've left that shit in the past.

Love how much attention is given to ageing gay men and their issues, I admit some of it hits too close to home sometimes.

I've noticed that only Nathan Lane and Matt Bomer are doing the talk show circuit to promote the show. Why isn't Arthur Broussard with them? Is he distancing himself from the show?

I tried watching it last night. I got about 8 minutes in, and I had to shut it off. The laugh track alone would prompt me to shut if off, but I stuck with it for a little longer. The writing is just bad bad bad. I had even opened this thread yet to read the comments.

I have to say, when they announced this show, I had such high hopes for it being good.

I do despise laugh tracks, but I'll probably still give this a try.

Nathan Lee Graham wants Mid-Century Modern's queer viewers to 'lean into the joy'

R219 I meant Nathan Lee Graham. Arthur Broussard is his character's name.

The premiere party was so cringe

R218 Bomer is a butch guy?

R225 I didn't want to say anything but...yeah

I so want to like this but the signs are not good. Bomer and Lane were on GMA today and Lane seemed to really be phoning even that in.

Watched the premiere. The writing sucked. Lame jokes, vague characters and I didn’t buy their history as close friends.

The Nathans are working really hard (to overcome the writing).

Bomer’s character was originally going to be 63, which aligns with the Donny Osmond obsession. The producers considered making a 63 year old with an ongoing joke that he looked 20 years younger.

This is one of the strangest things I have ever read. Very rarely do ideas this terrible make it so far into production.

Bomer’s PR is making an offensive, but the career damage is probably significant. This is worse than when he became the TransBomer.

Lanvin has such a badass moment in the sixth episode, I hate the gods for taking her away from us shortly thereafter.

She's also the one who inhabited her character the best in the premiere already. Rest in peace, queen.

Lavin takes a lot of shit on here, but she was such a treasure.

Comedy and drama. Always delivered.

People who worked with her raved about her. (I don’t know about the Alice set…)

And it sounds like she had some impressive, philanthropic, endeavors, supporting disadvantage kids or something.

I wouldn't call Bomer a butch guy R218. He just used to be able to fake it for the cameras back in the 2000s. He keeps himself in good shape for someone pushing 50, but I can easily see that involving doing aerobics to Katy Perry songs in matching turquoise legwarmers and headband.

r189- That's a pretty good review. Did you just read the headline?

r201- I'm only 3 years older than Bomer and I was well aware of Osmond as a child. Listened to a lot of their records, watched their TV show. May tomorrow be a perfect day....

R234, I'm a couple of years younger than him and I only vaguely have an idea of who he is - mostly because of this place. I can see he had a tv show but that ended in 79, before I was born and another one later on that I would have never seen because I would have been in school. It does seem weird to me that the character would be obsessed with him but I've always had a thing for Eartha Kitt so I guess it's also possible he picked him randomly and felt some sort of attachment? People do those things.

[quote]Bomer is a butch guy?

Well, compared to you, even Ross Matthews is butch.

Bomer plays a Mormon so the Osmond love makes sense. The other Nathan delivers all his lines the same way and his face doesn’t move.

It sometimes does take comedies a while for everyone to settle into the rhythm and harmony required. Live and sketch comedy is nearly always tragic at its first outing, but a lot of sitcoms are slow to get going too.

The onlookers at that premiere party all look like they wish their mothers would come and collect them, R224.

Holy shit I almost can’t believe this is real.

Nancy Lee Grahn is convincing as a gay black man.

They’re doing a send up right? Golden Girls and all those oldish three camera sitcoms with laugh tracks? I like it. It’s GG redux and very comfort tv. Sad we lost Linda Lavin though, I’d love for it to have been her Hot In Cleveland-ish turn.

And now we have Billie Lourd playing Matt Bomer's daughter.

Who is the intended audience for this show? It has a lot of insider jokes about gay men that many straight people probably won’t get. And probably won’t like if they do understand them. Not sure how many gay men will feel about the stereotyped caricatures. It seems like this might have been better as an offbeat play instead of a TV sitcom.

Husband and I got five minutes into this show and had to turn it off and become heterosexual out of shame.

Mid shenshury modern!

I watched the first three episodes tonight. I cringed a lot, but surprisingly, I also laughed a few times. Linda is awesome, but it’s bittersweet watching her. I also love Pamela Adlon. Matt is wrong age but he’s had some funny moneys, as has the other guy. Nathan Lane BUGS.

Bomer plays a specific type of character very well: someone who is both much smarter and much darker than his sunny prettyboy looks suggest (White Collar, Fellow Travelers)

Something that he does not play well is a moron. I remember someone once said that to play a moron well is very difficult and actors who have played them well are often very smart and talented (Betty White as Rose of course, Lisa Kudrow as Valerie Cherish, Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya, Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy). There is a degree of pathos that must be incorporated into each line delivery - look how much nuance Kudrow does in every line.

Bomer cannot do this and his performances as morons (this, Will & Grace) are bad not just because the parts are bad but because he, specifically, cannot make them work. Now, better people should have already realized this and crafted the role to suit his strengths; why after Fellow Travelers this was not realized and he was given the lowest hanging fruit on the tree is up to someone else’s interpretation.

Bomer’s character is a polar opposite of Neal Caffrey. His looks are stunning and the Jerry character is even kind of cute, but I wonder if this swishy performance will appeal to his female fans. Some of them are still just finding out he’s gay. I don’t know if the WC revival had any chance, but this might hurt it.

I got to the middle of Episode 7 before turning it off. Though it gets a little better after the first 2 or 3 episodes, there are still cringey moments. Everybody, including the guest performers, seems to be playing their roles broadly for laughs, resulting in superficial, stock characterizations. I'm hoping things will improve as the main actors settle into their roles and develop more backstory.

As for Bomer, he is fine in his sweeter moments, but when going for the laughs, the comedy seems forced and deliberate. He is just not a natural comedian. His himbo act is a Chrissy Snow imitation: big doe eyes widen to show confusion, a beat, then a dumb line is uttered.

I didn’t understand Lane’s character. He’s a financial success but a schlubby guy in a culture centered on looks, but from the premiere he didn’t seem to possess any savvy about how he fits in that world. Maybe if he’d just arrived in PS from middle America…

Aside from Lavin, I didn’t see any fully formed characters. Just some guys leaning heavily into every joke.

I understood Lane's character. He's a guy, who, in youth, didn't have the looks to compete with the Matt Bomers of the world, so he compensated by being a financial success and being everybody's best friend (perhaps by buying people's love and friendship). Yet despite his success, he was still insecure about his looks, especially in a culture obsessed with youth and beauty, and never developed a meaningful romantic relationship because of it.

Now at 60+, he's practically invisible in the gay community and lonely. In a later episode, we find that a few people did find him desirable back then, but he was too screwed up in the head with his insecurities to realize it and never did anything about it.

I hoped it’d be funnier than it is. Bomer seems to be the weak link.

[quote] I wonder if this swishy performance will appeal to his female fans. Some of them are still just finding out he’s gay.

Were they headless?

Quite a few of them, yes r253.

Believe it or not, there are viewers out there discovering & watching White Collar for the first time who had never even heard of Matt Bomer before that.

[quote] I'm one of a probable handful of people that really enjoyed Ryan Murphy's "The New Normal." Yes, NeNe Leakes, too.

I also liked that show and love NeNe's assistant character. I really liked the episode where she fosters a baby.

[quote]I also liked that show and love NeNe's assistant character. I really liked the episode where she fosters a baby.

I liked that show too and I loved NeNe’s assistant character! That episode where she fosters a baby? So good.

What really stood out to me was the dynamic between NeNe and Andrew’s characters (Grace and Karen, basically). We didn’t have a stiff Will vs. wild Jack situation, but we did have Republican Ellen Barkin going toe-to-toe with the two gay leads, which brought real tension.

The characters just felt more developed because contrast and complexity are what make characters click in a short format.

