Category Archives: Comedy

Comedy

Will & Grace Call it Quits After Three Seasons

(c) NBC

The cast of reboot comedy Will & Grace put up a united front over the weekend as they announced the unanimous decision to say a final goodbye to the show and characters we’ve all come to love over the past two decades.

The Will & Grace reboot has been one of the more successful reboots of late with the show returning for seasons nine through eleven after an eleven year hiatus. Over the weekend, the announcement to end the show was made through official statements and social media channels.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Wk1jMJg9m/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The final season is currently shooting and will have eighteen episodes in total, matching the extended tenth season of the show.

Will & Grace is currently streaming on STAN in Australia.

Comedy, FRONT

Bitter Sweet for Schitt’s Creek’s Season 6

Schitt’s Creek (streaming on Netflix here in Australia and on ABC Comedy) has gradually become one of those word-of-mouth shows that has, rightfully so, over it’s current five season run, found itself holding that rare ‘iconic cult’ status among fans new and old with its quick wit script, stellar cast (including Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy) strong character development and meme worthy moments that happen from literally every single episode. FYI, Schitt’s Creek has made my “best of” two years running in 2017 and 2018.

As we near towards the end of Season Five, co-creator and star Dan Levy announced that our beloved Rose family and residents of Schitt’s Creek will be back for a sixth season, but that sixth season will also the shows final one with Levy taking to his socials to make the announcement.

“We are very excited to announce that ‘Schitt’s Creek’ is coming back for a sixth season on CBC and Pop in 2020,” Levy posted. “We also wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that we have decided Season 6 will be our last. We are so grateful to have been given the time and creative freedom to tell this story in its totality, concluding with a final chapter that we had envisioned from the very beginning. It’s not lost on us what a rare privilege it is in this industry to get to decide when your show should take its final bow. We could never have dreamed that our fans would grow to love and care about these characters in the ways that you have.”

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The sixth and final season will see the show continue for another fourteen episodes due to premiere in 2020 in Canada and the US while for local Aussie fans, season five is due to hit Netflix sometime after it’s initial run on US and Canadian screens finishes up while the first three seasons are currently available on free-to-air via ABC Comedy

Side note, if Schitt’s Creek does not end with Alexis saying “Eww David!” then we riot! It’s only acceptable way to send off this amazing show!

Comedy, FRONT

Can ‘The Conners’ Survive Without Roseanne?

Lecy Goranson and Sara Gilbert in The Connors.  (c)ABC

Can Roseanne survive without Roseanne?  That’s the one big question on everyone’s tongues when it comes to the Roseanne rehash titled The Conners.  When Roseanne returned to screens earlier this year, it did so with a major political vengeance and brought in millions of viewers.  That version of the show retained its original biting humor and comedic look at working class living and offered a touching nod to the original. 

Then Roseanne went on a ambien induced twitter tirade that saw her make offence and racist comments about former Obama administration adviser Valerie Jarrett and suddenly ABC cancelled the show and cut all ties with its namesake thus leaving an entire staff of cast and crew suddenly out of a job.

The news also meant that here in Australia, Channel Ten pulled any unaired episodes off its schedule.

So as it goes, that didn’t last very long and show made a quick return to our screens, now titled ‘The Conners’ and did so without Roseanne allowing instead the series to land safely on the shoulders of John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Sara Gilbert.  Yes, Roseanne is gone and without adding spoilers, how she goes and the ripples it causes, continue throughout the first four episodes.  But don’t assume that’s the new tone of the show.  Roseanne’s absence causes the first episode to go to some dark places as Dan comes to terms with just what happened, how it happened and who was responsible but the overall tone remains the same blue collar family comedy, just with less political/pro trump propaganda that littered Roseanne’s reboot season.

As noted, Goodman, Metcalf and Gilbert come front and centre to take charge while Lecy Goranson (Becky) continues to improve with each and every episode.  It’s just a shame that Michael Fishman’s DJ Connor is kind of tossed to the side like an unwanted salad that came with your parma.  As a staple from the original series, he kind of had to be there but aside from his war veteran wife and daughter, Fishman retains the least amount of scenes of the core cast per episode.  

