This is the third installment in a four-part series investigating the current state of television comedy. Over the course of the week, the series will look at the half-hour comedy offerings on the four major broadcast networks. Today's installment focuses on those comedies airing on ABC, including last year's Best Comedy Emmy winner, "Modern Family."
CBS is home to the mass-appeal, more traditional sitcom, Fox has a stronghold on animation and NBC boasts a lineup of critically acclaimed single-camera comedies. So where does that leave ABC?
The network had somewhat of a comedy resurgence last season, when it premiered "Modern Family," "Cougar Town" and "The Middle" all to some level of success (all three were renewed for a second season, and have since been renewed for a third as well). "Modern Family" was quickly heralded as the comeback of the family comedy and was, along with Fox's "Glee," the breakout hit of the 2009-10 TV season. The other two flew more under the radar, but have developed into solid hits.
What ABC really has on its hands, then, is a mix of the overrated and the underrated: "Modern Family" fits into the first category, while the other returnees (which "Family" overshadows) fit into the second.
Now don't get me wrong — I like "Modern Family." It's a smart, tight, well-executed sitcom with a great cast and several breakout characters in Ty Burrell's Phil, Eric Stonestreet's Cameron and Rico Rodriguez's Manny. But this season it feels like it is resting on its laurels, staying in "good" territory when it could consistently be great.
One of the main problems is its reliance on overplayed sitcom conventions. I can't even count how many times this year a wacky misunderstanding has been at the center of an episode's plot or how often they have added a voiceover at the end just to telegraph the moral or theme of the episode. There are ways to make familiar devices still feel fresh, but "Modern Family" has too often resisted putting a unique spin on them and consequently comes off feeling lazy. Lazy "Modern Family" is still funnier than most other sitcoms on TV, but it just seems like a waste of so much obvious talent.
It's a crime that the rest of the lineup has gone largely unnoticed, too, as if only one ABC comedy can have a place in the spotlight. "Cougar Town" in particular has soared this year, continuing the strong streak it has been on ever since it ditched its original premise of Courteney Cox as an eligible divorcee. Now, the show revolves around a group of friends just hanging out and drinking wine and it has become a fun, goofy ensemble comedy. Cox has dialed back her zaniness and the supporting characters have grown, to the point where it is now one of the most enjoyable half-hours available. (It's currently on hiatus, but will be back on the air on April 18.)
"The Middle" has also proven to be a bright spot on ABC's aging schedule. It hasn't gotten the praise or recognition of "Modern Family" or even the buzz (largely due to its horrible title) of "Cougar Town," but the show, starring Patricia Heaton, is reliably funny and is the rare series to concentrate on middle-class Middle America. Whereas the other shows in the Wednesday-night lineup (and, really, most TV shows in general) document the lives of rich white people, "The Middle" is at least more widely relatable in its socioeconomic focus. (The white-people portion remains, but the lack of diversity on television is a topic for another article.)
This season saw the addition of two newcomers to the mix (with a third, "Happy Endings," set to premiere April 13). "Better With You" is a more traditional sitcom, filmed in front of a live audience, and in that aspect it differs from ABC's other offerings. Unfortunately, though, that's about all it has to help it stand out. It has some good performers, including Joanna Garcia and Debra Jo Rupp, but is wholly generic and isn't all that funny.
"Mr. Sunshine" also suffers from unfunniness, which is a shame considering its strong cast. Matthew Perry, Allison Janney and Andrea Anders are all proven comedic actors, but their skills are largely squandered on bad material. Recent episodes have been getting better (I'm actually laughing now, unlike during the first three episodes), and Nate Torrence's Roman is somewhat of a breakout character, so I'm hoping the show is just taking some time to find its footing. There's a lot of potential, and "Mr. Sunshine" seems to be just on the brink of realizing it.
Bottom line: ABC gets a lot of attention for one of its good comedies, but not enough for its better ones. Keep watching "Modern Family," but give the others a shot, too, since they provide more laughs and smart character work many weeks than the big Emmy winner does.