Beyond the fact that she was a wonderful actress, I think that's why Linda Lavin's character stood out to me, even in this short format.

Finished it just now and loved it! The brick shithouse and Kidman's wig slippage were clearly DL-sourced material. Pamela Adlon was almost as delightful as Lavin. The three leads really grew into their group chemistry by the end.

I have a feeling all the Jewish humour and the show not even attempting to cover trans issues is what rubbed many reviewers the wrong way. Not that they'd ever say it out loud, of course.

Well, I expected to be disappointed but I watched the first two episodes and loved it. I finally got to see what it would've looked like to be in bed with Nathan. He's very vulnerable in that scene. His performance grounds the whole show. Good for him.

I just finished the season. Lavin and Graham really shine in this and made it enjoyable, but Bomer and Lane dragged it down. I love Nathan Lane, but this three camera kind of sitcom is just not in his wheelhouse. Pamela Adlon is fantastic. I liked the parade of old TV actors like Rhea Perlman and Judd Hirsch, as well, playing off of Lavin.

The laugh track, studio audience laughter, or whatever it is, is cringey. The scene segue music is really bad. While I appreciate the comparisons to Golden Girls, Will & Grace, and Frazier, it felt much more like Hot in Cleveland than any of the others.

The title intro reminded me of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" intro.

I enjoyed it but I didn’t laugh much.

Coco Peru had a guest star credit but all her lines were cut. Apparently she can be seen behind the desk of the sleazy motel in ep 1.

R263 I was wondering about that because I saw her end credit and didn’t remember her in the episode. I’m an elder gay but not that elder.

The reviews are pretty much spot on: Nathan Lane is Nathan Lane; Bomer is game but miscast; Nathan Lee Graham hits a home run with every line; Pamela Adlon is delightful, like a Janeane Garofalo lite.

Odd observation, but I wonder if the Frasier reboot would have had more of a chance if NLG was cast as a frenemy of Frasier at Harvard — maybe an intellectual black studies professor who could outsnob Frasier. He can handle dialogue like a pro and Frasier was always funny when confronted with gay or black situations. NLG would have been miles ahead of the rest of that lackluster cast they assembled.

There is a real "ick factor" with this show. The three together are very mismatched and it is really hard to believe that they are dear old friends. Not in this world. If the premise was that Nathan Lane hired Matt Bomer as a rent boy for a decade or more and then just kept him around, I would have more respect for their connection.

“What do you mean they are going to use AI to try to fix my line delivery?”

So far Linda Lavin is the glue that is holding everything together to make it feel like a great sitcom. I don’t know how it’s going to hold together once she dies.

[quote]And now we have Billie Lourd playing Matt Bomer's daughter.

Art imitates life.

I'm embarrssed for Bomer. He should be doing another prestige streaming series instead of this garbage. WTF was he thinking? This is really a step down.

Mid-Century Modern Cast Says It's Liberating to Love and Laugh on Their Gay Golden Girls-Inspired Sitcom (Exclusive)

Huge fan of Nathan Lane but...two episodes in and...nope. Frenzied, over-the-top delivery from just about everyone - regulars and guest stars. And no real chemistry between the three leads. Bomer is miscast, Graham takes to the audience after almost every laugh line and the wonderful Nathan Lane just doesn't seem like he's concerned about playing an actual human being here. I don't believe for a moment that these three men would live together. Worst of all, it ain't funny. Disappointed. Was looking forward to this.

[quote] Some of them are still just finding out he’s gay.

Helen Keller in fucking outer space could've identified that Matt Bomer is gay.

Nathan Lane interview.

I’m enjoying it and think it has potential to be the next Will and Grace. I sense stronger Will and Grace vibes than Golden Girls.

I thought it got better by third episode. I think it will get better and better. Am i the only person who thought Cheri Oteri as the drunk flight attendent was the best part of the first three eps?

My take? ALl three guys are the same type. They are all neurotic and scream all their lines. They need to calm down and not go for the laugh. I need more explanation as to why these three mis matched friends are friends. At the end of the third episode they started talking like human biengs and it got better. The 80s type sitcom doesn't work anymore , though i guess you could point to will and Grace. Cheri Oteri in ep 3 was a delight. MORE of her. I laughed out loud only at her. But I'm only three episodes in.

You’re judging this sitcom from its few episodes against the best episodes of the best sitcoms of all time. Go back and watch the pilot episodes of The Golden Girls, Will and Grace, and Designing Women. Those would be terrible shows if we judged them from the pilots alone. It took a few episodes for Bea to stop playing Maude and play a softer Dorothy. It took a few episodes for Delta Burke to become Suzanne. It took a few episodes for Megan Mulally to find the voice of Karen Walker.

I'm surprised at Matt Bomer.

This looks embarrassing.

[QUOTE]There is a real "ick factor" with this show. The three together are very mismatched and it is really hard to believe that they are dear old friends. Not in this world. If the premise was that Nathan Lane hired Matt Bomer as a rent boy for a decade or more and then just kept him around, I would have more respect for their connection.

You only say this, R266, because you’re so superficial that you can’t grasp how someone who looks like Bomer could have a friend who resembles Lane. Did it ever occur to you that the rentboy in your scenario has friends who aren’t young and hot? Perhaps older figures who could be mentors of a sort? Yes, they’re somewhat mismatched and that’s the friggin point.

[quote]It has a lot of insider jokes about gay men that many straight people probably won’t get. And probably won’t like if they do understand them.

So does Deadpool and Wolverine. Didn't seem to slow it down.

Dominique Jackson's character from Pose (Elektra) and Nathan Lee Graham are one in the same. Both shows involved Ryan Murphy and not too much thought was put into either character, both very two dimensional. I would be really shocked if this show ends up with Emmy nods.

For what it's worth, I saw an interview with Bomer where he said after Fellow Travelers, and with the gathering political clouds in the US, he really needed something cheerful to focus on. He was an active EP on Travelers and was involved with it for a couple of years before filming, and it WAS seriously depressing, so although it finished filming quite a while ago that's a plausible explanation.

Probably just as well they haven't got the White Collar revival up. Unless it's going to centre around Neal executing elaborate cons on the Executive Branch to stop it firing the entire FBI White Collar Unit. I mean, hell, those guys do stuff like combating money laundering and high-level tax evasion! How long can THEY last under the regime?

Emmy nods? Surely out of the question. This show reeks.

I just watched the first episode, and I already know this is going to be one of those shows I bitch about yet inexplicably end up watching every episode of.

It keeps getting better with each episode. Wish there were more episodes.

[quote]For what it's worth, I saw an interview with Bomer where he said after Fellow Travelers, and with the gathering political clouds in the US, he really needed something cheerful to focus on.

He seemed pretty cheerful promoting it

Boy was he depressed

Even the freakin AI knows

It's amusing to watch the posters who predicted this would be a total flop now desperately trying to persuade themselves that the mild criticism from the rare bad review is somehow a scathing take down.

I started watching this with zero expectations and I'm 5 episodes in and I'm enjoying it. Is it the best thing ever, no, but it's far from being dreadful. I do agree Matt Bomer is miscast and Nathan Lane needs to tone it down. For me Nathan Lee Graham and Linda Lavin are the best part of the show (though watching Lavin is bittersweet). I will say I'm not a fan of the pacing of the show, too many quick cuts not enough time to just let a scene sit.

If you find that amusing, at least something amusing came out of this show.

R249 here. I made it through to the end of the season and I have to say, the characters had grown on me. I didn't find them as cringey, except when they get up and sing and dance in unison (Who does this?). Bomer's comedic mugging has settled, as has Lane's hamming, and Graham's bitch queen persona has developed a heart. I can see Lane submitting his performance in "Here's to You, Mrs. Schneiderman" for Emmy consideration and possibly securing a nom.

Recurring and guest performers Pamela Adlon, Richard Kind, Judd Hirsh, and beautiful Zane Philips delivered. The actress who played the congresswoman neighbor was awful.