So long story short….The Conners works incredibly well without Roseanne.  There is an absence though you’re not distracted by it.  No beat was missed from Roseanne to The Conners and it’s a testament to the entire returning cast and crew who became unemployed off the back of one single cast member.

Premieres Thursday, 22 November From 7.30pm with a Double Episode on Network TEN

Comedy, FRONT, Netflix

Why Netflix’s Great News is Your New Binge Worthy Show

cd1d6dcfe67826f2a0bf15c7b8383377f6aea5ac
Briga Heelan and Nicole Ritchie star in Great News now streaming on Netflix Australia

To kick this review off, I’ll just start off my saying Great News is…well…GREAT!  Low-ball comedy here from me but Great News comes to us from trusted stock in the form of Tracey Wigfield, Tina Fey and Robert Carlock – all familiar names to those who knew and loved (and still love) 30 Rock.  

The pedigree of those behind the scenes shines through in the cutting yet hilarious take on life behind the camera on The Breakdown, a nightly news program broadcast from New Jersey where executive producer Greg (Adam Campbell) has to deal with egotistical and old-school co-anchor Chuck Pierce (John-Michael Higgins) and his millenial co-host Portia (Nicole Richie) while news producer and lead character Katie Wendleson (Briga Heelan) is trying to vie for meatier stories to work on all the while dealing with her helicopter mom Carol (Andrea Martin) who has just been hired as an intern.

But don’t think that the mother-daughter relationship that plays between Katie who is dying to earn more respect and responsibilities at work and her overbearing mother Carol who has found her way into Katie’s work life as an intern is your usual sit-com fare as the snappy and quick witted script pushes this work place comedy into territory seen in Arrested Development (and of course 30 Rock) and the gone-too-soon Ground Floor and Cougar Town.

Martin’s Andrea, who has been out of the workforce for decades has been hired (out of spite by Greg) to be Chuck Pierce’s intern who, in similar age to Andrea, is struggling to keep relevant in a fast moving, technological era where news stories are delivered via Snap Chat and Facebook and becomes increasingly worried his age and lack of ability to keep up will be the end of his reporting career.  And I quote “Like, who is Snapchat and is he one of the Minions? And are they all Pokémen?”

The biggest shame surrounding Great News is the fact it only survived two seasons before being cancelled by NBC only to find a new life in the world of on-demand television on Netflix.

Check out the trailer below:

Great News season one is now streaming on Netflix Australia

Channel 10, Comedy, FRONT

Review: Roseanne Revival Coming soon to Network Ten

roseanne1
Adam Rose / ABC

We’re strong into the era of the ‘reboot’ where the feelings of days gone by nostalgia is breathing new life into shows long forgotten.  Sometimes it works a treat and sometimes it leaves us with a nasty sour taste in our mouths.  Will & Grace came back with a force, molding itself into modern era culture and The X-Files continues it’s bumpy sci-fi ride traipsing through aliens and government conspiracies.  2009’s Melrose Place reboot lost viewers the moment anything relating to the original series was thrown out the window while Gilmore Girls Netflix revival seemed to have lost it’s quip and heart.

So where does Roseanne sit on the reboot/revival scale?  

Well, the ‘working class’ family comedy that debuted 30 years ago was biting in its humorous take on the less than glamorous, shining a light on everyday family problems from teenagers to low income, unemployment and health care though its final season embraced ‘jumping the shark’ culture with the Connor family winning millions in the state lottery and killing off Roseanne’s husband Dan (John Goodman) with a heart attack.

This Roseanne revisit needed to fix the wrongs of the past and does so using familiar techniques as seen very recently with Will & Grace, using one line quick quips to glaze over what we knew and wipe the slate clean for those old enough to remember how things left off.

This cleanse leaves us with a Connor family at war within itself in 2018, some of which being the result of the diabolical political state America is currently enveloped in.  Jackie (Laurie Metcalfe) has been pushed aside after a voting clash with Roseanne (Roseanne Barr), Darlene (Sara Gilbert) has moved back home as a recently divorced mother of two, DJ (Michael Fishman) has returned home after a stint in the army over in Syria and brings with him his young daughter and Becky (Lecy Goranson) is a struggling single who can’t seem to keep away from her childhood home.

roseanne3
Familiar and new faces in the Roseanne revival

In general, almost everything looks the same about Roseanne from when we last saw them (albeit older and including a sweet nod to ‘other Becky’ Sarah Chalke, who guests in the first few episodes) though there are some minor ‘token’ attempts to pull the show into current times with DJ’s bi-racial daughter and Darlene’s gender fluid son Mark, who takes center stage in the revivals’ second episode that features some semi-touching moments pinched between some grimacing looks from Dan early on in the piece.

