Long Story Short is a Netflix adult animated comedy-drama created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, his first new animated series since the acclaimed BoJack Horseman. Trading Hollywood satire for something more intimate, the show is a warm, melancholy, and very funny portrait of a single family told across the sweep of its members' entire lives.
The series follows the Schwooper family, jumping freely and non-chronologically through the decades, from childhood and adolescence to marriage, parenthood, and old age, so that a character might be a squabbling kid in one scene and a weary adult in the next. This restless time-hopping structure lets the show explore how families carry their history with them, how old wounds and inside jokes echo across generations, and how small moments accumulate into a life. Its voice cast includes Abbi Jacobson, Ben Feldman, Lisa Edelstein, Paul Reiser, and Nicole Byer.
Rooted in Bob-Waksberg's own Jewish American upbringing, Long Story Short earned strong reviews for balancing sharp comedy with genuine emotional depth, the same alchemy that made his previous work resonate. It is streaming on Netflix.
The serene suburb of Kansas City, Kansas called Overland Park is the setting for a Showtime hit called United States of Tara which follows the life of Tara Gregson. She is a wife and mother of two who doctors have diagnosed as having dissociative identity disorder. She has multiple personalities that she transitions into when severely stressed. She may become a flirty teen who calls herself "T" or Alice who is a housewife straight out of the 1950's. She may turn into a beer swilling, loud male she calls Vietnam Vet Buck when particularly pressured or even displaying a fourth personality who goes by the name of Gimme. Multiple personalities are uncontrollable and can't be chosen but just happen when she is in a weak moment or facing problems difficult to cope with. Tara does have the support of son and daughter as well as her husband, Max. Charmaine, her doubting sister, sometimes thinks Tara is faking it for sympathy reasons. This intriguing show follows her various personality changes and how they affect the family unit.
Just as we all began to wonder whether or not William H. Macy ever would land a role as juicy and delicious as playing Felicity Huffman's real-life husband, he scored arguably the greatest part of his entire career, starring as Frank Gallagher on Showtime's gritty new "Shameless." Frank drinks. Frank drinks shamelessly, intrepidly, relentlessly, recklessly and irretrievably while his six motherless children learn to fend for themselves on Chicago's unforgiving south side, "back of the stockyards," as they say, although the cattle have long-since gone. In the first episode, a properly burly Chicago police officer deposits Frank on his entryway floor, noting his incontinence and suggesting, "I wouldn't put him anywhere near a carpet until his pants dry." This ain't no Wisteria Lane. Adapted from its British companion, the American version of "Shameless" fulfils producer John Wells's long-standing desire "to make a television show where familial love, juicy cursing, casual sex and drug use, bluntly put humor, mega-alcohol bingeing and total chaos reign." The subject matter and setting naturally lend themselves to that treatment, and the entire casts rises to the occasion. "Shameless" depicts abject poverty, incurable alcoholism, and hopeless co-dependence as grimly and accurately as they deserve, yet it still persuades slightly spellbound viewers the Gallaghers genuinely love one another.
Starring Edie Falco, Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" stands out as arguably the best medical drama on television, because the premium cable network allows writers and producers plenty of latitude for developing all of Jackie's passions"”the quality of her patients' care, the unbearable arrogance of vaguely sociopathic physicians, and the delicious relief of good orgasms and Oxycontin. "Nurse Jackie," both the character and the show, have some issues: The character suffers excruciating pain from a bad back and therefore has developed an addiction to painkillers. Yes, you have seen this dangerous dilemma recently on both "House" and "Southland," where the admirable characters continue doing their wonderworks despite their addictions. "Nurse Jackie," the show, suffers a subtle but unmistakable identity crisis, suggesting opportunities for some of the most brilliant black humor known to American medical drama; but, like a pensive and pretentious nineteen-year-old, it insists on taking itself much too seriously. One critic aptly observes, "'Nurse Jackie' doesn't look like the average network medical drama, but it does follow the formula of many premium cable shows, taking a knowing and at times dark, sardonic look at the classic themes of love, life and work." The critic, however, forgets to mention that nowhere does "sardonic" appear as a synonym for either "funny" or "engaging."
"Outsourced" TV Show tries hard to entertain while never offending. Employees in a call center situated in Mumbai, India must learn about American culture at least to familiarize themselves with the odd and sometimes embarrassing items they offer for sale through a U.S. business catalog. Mid America Novelties is one of those catalog mail order call centers that provide "flatulence" cushions, exploding cigarettes, bizarre party favors, and many other eccentric items for those who have a broad sense of humor. A shaky economy has forced the business to head to India where the outsourced jobs are most welcome. However Todd Dempsey (Ben Rappaport) has a lot to learn about Indian culture in order to lead his team of employees to success in sales. He attempts to teach them about American culture while he learns all he can about India and its cultural differences. Todd has an assistant manager who wants to move up the ladder and eager to learn employees who have difficulty understanding why American humor is so vastly different from their own. The NBC program is a hilarious sitcom that also shows that we aren't that much different no matter where we live.
Three uniquely Perfect Couples make for delightful entertainment"¦ The humor in this sit-com is to be found in satire and often bizarre behavior on the part of six individuals who just happen to consider themselves perfect in a world filled with imperfections. If Amy and Vance are not fighting they are making love with little common ground in the middle. Leigh and her husband Rex see themselves as the perfect pair who are also experts when it comes to relationships. The pair that are closest to normal may be Julia and Dave and the others seem to be able to relate best to them. While we may each feel we know a great deal about some subjects, these three couples know they represent the perfect couple, and that may be their biggest flaw. Episodes include subject like food poisoning, dead opossums, and bickering among themselves that no one actually takes seriously. A talented cast with familiar faces will help make this comedy a hit and the excellent writing should keep it running for years. There is a chemistry between each character that shines and captures the audience.
The three main characters involved in "Traffic Light" apparently represent the three colors involved on a light that directs traffic. Mike (David Denman), Adam (Nelson Franklin), and Ethan (Kris Marshall) have been best friends ever since their days in college and even though they've chosen different paths in life, still remain close now that they are in their thirties. Mike might be compared to a red light because he is married, has a small son, and settled in comfortably with his life and lifestyle. Adam is then the yellow or caution light. He recently moved in with a girlfriend and is cautiously optimistic about their relationship. Ethan, a British bachelor, has no plans for future commitments and hopes to remain "footloose and fancy free" with his life. This highly entertaining sit-com is popular in part due to good writing, interesting characters, and the fact it has no irritating "laugh track" does not hurt. This show is to be appreciated for its candor between friends as they each deal with life and balancing romance and relationships.
Fox's latest venture into the dysfunctional family sitcom is Raising Hope. It features young adult man, Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff). The shiftless Jimmy works as a pool boy and commensurate with the stereotype, has a one-night stand with Lucy (Bijou Phillips). He finds out later she is a wanted felon and has had their baby while in jail. Jimmy is given custody of the baby and takes her home to his "˜family'. If grandmother, "Maw Maw" (Cloris Leachman) is an off-the-rocker type who lives with Jimmy, his mother Virginia (Martha Plimpton), father Burt (Garret Dillahunt), and his coz Mike (Skyler Stone). With a family that knows nothing about good parenting or how to take care of a baby the comic zaniness of caring for the baby, Hope, begins. As the family struggles thorough the difficulties of "Raising Hope", they learn about themselves and each other, with plenty of laughs thrown into the mix.