I've only watched the first episode but why did they think they had to make every line of dialogue a "zinger" that mostly didn't land? Instead of establishing real characters we might care about?

As lame as the first episodes of Golden Girls, Will & Grace, Designing Women, Cheers, Frasier, etc. might have been (and I'm not so sure they were lame), they allowed the actors to establish their characters and their situations.

So in the pilot it was established that they'd all been friends since at least 1994. Bomer IRL was still in high school at that time. Okay fine, we can pretend he's playing several years older than his actual age. But then later in the episode it was established that he married a woman and has a daughter. So he was out and gay and then went back into the closet, got married and had a kid, and then came back out and re-joined his gay friends? None of this makes any sense.

r284 I beg to differ!

Replace Lavin with Karen Walker.

I say add Carol Burnett to the cast.

I don't get Hulu, so I won't be able to watch the show.

How did they handle Linda Lavin's death?

R295, he was a gay Mormon boy whose love for Jesus compelled him to follow the straight path and get married and have a kid. However, his love for dick kept him straying and his wife outed him to the whole community, which got him shunned and expelled.

But r300 he would've been a teenager in the early 90s when he was running around Fire Island.

R301, we don't know how old Jerry is supposed to be, but he was the dead friend George's young boytoy, which is how he got to know Bunny and Arthur.

Wouldn't be the first, r301.

One criticism I do have is the show needs to be about 5 minutes longer per episode to really develop the writing and characters.

[quote] You’re judging this sitcom from its few episodes against the best episodes of the best sitcoms of all time.

The Empty Nest backdoor pilot's worst joke was still better than Mid-Century Modern's best one. The show is just a reminder how low the creativity bar is now for sitcom writers.

Bomer's character is the typical blonde bimbo, but a gayer and dumber version. It is really pathetic to see Bomer playing so stupid. IN EVERY SCENE HE IS STUPID. He should be embarrassed.

Nathan Lane Dishes On His New Hulu Series 'Mid-Century Modern'

How do we think it compares to Hot In Cleveland?

[quote]I say add Carol Burnett to the cast.

Or Richard Chamberl--- never nind.

Nathan Lane is playing to the rafters.

When has Nathan Lane not played to the rafters? He is channeling his character in Bird Cage here.

Sharon Stone

Nathan Lane channels BIRD CAGE-Albert Goldman Nathan Graham channels POSE-Elektra Matt Bomer channels GOLDEN GIRLS-ROSE

Will this go the distance like Will and Grace or Golden Girls? Probably not.

[QUOTE] Bomer's character is the typical blonde bimbo, but a gayer and dumber version. It is really pathetic to see Bomer playing so stupid. IN EVERY SCENE HE IS STUPID. He should be embarrassed.

And, R306? It’s a sitcom, for Christ sake. Not a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. What’s wrong with Bomer being stupid? He is still caring, intuitive and personable—redeemable qualities that explain why his friends like him and tolerate his thickheadedness. Why are some folks so upset that Bomer’s playing a dumb himbo? Maybe that’s what he wanted.

Linda is really good on this show. It’s going to be a blow to lose her early on. As completely different from Alice as you could get.

A scat theme song by Linda could've helped.

[QUOTE] Linda is really good on this show. It’s going to be a blow to lose her early on.

She was fantastic. And the send-off they gave her made it all worth watching. It was the capstone that made me happy I spent a day binge watching this season.

I think all of the cast is really good in this. Including Bomer. He is endearing and sweet.

[quote]Why are some folks so upset that Bomer’s playing a dumb himbo?

The large majority of actors aren't able to play any kind of role they want and have the audience believe it. Some people are better suited to certain things. I agree with the person that said, that he is better suited for a role where he is handsome and smart. Not handsome and stupid.

Also they made him both the Blanche and the Rose (they pushed the Golden Girls comparison on their own) but Rose Nyland wasn't stupid--she was naïve. And a lot of the thinking behind her being "stupid" related to her stories about her very small and isolated home town, St. Olaf where the town itself would do things that were very odd. Rose was from a place where everyone thought like her. He's not playing it any better or even at the same level as Rue or Betty did. I think it takes a lot of skill to play that kind of role well.

He could pull off being the slutty one just fine and the very nuanced Rose type-role could have gone to someone else. Mario Cantone, for instance, could have pulled that off more easily and he's actually 65.

I like him as an actor, I just agree that he is miscast here.

Nathan Lee Graham’s character seemed closer to Blanche to me. He’s not an exact copy (none of them are) but personality-wise he’s basically a black gay Blanche Devereaux.

Ehhh Rose Nylund did become a complete idiot by seasons 5-7. R319

[quote] Cheri Oteri in ep 3 was a delight. MORE of her. I laughed out loud only at her

I loved her appearance in that episode. I also liked NLG's character filling as the flight attendant.

Some episodes I feel like Nathan Lee Graham is the best part of the episode and then it seems like he’s overbearing as hell.

Did anyone else notice that Isaac Mizrahi is credited as a producer in the last episode? I only noticed it then, he may have also been credited for other episodes as well.

[quote] I also liked NLG's character filling as the flight attendant.

It was funnier when Will did it on Will & Grace

It's not gelling for me as of the end of episode 2, except for scenes where Linda Lavin is interacting with one of the Nathans. She's wonderful, of course, but I'd expect no less. The rest of it is pretty cringeworthy, especially the dance numbers. I don't care if extra-flamey Fire Island buddies really do that sort of thing to entertain themselves, it's not entertaining for me to watch.

Yeah, they could break away from the Golden Girls comparisons by making Pamela Adlon a regular. She's got the sarcasm of a Sophia with the self-deprecation of Gen X. I'd love to see her trying to date straight men in Palm Springs who are stuck in the Nirvana/grunge rock era. And she can deliver a joke.

Nathn and Matt on GMA

Bunny Schneiderman is some name. I wish I had a friend like Bunny who has a 3-million-dollar Palm Springs house.

R51 why couldn't that have been the damn show!!

Was that so fucking hard Ryan Murphy et all?

Made it approximately 6 minutes into the first episode and was like... nope!

I watched the first episode, and won't watch any others. Lame, but when I saw the names David Kohan and Max Mutchnick in the credits, I figured it was shit. Those two dinosaurs, and James Brooks, are stuck in the 90s.

Matt Bomer's character could never be as simple/dumb as portrayed after working as a flight attendant for so many years. You get to know and deal with all types, and you need a certain amount of smarts to survive. I know it is a comedy sitcom, and the characters are 2 dimensional, but a bit more intelligence from his character could make him more interesting. Sorry, not sorry.

And that’s what I love about it R332.

Pamela Adlon is one of those performers who can make almost any dialogue work.

Matt Bomer has a nice ass.

[QUOTE] Matt Bomer's character could never be as simple/dumb as portrayed after working as a flight attendant for so many years. You get to know and deal with all types, and you need a certain amount of smarts to survive. I know it is a comedy sitcom, and the characters are 2 dimensional, but a bit more intelligence from his character could make him more interesting. Sorry, not sorry.

Yes, after so many years working the complex and elaborate job of serving food to people on airplanes, you’d think he’d be up for a Mensa membership by now.

An abomination. A fucking walking hate crime of a show. Nothing but dated gay stereotypes, right down to the second episode being titled “Working Girls.”

You see, because gay men always refer to each other as “girls.” They’re basically catty women with dicks. Lots of jokes about threesomes and PrEP. One of the three being called a “bitch” repeatedly. Because gay men are just effeminate jokes.

Speaking of jokes, wow. The greatest crime is the show is beyond unfunny.

It’s astounding that people were paid to write this homophobic garbage.

Being a flight attendant is just a bit more than serving food. Most flights don't even offer meal service.

Bomer is not believable as a flight attendant.

He' just not insane enough.

Fun fact: One of Matt Bomer's first acting roles was playing a flight attendant in "Flight Plan," which was the movie where Jodie Foster's daughter disappeared on a transatlantic flight.