In a move similar to that of the Will & Grace revival, Roseanne’s first episode back is a very politically charged episode, commenting on the current landscape with Trump in charge but unlike Will & Grace, Roseanne proudly voted for Trump and plays as the reason why she and Jackie have had a falling out.  Thankfully though, politics seem to take a back seat for the next few episodes and putting that topic in the hip pocket allows the show finds that magical stride, balancing brutal cutting humor with heart warming touching moments the show was known for.

So again, where does the Roseanne reboot sit on the scale?

After a heated first episode that feels unfamiliar and a questionable second episode, Roseanne settles in nicely to produce one of the more welcome returns to television after being revived from the crypt.

The Roseanne revival begins with a double episode starting Sunday April 30th on Channel 10.

 

Comedy, FRONT

Will & Grace Extended a Third New Season and More Episodes!

will-and-grace

The dream run of Will & Grace’s reboot continues with the announcement by NBC at PaleyFest that it has committed to a third season of the revived sitcom or its 11th season overall.

Along with this news, it’s been announced the comedy’s second season (or tenth season) has been extended a further five episodes bringing the run up-to eighteen episodes in total and this is before production has even begun on the next season.  The newly announced extra season will also have an eighteen episode run.

NBC’s faith has not been misplaced. Season-to-date, the new Will & Grace ranks as the networks No. 1 comedy and the No. 2 comedy, overall, on TV.

Will & Grace currently streams new episodes on STAN Australia.

 

Comedy, FRONT

Your Essential Viewing Guide to the History of Will & Grace.

will-grace

During its original airing, fan favorite comedy Will & Grace ran for a whopping 194 episodes over an eight season stint and with the show about to make its much anticipated comeback, it’s time to look at those ‘essential’ episodes that you need to binge before the show returns to brush up on your Will & Grace history.

These chosen episodes provide pivotal moments in the Will & Grace timeline from major relationships, back stories and family members that bring us to the characters we will meet again in season 9.

1: The Pilot

Obviously, this episodes sets up Will & Grace and their highly dysfunctional long standing relationship.  How much each play in the others lives makes a big impact especially on Grace who finds herself walking away from her boyfriend Danny.

2: The Unsinkable Mommy Adler / Season One – Episode Thirteen

This episode introduces us to Grace’s flamboyant mother Bobbi Adler (Debbie Reynolds) who causes a ruckus when she suggests that Will & Grace should get married.  The comment forces Grace to take a closer look at who she is and just how like her star dazed mom she really is.

3: Big Brother is Coming Parts 1 + 2 / Season One Episode Fourteen and Fifteen

Jack’s surprise party provides more of a surprise to Will when his estranged older brother Sam (John Slattery) arrives at the request of Grace.  A truce between the two is put on hold after Will discovers that Grace and Sam had hooked up at Jack’s party.

4: Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner / Season Two – Episode One

Will is finding that Grace is not coping well with their new living situation and to prove Will wrong that she can survive in her own apartment, attempts to throw a housewarming dinner party with Karen and friends Rob and Ellen.  Meanwhile to keep the INS at bay, Jack moves into Karen’s mansion to maintain his fake wedding to Karen’s maid Rosario.

5: Homo For the Holidays / Season Two – Episode Seven

In this Thanksgiving themed episode, it’s revealed that Jack has never actually come out to his mom Judith (Veronica Cartwright) even though Jack was responsible for pushing Will to do the same to his mom.  It’s also revealed that Jack used Grace as his fake girlfriend causing Karen to go into a jealous rage and that Judith lied about who Jack’s real father is.

6: Oh Dad, Poor Dad, He’s Kept me in the Closet and I’m so Sad / Season Two – Episode Thirteen

This episode takes a closer look at Will’s relationship with his father George (Sydney Pollack) and shows that things between the two aren’t as rosy as Will thought.  It turns out George has told all his co-workers that Will is actually married to Grace meanwhile Karen hires a private detective to track down Jack’s real father.

