Review – Whitney
Whitney – NBC – 9:30/8:30pm Thursday – USA
There are two ways you can look at NBC’s new comedy series Whitney. You can either look at it as a sitcom NBC has a lot of faith in; why else would they put it in a plum timeslot behind The Office? Or you can look at it as a sitcom NBC has no faith in; why else would they need to prop it up by putting it behind The Office? Even after watching the show it’s hard to tell if this is an Outsourced-style dumping of a dud show in a safe timeslot, or if it’s a Parks & Recreation-style supporting of a show they see a lot of potential in. It’s hard to figure out mostly because Whitney has all of the makings of a giant flop whilst also shows definite signs of a possible hit.
Whitney is a sitcom created by and starring Whitney Cummings, who also wrote CBS’s new series 2 Broke Girls. Unlike the rest of NBC’s Thursday night line-up, but just like 2 Broke Girls, Whitney is filmed in front of a live studio audience. Whitney revolves around Whitney’s long term relationship with her boyfriend Alex (Chris D’Elia), but also dabbles in the lives of their newly dating friends Neal (Maulik Pancholy, Jonathan from 30 Rock) and Lily (Zoe Lister-Jones) who are still all over each other, as well as their single friends Roxanne (Rhea Seehorn) and Mark (Dan O’Brien) who acts like a live action version of Quagmire from Family Guy, making this yet another show about friends at different stages in their relationships. Jane Kaczmarek even pops in playing Whitney’s mother Patti.
Most of the jokes in the pilot revolve around relationship issues and material that feels very much like it was leftover from a 90s sitcom like “You’re going to wear a hoody to a wedding?” and general discussions about what is and isn’t appropriate wedding ware. Whitney believes that her relationship with Alex lacks the spark that the newer relationship of her friends has so she decides she needs to do something about it. Her lady friends take her to a sex shop where somebody suggests she try roleplay to which she retorts “I’m not Daniel Day Lewis; I just want to get laid.” Eventually choosing a nurses uniform Whitney takes it home, but her sexy performance for Alex gets sidetracked by her insistence on him filling out forms before he sees the nurse. It’s a silly idea, but Whitney sells it, which is pretty much the vibe that follows the whole show around; everything’s just silly enough to be funny whilst never trying too hard.
What’s most strange about Whitney is that the show itself feels like a bit of a shambles. Whitney Cummings and Chris D’Elia’s acting is shaky at best, but their lack of polish is kind of charming. While I think that 2 Broke Girls was easily the better made of Cummings’s two shows, I laughed more during this one. In fact, Whitney has less style than NBC’s other new comedies Up All Night and Free Agents, but as I sat silently through their pilots I laughed more than a few times during this one. Whitney Cummings isn’t taking things very seriously, and while her acting needs a lot of work, the sense that the leads are enjoying themselves is infectious. I almost feel as though I’m doing everything I can not to give Whitney a positive review simply because it looks hastily put together and occasionally feels like a show from another decade. BUT I laughed, I liked the ramshackle attitude of the show and while it was certainly a bit of a mess at times it was also a lot of fun.
Good, Alright, Bad Or Ugly?
Alright