I watched the first couple of episodes, and I enjoyed it. There aren't many sitcoms these days; this is one of the best I've seen in a long time. It made me laugh a few times. It has a rating of Mature, so they can be wild with the jokes. I'm gonna be sad after Linda Lavin's last episode. She is awesome in this role.

Bomer better have a story line about a 3 way in the rest room on a flight from LAX to MIA so we can see Bunny plotz.

The pilot is awful but the later episodes aren’t as bad. Not great but not as shite as the first one.

It has “Will & Grace” syndrome where the humor is based on bad and cliched gay stereotypes. The problem is “Will & Grace” is nearing 30-years-old and that gay “Amos and Andy”-style humor is beyond dated. It feels cheap and easy.

Graham is the funniest but Nathan Lane’s participation is borderline science fiction. He’s way too slovenly and haggard to be believable as best friends with the other two. A running gag is that they’ve never seen him with his shirt off and indeed there are pool and hot tub scenes where he’s submerged and wearing a T-shirt. It reeks of laziness that he couldn’t put down the fork and be presentable for the camera so they just cover up his bad body,

Lots of f-bombs and profanity mainly for shock value.

On the plus side, it’s decent comfort TV for the background. And the home set is very stylish.

Hopefully they find a more talented writing crew because there is potential there.

When the punchline is, “Bitch,” you know the scripts suck.

The writing reminds me of the Frasier reboot. I WANT to like it, but the jokes just aren't that great.

I was very moved by the Linda Lavin memorial episode. I cried. And there are a few solid laughs per episode.

Maybe it's just that the day of the 3 camera sitcom has passed. No one can write them anymore, it appears.

Oh my God Billie Lourd was just THE PITS in her episode. It seemed like she was struggling not to look into the camera.

Yeah, I detected no talent from Billie Lourd in that scene.

She was on AHS:NYC and was atrocious. Billie that is.

Definitely improved after the first couple of episodes when they weren’t trying so hard. Enjoyed it well enough and laughed out loud often. They could probably use someone a but younger in the writers room for more of a “Hacks” vibe. But I can say I have definitely known some wealthy “I don’t take my shirt off” gays and I also think Matt’s dimness is adorable, it’s not meant to be reality. I don’t get the love for Pamela Adlon’s character though, she’s dreary-looking and whiny.

I cracked up at the scene where Bunny has Pamela Adlon's character in a headlock.

I cried so much in the tribute episode to Linda Lavin. It was truly beautiful.

If you watch early episodes of almost all sitcoms they aren’t very good. It takes time to find your rhythm, and find the right tone for the character. It also takes the writers some time to figure out the characters, and play to an actor’s strengths.

I thought the episode of Matt Bomer's character meeting his daughter was the worst one.

The press tour for this is annoying me so I know the actual show will.

[quote]If you watch early episodes of almost all sitcoms they aren’t very good. It takes time to find your rhythm, and find the right tone for the character. It also takes the writers some time to figure out the characters, and play to an actor’s strengths.

Nathan Lee Graham had his rhythm/tone from the first episode. Nathan Lane is playing to the rafters on Venus and Bomer is performing at sketch comedy level.

I didn’t recognize Nancy Lee Grahn.

r34 Actually if this is true, that would be a funny concept for a sitcom. Group of men have to put on absurd sitcom together.

r344 So you're both complaining about stereotypes while also saying the other two wouldn't be friends with Lane's character because he has a bad body?

Replace the sister with Matt's flight attendant colleague

[QUOTE] Graham is the funniest but Nathan Lane’s participation is borderline science fiction. He’s way too slovenly and haggard to be believable as best friends with the other two. A running gag is that they’ve never seen him with his shirt off and indeed there are pool and hot tub scenes where he’s submerged and wearing a T-shirt. It reeks of laziness that he couldn’t put down the fork and be presentable for the camera so they just cover up his bad body,

I’ve seen multiple threads filled with DLers who are too self conscious to ever take their shirts off. I know people gay AND straight who have those same insecurities about their bodies. Shirts on at the beach, shirts on by the pool. Sex with their shirts on. I thought it would be hailed as a realistic portrayal of a type of gay man we never see on TV or movie screens. But here it’s a conspiracy for Nathan Lane’s man boobs.

I think people like you hate that character because you expect him to be a lonely old shut-in. “How could someone who looks like him possibly have any friends who don’t look like him? How could he go out and have fun sometimes? How could he still be getting laid?” Believe it or not, it happens. Maybe Bunny was a different guy when they first connected. Maybe he had a flatter stomach back then and his friends still love him despite the fact that it’s gone.

R361 thank you for responding to that ridiculous comment. Often here on DL I've noticed people can't fathom circumstances other than their own. OF COURSE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE CAN BE FRIENDS! The way they set it up, that Bomer was the younger boyfriend of one of them who died, was perfectly reasonable. And the two Nathans being friends makes sense- similar ages, both fairly sophisticated and worldly.

There are issues with the show, but the premise isn't so out there.

I started watching today. There’s room for improvement but it’s not bad. Bomer’s attempts at humor sometimes feel forced but he’s better in the sincere moments. The closeted Mormon subplot in the Fire Island episode was surprisingly moving. Lane is a bit broad but I find him amusing, and Graham and Lavin are great.

I read a review that mentioned an episode where Bomer's character is pegged by a Lauren Boebert-type neighbor.

Seriously?

Bomer's character is dull and just too innocent in the big gay world he travels in. Nobody can stay this stupid while travelling the world, just too much of a stretch to believe.

R265 the problem with the Fraiser revival was the writing. Mediocre and lukewarm.

The episode where Sybil dies was very well done. Excellent balance of humor and poignancy. A fitting send off for Linda Lavin.

[quote] I think people like you hate that character because you expect him to be a lonely old shut-in. “How could someone who looks like him possibly have any friends who don’t look like him? How could he go out and have fun sometimes? How could he still be getting laid?” Believe it or not, it happens. Maybe Bunny was a different guy when they first connected. Maybe he had a flatter stomach back then and his friends still love him despite the fact that it’s gone.

Wow, project much, R361?

Let’s try this less diplomatically: Lane looks way too old to be “best friends” with the other two for decades. Because he is. He’s 70 while Graham is in his mid 50s and Bomer is in his late 40s.

When the characters start reminiscing about shared events from 30 years ago, it rings incredibly false, especially with Bomer who looks like he’s in his 30s.

Also, the show isn’t meant to be “realistic.” It’s pure fantasy. And - shocker - audiences like watching visually appealing people. Lane doesn’t even have a neck anymore. He looks like a manatee. And he plays to the cheap seats in every scene. His performance in the COVID episode is so over the top and near unwatchable. He’s the least funny of the three. Horribly cast.

So relax. No one is insulting the 3XL t-shirt you wear to the beach each summer, tubbo.

[quote]Let’s try this less diplomatically

You mean you're going to move the goalposts since you got shown up for your previous idiotic comments. Problem is you sound just as idiotic this time around too.

[quote] You mean you're going to move the goalposts since you got shown up for your previous idiotic comments. Problem is you sound just as idiotic this time around too.

Move the goalposts? “Shown up?” Sweetheart, spend more time working on your unsightly gut that requires a summer tarp instead of playing semantic games that you’re unqualified to engage.

You’re obviously the fat guy in whatever sad social group you think you belong which is why you’re so irrationally defensive about an obese, ugly, fictional TV character. You’re the anchor everyone wants to ditch when they’re trying to hook up with hot guys. When everyone takes off their shirts on the dance floor, you run to the restroom and then hide at the bar. It’s the truth and you lie to yourself daily to rationalize that truth.

I know. It hits too close to home. But the Nathan Lane character isn’t you despite the advanced age, rancid personality and physical resemblance. And your “friends” probably tolerate you because you’re the non-threatening designated driver and pick up the check to buy your relationships.

Aren’t you ready for a change?

Why not try exercising and employing some self-discipline so you can ditch that embarrassing and obvious tent you wear during pool season and can start living without shame? You could change your empty, meaningless, hollow life with just a little bit of effort.