7: An Affair to Forget / Season Two – Episode Nineteen

Leading up to Rob (Tom Gallop) and Ellen’s (Leigh-Allyn Baker) wedding, it’s revealed that when the pair had separated, Rob and Grace had hooked up causing a rift between Grace and Ellen.

8: Lows in the Mid-Eighties Parts One and Two / Season Three – Episodes Eight and Nine

This flashback double episode delves back into Will & Grace’s college years when the two were dating.  Grace brings Will to her parents home for Thanksgiving but he is struggling with issues of his own and seeks help with the out and proud Jack meanwhile Karen meets Rosario for the very first time.

9: Sons and Lovers Part Two / Season Three – Episode Twenty Five

Jack has finally tracked down his birth father but is devastated to learn that he had passed away years earlier.  Struggling with the news that he never got to meet him, Jack is surprised to find out he has a teenage son named Elliot (Michael Angarano)

10: Rules of Engagement / Season Four – Episode Six

Grace is disappointed when boyfriend Nathan (Woody Harrelson) proposes to her, not for proposing but how it was done.  When deciding she wants to make it right, her big surprise gesture goes wrong and Grace finds herself single again.

11: Dyeing is Easy, Comedy is Hard / Season Four – Episode Fifteen

Grace and Will attend Grace’s ex – Danny’s (Tom Verica) wedding where the two try and reinvent themselves from the people they really are while Jack comes head to head with Elliot’s mother Bonnie (Rosie O’Donnell) who isn’t happy with how Jack is raising Elliot.

12: Something Borrowed, Someone’s Due / Season Four – Episode Eighteen

Jack, having finally tracked down Karen’s estranged mother Lois (Suzanne Pleshette) attempts to get the two to reunite but Karen still can’t get past how Lois would use a young Karen as a ploy in her scams.

12: Cheatin’ Trouble Blues / Season Four – Episode Nineteen

Under the assumption that his father’s affair was done with, Will gives his parents tickets for a cruise as a gift for their wedding anniversary but is shocked to learn this George’s affair with Tina (Leslie Ann Warren) is anything but over and that his mother Marilyn (Blythe Danner) is also having an affair.  The episode ends with Will’s parents making the decision to separate.

13: A.I: Artificial Insemination Parts One and Two / Season Four – Episodes Twenty Six and Twenty Seven

Off the back of a ‘bucket list’ Will and Grace begin to talk heavily about having a baby together and consider the options on how to make it happen.  After two failed attempts at IVF and sex being off the table they decide to try IVF once more but a mysterious man on a white horse could change everything.

14: The Kids Stays Out of the Picture / Season Five – Episode Three

With Grace’s relationship with Leo (Harry Connick Jr) moving more quickly than expected, Grace asks Will if they can take a step back from the IVF treatment so she can evaluate her options.  The episode ends with a particularly brutal fight between Will & Grace.

15: Marry Me a Little, Marry Me a Little More / Season Five – Episodes Nine and Ten

Grace and Leo make a spur of the moment decision to get married as part of a TV stunt for the Today Show but the move isn’t well received by Will and Grace’s friends and family.  At the following wedding reception, Grace becomes uneasy as she realizes just how little she knows about her new husband.  After learning their marriage wasn’t actually legal, the two decide to have an official wedding where Will ends up walking Grace down the isle.

16: 23 / Season Five – Episode Twenty Three

Karen is concerned how she’ll come out after her divorce with Stan is finalized but is shocked to learn he has died while in bed with his mistress Lorraine (Minnie Driver). Leo is offered a job in Guatemala with Doctors without Borders and Grace agrees to join him.

17: Last Ex to Brooklyn – Season Six – Episode Two 

Leo and Grace decide to throw a dinner party for Will, Jack, Karen and Leo’s ex girlfriend Dianne (Mira Sorvino) but it turns out, Dianne is the girl Will slept with right after breaking up with Grace (season 3 episodes 8 and 9) and Grace isn’t taking this revelation so well.