Bitter fat people like you are often some of the nastiest, meanest most entitled individuals. You are no exception. Angry at the world with zero self control and envious of anyone who doesn’t have to shop at a big and tall store.

Think of how nice it would be to look in the mirror without crying and wanting to vomit. Imagine people actually being attracted to you for once. It’s never too late.

Get a Zepbound prescription, buy a treadmill and start living your life without anger. You can make the change and not be the miserable, bitter, fat cunt you’ve been for decades. We’re all rooting for you, Gordita. 😘

Well, it looks like we finally found the writer for Datalounge, The Movie. R370, you are a true wordsmith. And a cunt. Bravo.

r370 Do you actually think anyone reading that is thinking anything other than "projection"?

And yes, moving the goalposts. Your original argument was about Lane's body. You were ridiculed and then claimed you were actually talking about his age.

R368 is the insufferable InstaHo from the Dallas lip gloss queen thread.

R370 you must be a scream at parties.

Let's not forget that the short-lived "Encore, Encore" was not Miss Lane's first foray into the sitcom world. Who remember this piece of shit from 1982?

Mickey Rooney in a sitcom? What could go wrong.

"I was the biggest star in the world. In the wooooorld!"

[quote]I’ve seen multiple threads filled with DLers who are too self conscious to ever take their shirts off. I know people gay AND straight who have those same insecurities about their bodies

Of all the things on this show that didn’t sit right with me, this wasn’t one of them. I actually believed it completely.

They made it clear that Bunny is a kind, funny guy with money, and--more importantly--his friends genuinely like him for who he is. He’s never been fully comfortable in his own body, even when he was younger. And while some people clearly found him attractive, he never picked up on it because of his own internal hang-ups.

I actually know someone like that in real life. He’s incredibly kind, super smart, and very wealthy. But I’ve never once seen him take his shirt off--and honestly, it doesn’t matter. No one in our group is trying to sleep with him; we just like having him around. He’s thoughtful, funny, and makes everyone feel included. Still, he’s got this silent battle going on in his head, and it’s not something any of us are a part of.

I even tried dating him years ago, but I couldn’t get past how self-deprecating and deflective he was. It made it impossible to have a real conversation about my feelings. I ended up walking away from it, but a years later we actually talked it through--and he had no idea I’d ever been into him. None.

So yeah, as you said, Bunny is absolutely a type of person that exists. We’ve seen plenty of people talk about similar struggles over the years. I don’t know what that other poster’s issue was, but this one? This one rang true.

It's fine, I enjoy comfort shows. I also REALLY want the blown glass Milano purse behind Lavin in her first scene.

Can Jonathan please make a guest appearance as Matt's ex-bf and save the show?

Who played the sexy housekeeper on episode 6 and are there nudes? hmmm, asking for a friend who can't type, thx.

May r381 remain single-handed

[quote]Move the goalposts? “Shown up?” Sweetheart, spend more time working on your unsightly gut that requires a summer tarp instead of playing semantic games that you’re unqualified to engage.

Savage. I love it.

That said, R370, your response would have been much more effective if you had simply ended it after the first sentence.

I resisted it for 3/4 of episode one because it's a very laborious set up and all its faults are on its sleeve. Finally I loosened up and by episode 2 I liked it.

I assumed Matt is playing 10-15 years older than his age. They said in Episode 1 he is like Rob Lowe - ageless.

Bomer can't really act for a sitcom. He's too broad and his line readings are rather stilted. He's good in drama, though.

He’s doing fine. He’ll get better next season, just like everything else on the show.

The mom dying episode was extremely well done, dare I say Emmy worthy. I both cried and laughed.

You know what this show needs - Dan Levy. He could be the Heather Locklear that saves the show.

R365 Perhaps the character is autistic just as the actor portraying him.

It works, it’s very funny in the mechanical way of the best TV sitcoms of the ‘70 - ‘90s. Yes, it traffics in stereotypes, yes, as a genre it feels retrograde, but the honesty about gay male sexual mores is new, the house set is luxe, and the whole thing hums amusingly along in the smooth-as-a-limosime way that the talent behind the scenes has honed since the year one.

And the cast —clichès all — know what they’re doing and I like each of them and think they work well as an ensemble. What can I say? I find it very entertaining.

I hope they order more episodes for this first season soon. 10 is too few.

I keep wanting to call it Mid-Century Madam.

The issue is money. Nathan and Matt don't work cheap so it will take a gaggle of gays to love this show to make it profitable amongst the zillions of streaming options available. At least they didn't spend too much money on the house set. A nice outdoor house pic can't be too much, and the interior rooms are very simple looking. There is no Glee or AHS budget here, unless it all goes to salaries.

R393 I imagine that season one is only meant to be 10 episodes.. And season 2, if it happens, will be 10 as well.

[quote] I hope they order more episodes for this first season soon. 10 is too few.

Eight is enough

[quote]I keep wanting to call it Mid-Century Madam.

Isn't that what people call you?

See r398 is exactly something dorothy would say to blanche

Mid-Century Mediocrity.

Bomer works better in the heartfelt scenes, like with his character's daughter or Zane Philips. 5 episodes in he's only made me chuckle once, when his character realized how the name of the Chauvette Inn was pronounced.

I hope someone picked it up! How careless, gay films are very fragile!

Matt put on just a few glorious lbs since the Traveler series. He's in full bloom, absolute perfection for his age.

R403, I was thinking he looked as trim as usual, adorable but less sexy than in “Fellow Travelers.” But I think he’s good in this as the sweet ex-Mormon.

This show isn't going to win any Emmys, but it's a perfectly pleasant comfort show, especially if you grew up watching sitcoms like this. I hope it gets a second season.

Thank goodness Ryan Murphy didn't cast Billy Porter in the Nathan Lee Graham role.

It's ironic that Linda Lavin was starring in two shows and having a career revival, and then suddenly dropped dead. She was on her way to being revered like Betty White.

Linda Lavin deserved to drop dead after what she did to me!

Billy Porter is difficult and has burned many bridges, probably with Ryan Murphy too, especially after Pose.

If Billy Porter was Arthur, I wouldn’t have watched a single episode.

Same r408. I can't stand him at all.

He's also a Simon Halls client, maybe he was pitched for the part and Mutchnik flat out said "no" because he knows Porter would've been awful.

I would DIE of happiness if they added David Hyde Pierce

Parker Posey next season as a former lorazepam addict who is starting a new life on her own and becomes a Palm Springs fag hag.

[quote]This show isn't going to win any Emmys,

Given half the shit they've repeatedly rewarded Emmys to, I wouldn't say it's any worse.

Nathan and Linda are actually trending pretty high on Gold Derby for nominations. Emmys have eight or nine in each category for some ridiculous reason now, so its very likely they could both get in.

[quote]Nathan and Linda are actually trending pretty high on Gold Derby for nominations.

Tell me you know nothing about show business without telling me you know nothing about show business.

Well it's no "The Bear" or whatever the hit is this year among the faux intellectual elite, but whatever R413.

The Emmys have become the Oprah awards, where you get a nomination, and you get a nomination!! So I'm sure their chances are just as good.

Unless someone desperately needs to win a fourth time of course.

Oh, it’s worse. Much worse.

[quotes]The Emmys have become the Oprah awards, where you get a nomination, and you get a nomination!! So I'm sure their chances are just as good.

No, that’s not what happens at all.

The Emmys award nearly every nomination to a handful of programs that the Academy loves. For example last year nearly every comedy nomination went to Hacks, Abbott Elementary, Only Murders in the Building, Palm Royale and The Bear.

If your show is not an industry darling, you can forget about a nomination.

[quote]If your show is not an industry darling, you can forget about a nomination.

Tell ME you know nothing about show business without telling me you know nothing about show business.

Let's run down the list, shall we?

Matt Bomer, married to a well-known and popular Hollywood agent. Check!

Ryan Murphy, a perennial Emmy favorite, who has had a lengthy track record of nominated and award-winning shows, Check!

Max Mutchnik and David Kohan, creators of Will and Grace, only one of four shows where all of the cast members won Emmys, check!

James Burrows, legendary Emmy award winning director of Emmy favorites such as Cheers and Friends. Check!

You can't get any more industry than that.

Matt Bomer is married to a despised publicist.

Ryan Murphy still gets nominations for his prestigious projects like Feud: Capote vs Swans. His low-hanging fruit is ignored. (Murphy produces garbage like 911 and this.)

Mutchnik and Kohan are one-hit wonders and James Burrows is a relic from another era.

No, this won’t get Emmy nominations. You are wasting your time.

R416 What came first the chicken or the egg?

You sound absurd.

I agree it’s not Emmy-worthy, it’s too derivative and too much a re-tread.

That said, it’s done with a high degree of polish and professionalism, and laughs come along at regular intervals. It’s easy on the eyes and quite entertaining. I hope it gets renewed.

r418 Why is Simon, Matt Bomer's husband hated??

Jamie Lee Curtis as a leathery cocktail waitress who is their crazy lady friend!

I did laugh uproariously, but only one time. At the opening credits to Ep. 5: "Producer Austen Faggen."

R410 David Hyde Piece could make a fun addition to the cast. Especially if his character is very different from Niles.

Was it just me or did the description Bunny gave of his mothers death sound pretty much the same as the way that Linda's husband described her real life death in that video he released? I do not want to watch his video again.

Get rid of laughtrack, the sister and child and the show might survive

Who was the hunky housecleaner? Bring him back, in less.

This show is actually getting a better reception than I thought it would. Many reviews from critics & viewers are positive. There is a lot of demand for a second season.

R424 David Hyde Pierce should be cast as the recurring villain of the series, and the arch-rival of Nathan Lane's character.

Think Pepper Saltzman or Beverly Leslie. Someone who shows up a few times every season to make catty remarks, stir envy, and be hoisted by their own petard.

Yes, r426 . The creators got permission from her husband to use the same events to pay tribute.

Nathan Lane can turn straw into gold no matter what the medium is.

Someone better be listening - we want David Hyde Pierce dammit!

And another plus - it'll really piss off Kelsey Grammer.

I do wonder if the chance of a second season is reduced by the way Disney is clearly bending the knee to the right

The creators got permission from her husband to use the same events to pay tribute.

R430 - does she leave a roast in the oven?

I'd rather watch this show and Mama's Family than The Bear. Sometimes you just want to watch a familiar comfort show. Not everything has to be pretentious high-art.

Some gay nostalgia beats The Bear on a rainy gay/day.

Get rid of what child?

The Billie Lourd character I assume

[quote] Nathan and Linda are actually trending pretty high on Gold Derby for nominations. Emmys have eight or nine in each category for some ridiculous reason now, so its very likely they could both get in.

Gold Derby predictions don't mean shit. The experts and editors over there have made plenty of stupid predictions that never happened. When that cunt Rita Moreno did that stupid One Day At A Time remake, the experts and editors predicted that she would have Emmy nominations, but she was never nominated. Another memorable dumb fuck Gold Derby prediction was the idiots who kept predicting that Viola Davis was going to get an Emmy nomination for her atrocious portrayal of Michelle Obama in the minseries The First Lady.

The show feels like a mid 2000s sitcom.

Wow this is bad

the three main characters have intriguing contradictions.

r439 cares about awards far too much

3 episodes in. My bf moaned through the pilot episode but by the end he was glad he'd stuck with it and wanted to immediately watch ep 2 and 3. Nathan calmed it down a bit by episode 2. It does have a warm and almost nostalgic feel to it, and theres a place for that. Maybe its TV for the type of people producers have forgotten to make TV for anymore. Im keen to watch the rest of the series. Im a Huge GG and Friebds fan and i like the sitcom setup. The cast just needs to stop performing like theyre on a broaway stage. . its very shouty. Id LOVE to see outdoor scenes of Palm springs, if your seeing this Mr Murphy.

The Emmys are incredibly lazy when it comes to diversifying their nominations and winners, even more so since they've enlarged their nominee pool to upwards of eight for each category. They tend to stick with the same bunch for a repeated number of years.

The Bear got atrocious reviews for season 3, but will no doubt score a bunch of nominations, just because.

I love Abbott Elementary, but again, it's the same group who get nominated over and over.

Julia Louis Dreyfuss winning six in a row for a one-dimensional performance that was derivative of Elaine Benes from Seinfeld was another one.

There's no great depth or thought that goes into these awards shows.

Just finished episode 6 and I regret my earlier so so review. They found their grove. The one where they hire the hot house boy is very funny. Very much a trifle, but very amusing and comforting.

I think a lot of these judgmental asshole DLers gave up too early. Then again many of them didn’t want to give it a chance in the first place.

I agree with those who didn’t like the first episode and almost gave up. I’m glad I kept watching, it gets a lot better. The only thing I dislike about it is the obnoxious laugh track (if it’s a live audience they definitely mix canned laughter in there.)

A damn shame that Linda Lavin passed away so suddenly; she was a great cast member.

Behind the scenes.

R449 That was a cute segment. I think it's nice that they have such fond memories of Linda Lavin and that Matt Bomer has a piece of her jewelry he touches before they go out and tape.

GLAAD interview

Advocate

[quote] Matt Bomer has a piece of her jewelry he touches before they go out and tape.

MARY!

I hope Hulu gives it another season, but it's not looking good. It was in Hulu's top 15 shows for a day or two and then quickly left.

It reminds me of Call Me Kat, the remake of Miranda, with Mayim Bialik.

The black guy is just annoying and Bomer cannot do comedy. The set is awful. The writing is embarrassing. Everything about this show is one big NO.

Miranda is one of the unfunniest shows in history and should never have been made to begin with.

Miranda is hysterical. Call me Kat was awful.

Mayim Bialik is the meeskite daughter who should've been sent to a Kibbutz in Israel instead of being on television.

Then this is def Call Me Kat

Would you care for 108 minutes of Nathan Lane?

Deleted scene

Matt Bomer is entering a new stage of his career with this series which is B list all the way. He probably peaked at A- with some of his other gay roles, especially Travellers.

Linda Lavin's final episode is odd. She's away for some event, and she becomes reaquainted with a man played by Judd Hirsch. She goes to bed with him and that's it.

She doesn't appear in the "tag" with the other regular characters, as the format of the show would dictate. I wonder if they were meant to tape that tag with her later, but her death prevented it. As it is, her storyline (the B plot of that episode) is kinda left hanging.

All of our storylines will be “kinda left hanging” too when we die.

R463 career immolation for Duckling!

I can only dream that AI will die during the great recession.

I think the live audience may be what is making the performances come off as more theater than TV studio. It actually would have made a good play.

R463 How could you possibly predict that Matt Bomer has reached his peak? Especially since you seem to think his last role (before this one) was his best performance?

The show is very gay cliche. There is nothing sharp or cutting edge about it. If this was 2000-2005 it would be really something to watch, but alas, times have changed and young gaylings really think it is tacky and soulless.

Matt Bomer deserves better.

R469 Bomer HAD established himself as a good dramatic actor. And NOW he has reinvented himself as a bad comedic one.

R464 Apparently, Lavin only shot seven episodes before her death. Her subplot in the eighth was created with footage shot for the Covid episode (in both, she’s away at a hotel).

Yeah, if there is a second season, which I think there will be, they've got to smarten Matt Bomer up a little. Agree, r441. We get it, he's boyish and innocent. Does he have to be retarded? Will there be an episode where he bursts into tears when somebody cuts his cheeseburger in half?

Somebody, please fixted this man!

A "special episode" in which Nathan Lane's character gets raped would liven things up.

[quote] Will there be an episode where he bursts into tears when somebody cuts his cheeseburger in half?

Only if they film him in real life.