18: The Accidental Tsuris: Season Six – Episode Eleven

Karen finds herself with the unwanted attention of Lorraine’s father Lyle (John Cleese) but changes her tune when Lorraine makes it clear that Karen is to stay away from him meanwhile Grace’s older sister Janet (Geena Davis) arrives to launch her jewelry enterprise/folding table subway stand but Grace can’t handle her free-loading sister anymore.

19: I Do. Oh, No, You Di-in’t: Season Six – Episode Twenty Three

Karen and Lyle make the spur of the moment decision to fly to Vegas and elope but shortly after the wedding, it becomes clear that Karen isn’t too keen on Lyle’s strict demands.  Leo also arrives in Vegas and reveals that he cheated on Grace while in Cambodia working for Doctors without Boarders.

20: Alive and Schticking: Season Eight – Episode One 

Will informs Karen that Stan is actually alive and that he was forced to fake his death.  It turns out Rosario also knew this, much to the disgust of Karen, and is fired.

21: Grace Expectations – Season Eight – Episode Sixteen

Grace finds herself struggling with the idea of telling Leo she is pregnant with his child but decides it’s in their both best interests if she tells him.

22: Blanket Apology: Season Eight – Episode Nineteen

Jack goes for an audition for a bit part in a new cop drama but ends up scoring the lead role and a simple dinner at Will’s parents place turns into an all-out brawl as Will’s father gives Grace Will’s cherished baby blanket under the belief that Will will never have children of his own.  The two leave things unresolved before Will learns his father passed away shortly after.

23: The Mourning Son: Season Eight – Episode Twenty

Will struggles with the fact he left things so harshly between him and his father and with the help of his mother, comes to terms with how everything ended.

24: Partners ‘n’ Crime: Season Eight – Episode Twenty One

Will begins to rekindle his relationship with Vince (Bobby Cannavale) forcing Grace to take a look at whether or not Will will have enough room in his life for Vince and Grace and her unborn child.

25: The Finale: Season Eight – Episode Twenty Three

The culmination of eight seasons ends tonight with a one-hour series finale — will Will and Grace raise a child together and find ultimate happiness? Will Jack find anyone that loves him as much as he loves himself? Will Karen find true happiness with the absence of Stan?

Will & Grace returns Thursday night, September 28th on NBC and begins streaming on Friday the 29th on STAN Australia.

 

 

Comedy, FRONT, Stan, Streaming TV, TV

Eveything You Need to Know about the Will & Grace Revival

1 Comment

will-and-grace-revival
Image: NBC

Since the news broke that NBC were two thumbs up for the Will & Grace revival, a slew of information has been streaming out about what to expect when the show returns for a brand new run in late September (Sept 29th on NBC to be precise).  From how THAT original finale plays out into this series to who’s back, who’s missing and who’s stopping by I’ve put everything you need to know about the Will & Grace finale into one single fabulous post!

The Revival:  Even before a single episode has aired of this new season, NBC have already confirmed the show will be back in 2018 for another 13 episode round.  This new season (officially classed as season 9) has already been extended from its originally announced 13 episodes to 16 while at present, season 10 is sitting at 13.

This revival came about thanks to that hilarious election themed mini-reunion episode with NBC taking note of the huge response from fans old and new and went about ordering a 10 episode season revival.

How will the original finale play into this return?:  The original finale that aired back in 2006 saw Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) parting ways for almost 20 years, with both characters married (Will to Vince played by Bobby Cannavale and Grace to Leo (Harry Connick, Jr) and each couple with a child.  The last scenes in that finale saw Will & Grace eventually reunite after their college aged children ended up living across from each other at the campus dorm.

Even though this return will be classed as the show’s 9th season and takes place only 11 years after the finale, the entire dissolution of the friendship and each couples kids will be ‘erased’ from the Will & Grace history. Talking to EW, co-creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan said  ‘When the decision was made to bring the series back, we were like, well, we left them with kids, right?” And if they have children, then it has to be about them being parents, ‘cause presumably it would be a priority in their lives. And if it wasn’t a priority in their lives, then they’re still parents, they’re just bad parents, right? We frankly did not want to see them being either good parents or bad parents. We wanted them to be Will and Grace.”