R465 no no I mean the story of her B plot within the episode. Usually, we'd get her in the tag explaining what happened with her and Judd Hirsch. Like are they planning to see each other again, or was it just a one night stand. I suspect the plan was to tape the tag of that episode when they returned from break.

The following episode starts with her alive (though off-screen.) and she dies within the episode.

The hub and I watched about ten minutes of it, said “nope” and went back to HGTV. Even David Bromstad looks butch compared to this drek.

The first episode was terrible—but that’s usually the case because the actors haven’t gelled.

The second episode proved that Nathan Lane can make anything funny. The Black queen man was funny too. Bomer is terribly miscast.

R479 I know what you mean but he grew on me/got better as the season progressed.

[quote]The Black queen man was funny too.

"The Black queen man"????

I wish they would replace Linda Lavin with Delta Burke.

Excuse me, the black queen man has a NAME:

Flouncy Magoo.

[quote] Only if they film him in real life.

My guess is that in real life the crying would begin when the cheeseburger is first served instead of the small cucumber-and-radish salad sans dressing that was ordered.

[quote] The Black queen man

Black man! Black man! Where have you gone to?

This should be the only tv show allowed in the prison system. Play it 24/7 on a loop. It would open minds and hearts of so many. It is that good of a show.

R437 THANK YOU for that info! Now her final episode makes sense to me!

I turned it off after 10 minutes. Shit. Dear God!

If you wanted to hear Linda Lavin scream "eat my ass!" you are in luck.

Matt Bomer on the Tonight Show.

The casts Favorite Musicals.

R428, R431 = Nathan Lane, inhaling a box of Hydrox.

Bomer just made Drew Barrymore cream her panties.

Good. Keep the publicity rolling to ensure we get a second season.

The cast on The Drew show

I watched one episode then put on The Case of the Libertine Belle to see some real comedy.

For those who bailed after ten minutes, you missed the scene where they go to the Chauvette Inn… which was just an excuse to make the riotous joke when they realize it is pronounced shove-it-in.

Get it? It’s comedic genius.

I binged the show yesterday and I thought it was fun. I even liked Bomer. I wasn't expecting much and the comedy is corny but I think it's just what I needed after obsessing over my retirement money tanking for the past few days.

Will & Grace was an example of lightning striking minimally talented people (Kohan & Mutchnik). That’s why they’ve never had another hit - not only that, but why everything else they have made is simply bad.

Everything.

Not one good show.

• Boston Common (1996–1997): A comedy about a man who follows his sister to college and becomes involved in campus life. 

• Good Morning, Miami (2002–2003): Follows a talented young TV producer who arrives in Miami to revamp the lowest-rated morning show in the country.  • The Stones (2004): A sitcom about a divorced couple who continue to live together while dating other people. 

• Four Kings (2006): Chronicles the lives of four lifelong friends sharing an apartment in New York City. 

• Twins (2005–2006): A comedy about twin sisters with contrasting personalities who inherit their parents’ lingerie company. 

• $#*! My Dad Says (2010–2011): Based on a popular Twitter feed, this sitcom features a young man who moves in with his outspoken father. 

• Partners (2012): A comedy about two lifelong friends and business partners whose “bromance” is tested when one of them gets engaged. 

• Clipped (2015): Set in a barbershop, this sitcom follows a group of coworkers navigating their personal and professional lives. 

What is that accent Lavin is doing in this? I much preferred her New Jersey Alice accent.

She was so hysterical in her guest turn on Rhoda. Kinda unfortunate she had to be the defacto straight man on Alice.

[quote] Four Kings (2006): Chronicles the lives of four lifelong friends sharing an apartment in New York City.

Hmmm.....I wonder where they got that idea from?

I watched the first episode - will eventually watch some of the rest, but nothing in that episode "grabbed" me, and made me really want to watch the rest.

R501 clipped was an outright ripoff of Cheers down to the Boston setting and even had George Wendt

They’re ripping off Cheers and The Golden Girls, these guys are stuck in Reagan’s America

Queerty

r441, is there context to that clip? Is Bomer's character supposed to be high at that moment or is that actually how his character is throughout the show?

‘Mid-Century Modern’ Star Nathan Lane: A Gay Sitcom “More Important Than Ever” While “All Our Rights Are Under Threat” – Contenders TV

Deleted scene. This is even worse than I imagined

Compounding it is the fact that he does the thing with his eyes that autistic people do and doesn’t appear to look at anything, which makes him seem retarded-retarded.

I’ll watch Nathan Lane in anything. He’s so funny he’s actually sexy

Screen Rant

I'm surprised at how amateurish Matt Bomer is on this show, he doesn't know how to act for a sitcom.

Bomer's character is way out there. It isn't fully written yet. It's not easy to play that stupid and Bomer is doing ok imo

[quote] clipped was an outright ripoff of Cheers down to the Boston setting and even had George Wendt

I remember that show. It aired during the summer time and it was ok enough show just to DVR and watch quickly. Wendt's character was gay and married to a guy play by Reginald VelJohnson and I also remember the remember the black lesbian barber who was funny here and there.

You have to really suspend reality to enjoy the show. These 3 just don't seem like they would be bosom buds for so many years. Matt Bomer would be with the Chelsea and West Hollywood boys, leaving the other 2 in the dust years ago.

Except he is borderline retarded and the old queens look out for him and provide family.

The borderline retarded character is the most tragic part about this

Bomer was mostly associated with a role that reduced him to his his body (Magic Mike), and, after a career best with Fellow Travekers, took a role that reduces him to that vacant stare in his eyes that makes him look like the Star Child from 2001

Stale, cliche, cringey, awkward

Do you want to listen to 18 minutes of this guy's review?

oh he does interviews.

Watched first two episodes. I'll give it a few more, but..

Hoo, boy. The interaction between the main guys just isn't working for me. I don't care about the backstory that much. With good dialogue and acting, that doesn't really matter with a sitcom. The Golden Girls constantly changed some of their history and family members, for example, but no one cared because the interaction between the girls was believable and hilariously bitchy.

Most of the characters are just too over the top. Both in the writing and the delivery. Bunny won't take off his shirt in bed with a guy like Antonio? Not believing it. Jerry honestly seems stupid and ignorant to the point of being mentally handicapped and Bomer just makes it worse with his acting.

The show is at its best when Linda is in the scene. RIP.

Several things don’t make sense

First of all, everyone agrees the pilot is terrible and the casting doesn’t work. This should have been identified during the table read. Lots of actors don’t make it past the table read. I remember they once tried to put Bryan Greenberg in a three-camera sitcom and he got replaced after the table read because not everyone can do 3-camera sitcoms and if you know Bryan Greenberg, he obviously is not right for one.

So it makes it past the table read with the bad casting. It goes to pilot.

The purpose of a pilot is to identify what works and what doesn’t. Typically the network (now streamer) sends the pilot back with notes and they reshoot the pilot. Now this has been circumvented by direct to series orders, BUT this particular show was filmed as a pilot. So it gets filmed as a pilot, the pilot is bad, and they don’t reshoot the pilot? Not only that, but they order it to series?

R520 Are you sure the pilot episode that aired wasn't the reshot version?

The original pilot could have been REALLY bad and reshot to be just bad.

But why would the streamer bother to order something which was bad when TV series orders are in severe retraction, when multicam sitcoms aren’t aligned with Hulu’s business model, the target audience is EXTREMELY niche, and the showrunners haven’t had ONE hit outside of the one sitcom they created 25 years ago?

Why do you constantly repeat the same thing over and over?

Nobody answered.

Muriel never told me that was a requirement, r524.

Ok episode 10 is really quite good. I actually laughed out loud by myself a few times which I never do.

The bit with Richard Kind at the tape recorder was great.

The show is good at best, ok for the rest. Is this the best Ryan Murphy and the Will and Grace duo can come up with? A better gay sitcom is out there somewhere.

Has anyone who worked on this show actually been to Fire Island? I literally laughed out loud when I saw the exterior of the house they were allegedly staying in.