The Core Cast:  The revival will see Will and Grace living together as the two did for the bulk of the series’ run with Jack (Sean Hayes) living across from them and Karen (Megan Mullally) still a rich boozy socialite living in her mansion.  Will is still working as a corporate lawyer, Grace remains an interior designer but with a bigger office and working with current day design technology along with ‘assistant’ Karen while Jack, who flitted from ‘acting’ to retail to student nurse to acting teacher during the shows original run will be back in his latter career teaching the ‘Jackting’ method of acting.

The Recurring Cast: Shelley Morrison who played Karen’s long suffering, viper tongued maid Rosario Salazar confirmed she won’t be back for the revival.  Morrison has now retired from acting, with the exception of a small appearance in the 2016 Will & Grace political themed mini episode.  Rosario won’t be forgotten on ignored with Mutchnick adding “The audience has come to know and love her — as we do — and we’re dealing with her as a character and we’re writing to it very specifically.”

Along with Rosario’s absence, the revival will touch on Grace’s mother Bobbi Adler played by the late Debbie Rynolds.

Confirmed to return are thee integral characters to the Will & Grace history – Harry Connick, Jr as Grace’s husband Leo, Bobby Cannavale as Will’s husband Vince and Minnie Driver as Karen’s British nemesis Lorraine Finster.  Noting that the 2006 finale is being wiped, how Leo and Vince fit into this revival is yet to be seen considering Will and Grace will be back living together.

No word yet on Leslie Jordan as Karen’s best friend/enemy number one Beverly Leslie, Blythe Danner as Will’s widowed mother Marilyn Truman or Tom Gallop and Leigh-Allyn Baker as game night friends Rob and Ellen.

Update Sept 18th:  Michael Angarano is a confirmation to return having filmed his scenes last week.  Angarano played Jack’s son Elliot for 12 episodes during the original run and is currently tapped for a single episode in season 9.

The Guest Stars:  From Madonna to Demi Moore, Cher and Britney Spears, the original series run never shied away from nabbing big named stars to appear on the show and this next season won’t be any different with the recent news that Glee’s Jane Lynch, Girls star Andrew Rannells and 2017 Tony Award winner Ben Platt have all signed on to guest star in season 9.

When and how to watch:  Will & Grace season 9 begins Thursday September 28th as part of NBC’s must-see-TV lineup at 9/8c in the states while here in Australia, the series begins on Friday the 29th on streaming service STAN

This post will be updated as news comes about for the sew season.
Comedy, FRONT, Netflix

Amy Schumer’s Leather Special Keeps with the Schumer we Know All Too Well.

AmySNetflix1When it comes to comedian Amy Schumer and her stand-up comedy shows, we pretty much know what we’re going to get.  Themes of self depreciation, sex, fat jokes and offering her own take on the vagina monologues are constant in Schumers work, so much so, when bursting onto the scene, she was applauded for delving into those ‘no-go’ topics.

Now a best selling author and big screen actress (Trainwreck and the upcoming Snatched with Goldie Hawn), the jokes and topics that found Amy stardom continue to pull her along the dark and vulgar path she’s traveled down many a time before.  In her most recent outing for Netflix titled Amy Schumer: The Leather Special, jokes about her feminine hygiene, copious amounts of alcohol and oral sex are once again present and feel somewhat ‘old-school’ Amy Schumer and by old-school, I mean the Amy we first met back in 2014 when Inside Amy Schumer began to gain traction for being a very on point and wickedly blunt comedic sketch show.

Schumer, as witnessed in The Leather Special, rarely strays away from topics that seem to hit with audiences and while topics such as double standard within Hollywood, female sexuality and empowerment and body insecurities are tackled, there’s an uneasy feeling of ‘heard this once before’ as these topics feel rehashed but with added vagina.

But all is not lost for Amy as among all the smut and vomit jokes, she manages to set aside her vagina for a moment and approach the hot topic of gun control, a subject close to Schumer after a gunman (in 2015) opened fire in a cinema showing her film Trainwreck in which two people were killed and nine other injured.

It’s a sidestep into the real world that will undoubtedly get people talking and divide audiences (the special briefly cuts to a small number of audience members walking out when gun control is mocked) but also one that she should visit a bit more often as sadly, this ‘raunch comedy’ that has become so synonymous with Schumer has me fearing that she may never get out of this sexual gag cycle.

Amy Schumer: The Leather Special is currently streaming on Netflix.

Comedy, FRONT, Netflix

How Miranda Sings became the new Ja’mie King.

haters-back-off-2
Angela Kinsey as Bethany and Colleen Ballinger as Miranda.  (c) Netflix 2016.

Coming off an eight episode binge watch of Netflix’s comedy/drama Haters Back Off, I quickly came to the realization that what works in one format may not actually work in another and it’s a point I have made before about a character very similar to that of Haters lead Miranda Sings.

The premise of the Netflix original series takes insanely popular YouTube star Miranda Sings (Colleen Ballinger) and documents her slow and grinding rise to her current internet stardom with the help of her eerily inappropriate Uncle Jim (Steve Little), her hypochondriac mother Bethany (Angela Kinsey) and her love-sick neighbor Patrick  (Erik Stocklin) which is all  to the detest of her introverted younger sister Emily (Francesca Reale).

As the eight episodes move along, Miranda, in her quest for undeserved fame using Uncle Jim’s five step plan, showcases a natural talent for narcissistic egotism and not much else as she drags down those around her while trying to claw herself to the top.  Even when the tables turn on her and a situation goes awry, Miranda, so wrapped up in the beliefs of her own talent, refuses to see when she’s being kicked to the ground and assumes those against her are jealous of her performing ability.

In the second to last episode, Miranda’s younger sister Emily takes the chance to leave the chaos of home and apply to go to art school.  Their mother Bethany, who is struggling with an actual health issue, at first fights it but then allows Emily to take that interview. Armed with her portfolio, Emily attends said art school interview only to discover her works have been ‘Mirandafied’ with pasta and glitter therefore destroying her chance at acceptance.

It’s the ensuing scene (which kicks off the seasons final episode) between a devastated and angry Emily and a cocky Miranda that brings the series one of its most conflicting moments for the viewers – Miranda is convinced she ‘fixed those paintings’ to help Emily get into art school but is shocked when Emily literally tells her that she ruined her work and that Miranda is dumb for thinking she was actually helping.  It’s a brutal scene between the chalk and cheese sisters, but one where you feel empowered that Emily is finally taking a stand yet saddened for Miranda who is copping that verbal beating from her sister even when she thought she was doing good.

Once it is over, you step back and begin to question why are we even feeling sad for Miranda and should we be feeling empathy for a character that showed not a single shroud of human decency to another person?  Which of course, harks back to my original point on what works in one format may not actually work in another.

Miranda Sings in YouTube format is hilarious and simply put – genius.  The short 5-8 minute clips allow us to pop in and out as Miranda tries international snacks, dances, offers make-up tips, visits other YouTube stars, displays DYI fashion and accessory tips and badly croons her way through hundreds and hundreds of videos that have racked up billions of views. It works because the videos are entertaining, Miranda is an utter odd-ball, we don’t have to become too invested in her at that moment and the time frame of the videos is short enough to avoid us from discovering that Miranda is actually a rather unpleasant character.

Most of that discovery though falls down to the introduction of Miranda’s family, the people she stumbles across in life and how her actions and the way she conducts herself are presented to those people…which had to happen when bringing the character into scripted television.

It’s the same issue I had with a similar character to Miranda Sings, in the form of comedian Chris Lilley’s alter-ego Ja’mie King from Summer Heights High.  When offered in smaller doses and accompanied by other unsettling characters to bounce to and from, selfish and delusional Ja’mie was an utter gem but when given her own platform and fleshed out surroundings in  the series Ja’mie: Private School Girl, she became an unpleasant and highly unlikable brat that had me wanting her to never have a platform to appear on ever again.

Now this is not to say that Haters is a complete miss.  There are some shining moments within the havoc of these eight episodes, most of which come from Miranda’s neighbor and (not so) secret admirer Patrick.

Erik Stocklin’s grossly awkward yet heartwarmingly adorable Patrick manages to step front and center to give Haters a character for us to root for – oddly more so than poor Emily.  Even though Miranda comes out of this incredibly unlikable, we get all mushy when Patrick finally gets that special moment with his long time crush because Patrick, while almost as delusional as Miranda, is genuine and connectable for the viewers and thats a huge kudos to Stocklin.

Haters Back Off is currently streaming on Netflix.