Also someone that strip was made in one long weekend. From Palm Springs to Fire Island Pines? Did they fly private direct to Long Island MacArthur Airport ?

The pickleball episode is the only one I didn't like. I thought the episode dealing with Lavin's death was lovely with a nice tribute to her at the end. I enjoyed it very much but I took it for what it was: light entertainment.

r528 Not to mention the exterior shots of the club

I wonder if Andrew Rannells is pissed that he didn't get the Matt Bomer role.

Andrew Rannells is pissed he’s not playing a senior citizen?

He's pissed he's not on a sitcom and making a ton of $$$.

Andrew Rannells was on a sitcom. He was the star of Ryan Murphy’s The New Normal. As it was on a network instead of Hulu, and it had a 22 episode first season order instead on 10, he likely made more money than Bomer is making on this.

Bridget Everett should play their lesbian neighbor in season 2. I loved her in "Somebody Somewhere."

And r535 is lasted barely one season. This show looks good for renewal.

ROFL Jesus Christ what planet are you from r537

r538 the show is looking like it's going to get a second season. I think it's shit, but it might have a second season.

[quote]Andrew Rannells was on a sitcom. He was the star of Ryan Murphy’s The New Normal. As it was on a network instead of Hulu, and it had a 22 episode first season order instead on 10,

And it BOMBED.

…based on what

R540 I have news for you

Ratings do not effect how much a person makes per episode throughout a single season

Rannells was the star of a network series which received a 22-episode order, he made a decent amount of money.

r542 it still BOMBED. And Mid Century Modern looks like it's going to get picked up. And it's gotten a TON of press. Believe me, Rannells would love to be a part of this right now, it's not like he has much else going on.

“And Mid Century Modern looks like it's going to get picked up.”

…based on what? Press? The New Normal got much more press than Mid-Century Modern.

Are you like, autistic or something?

I was glad the sister didn't take the mom's room. They need to find a funny older lady to take the room. The mother of one of the other roommates.

r544 Mid Century Modern has had a huge amount of press, who the fuck remembers the New Normal?

OMG you are autistic! You don’t understand the concept of the passage of time!

r547 you're just a moron.

r538/r542/r544/r547 = Andrew Rannells

The New Normal had 22 episodes. Even in MCM gets renewed, it's only going to have 20.

"Mid-Century Modern" Cast Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Secrets from Iconic Films and TV Shows

They should bring in a revolving door of older actors and actors to fill the void left by Lavin instead of of replacing her with one person. Someone suggested Lesley Ann Warren who would be a hoot as Bomer's mom for an episode or two. Jenifer Lewis would also fit in with this cast.

The writers completely forgot about Nathan Lee Graham after the first few episodes. His character was reduced to one-liners and no storyline by the end of the season. Pamela Adlon got more of the focus than Graham.

I want Delta Burke as Bomer's mom.

r554 that's actually a great idea.

R553 I disagree. he had many conversations with all the cast and is revealed to have good insight when he bothers. Behind the caustic snark he is also protective.

If they bring in new blood it should be writers.

Is there an audience or is the laughter canned? It sounds canned.

The cast in interviews said the laughs were genuine though we think perhaps sweetened.

R558 It's filmed in front of an audience, but the laughter is "enhanced."

I watched the whole series, and it was a slog. Bonner cannot do comedy at all. I disagree about the Nathans. Nathan Lane plays what he always plays, a brash insecure nebbish…but he does it well. Graham to me is too studied as a sassy Black queen. Alvin is the breakout here, and she’s dead now. The scenes of try three queens dancing and doing girl group covers are painful.

[quote]It's filmed in front of an audience, but the laughter is "enhanced."

Are we talking electrified seats to prompt the laughter? Or does the show have goons with cattle prods standing off camera?

[quote]I watched the whole series, and it was a slog. Bonner cannot do comedy at all. I disagree about the Nathans. Nathan Lane plays what he always plays, a brash insecure nebbish…but he does it well. Graham to me is too studied as a sassy Black queen. Alvin is the breakout here, and she’s dead now. The scenes of try three queens dancing and doing girl group covers are painful.

Alvin? Bonner? Are you watching a different show?

The New Normal bombed because it was way ahead of its time. Middle America wasn’t ready for the frank gay talk in that show. It was far funnier than Mid Century Modern but it showed two men in bed and talking about gay sex acts.

I must admit I watched an episode a night- I've run out and I miss it.

I watched an episode a night as well. I liked it well enough, although it's far from perfect (see nearly all the critical comments above). Shoot me, but I like Nathan Lane's playing to the back of the Winter Garden Theater, and, yes, Matt Bomer was badly miscast and did what he could. Their house was hilariously too big and waaay over-decorated. I kept wondering how Bunny could afford it until about halfway through the 10 episodes he said something about owning 100 bra stores (even though he never seemed to actually work). I did enjoy the old-pro guest stars Judd Hirsch and Richard Kind (and the late Linda Lavin), as well as Zane Phillips (and was glad to see him and Kind back for the finale). Would I watch a second season? Sure, especially if they get better writers and less hackneyed plots.

On to the new season of Hacks!

I liked it.

It’s pretty nostalgic— makes you think of network sitcoms of the past. But, I found this comforting. And there’s always the frank material and language to balance out the old-fashioned parts.

Bomer’s character is supposed to be a ditz and former Mormon. So, I guess his blank, awkward qualities work to some extent.

This must sting for Bomer

May explain why he’s been so hyperactive on his IG

Not only is “Royal Pains” getting revived… but it has a broadcast network commitment.

Just finished it. I’m not sure multicams will ever again feel like anything other than anachronisms. We’ve moved on as viewers.

That said, I didn’t dislike it. Bomer actually worked for me. I believe he’s supposed to be playing older than he is (they allude to him being a Rob Lowe type who never looks his age), and his dim act covers some of what I usually find wooden about him.

R569 Royal Pains is getting a REBOOT? Why on earth? It was such a mild show.

I found the show kind of charming.

I liked the supporting characters.

It reminded me in tone of Call Me Kat with Mayim Bialik, Cheyenne Jackson and Swoozie Kurtz.

Why is it getting a reboot? Two words: White Lotus

A doctor to the rich in a posh closed off community, they can milk that. Plus it’s the kind of bland inoffensive show network tv offers these days.

Speaking of which, had Bomer not bungled it by doing Midcentury Modern, White Collar also could have been rebooted in the White Lotus mode

Move it to La Jolla or Santa Barbara or Napa, someplace full of rich assholes and scenery

Y’all are crazy. This is thoroughly enjoyable. It’s like watching tv in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Sweet and uncomplicated.

It's a balm for the soul, is what it is. People are really expecting prestige-level writing and issues in sitcoms now, I guess. "We gonna solve MAGA through our entertainment! Any day now!"

R573, the last time we saw Neal he was living in France.

In the second place, New York City never looked so ravishing as it did in White Collar, whether Matt Bomer was standing in front of it or not. How they made it look so perpetually summery, scaffolding-free and CLEAN still baffles me, but it was definitely one of the characters for which those of us who don't live there watched the show. Only a Californian could think anyone outside California would rather look at La Jolla.

There is no current term I despise more than "drop", but, since this is a turd, it fits.

If you say so.

I really enjoyed this. Actually re-watching some of the episodes. And Pamela Adlon was really great in the finale, I could see her filling the role left by Lavin’s passing. The pickle ball episode was funny too - I loved it when Bomer told Adlon, “We didn’t even keep score until you came along!”

I’m ready for Season 2.

I loved it far more than expected, r579.

Looks like there might not be a Season 2 at this point. 😢

Really? With all that talent involved? Hmm.

I really hope it’s renewed as it’s such a comfort watch.

Surely Ryan Murphy could get Netflix to buy it if Hulu doesn’t want a 2nd season. The whole production is just sitting there.

Netflix is not in the leftover business, particularly a show of disappointing quality.