question of the day: Will you watch ‘Freshmen,’ or are you already starting to ignore it?
When I read about Freshmen, I thought, This is so perfectly ridiculous and so perfectly perfect for the inanity that is the American sitcom, it’s shocking that no one has thought of it before. From Variety:
Sitcom scribe Greg Malins ("Friends") has partnered with Huffington Post maven Arianna Huffington to develop a sitcom for ABC set in the world of politics."Freshmen" revolves around a group of three newly elected members of Congress -- two men and one woman -- who wind up sharing an apartment in Washington.
..."I've always been a political guy, following all that stuff, and I always knew I wanted to do a show there," Malins said. "But I hadn't found the way in, the thing that would give me that show. But once I discovered that members of Congress often live together, I said, 'there's your show right there.'"
...
"Freshman's" characters will come from all walks of the political world -- one left-leaning, one right-leaning and one independent. But Malins doesn't plan to dwell on the characters' party affiliations, although he said it will be clear who's a Democrat or a Republican.
The characters' backgrounds will also be varied: One has a wife back home, while one is single and a third is just recently divorced.
Oh my god. It’s Three’s Company meets The Odd Couple on Capitol Hill.
Will you watch Freshmen, or are you already starting to ignore it?
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comments
posted by marshall myers (Thu Sep 17 09, 10:23AM)
This is the first I've heard about it but it could be interesting.
posted by MaSch (Thu Sep 17 09, 10:43AM)
This sounds politically naive. And I say that as a politically naive person.
posted by Tonio Kruger (Thu Sep 17 09, 10:48AM)
In other words, if you're expecting to hear any witty political commentary, you're more likely to find it in an old Benson rerun.
posted by Accounting Ninja (Thu Sep 17 09, 10:58AM)
Never heard of it. How much you wanna bet the woman is the left-leaning one to be the "voice of reason" between her two comically conservative guys? That always happens, even politics aside. :\ Now, I'm a left-leaning lady myself, but I'd like to see a guy as a tree-hugger and a lady as a staunch right winger and still keep the characters sympathetic and humorous. It would just be different.
posted by Newbs (Thu Sep 17 09, 11:04AM)
Sounds atrocious. Also its title is absurd unless they expect it to only last one season (which seems reasonable, actually).
posted by RyanT (Thu Sep 17 09, 11:44AM)
Hey at least it's not another inane reality show (yet). So let's just celebrate this small blessing and wait to see if it's actually good.
posted by Katie Dvorak (Thu Sep 17 09, 11:49AM)
Never heard of it before and as someone who lives in DC...I don't know. My hopes are nonexistent.
posted by Muzz (Thu Sep 17 09, 12:38PM)
How does "one left leaning, one right leaning and one independant" constitute "all walks of the political world" anywhere, let alone the US? (what the heck does "independant" mean in terms of political leaning?) Hey, it could be alright. Maybe they'll use the show to explain that nearly all American politics is fighting over the same tiny sliver somewhere in the centre-right.
It may have an uphill battle as a live -in reality show these days if they aren't upfront about what craven, self absorbed douches they are (it's politics; shouldn't be hard) and what fun we can expect from them hating each other while the producers torture them randomly with Double Dare-esque "challenges" at all hours.
posted by Muzz (Thu Sep 17 09, 12:40PM)
Wait. Where did I get the idea it was a reality show?
I like my idea better.
posted by pjowens75 (Thu Sep 17 09, 1:03PM)
Wow! I'm as excited about this show as I was about that caveman show! Besides, isn't Congress already a situation comedy?
posted by Accounting Ninja (Thu Sep 17 09, 1:04PM)
@Muzz: usually "independent" is code for Wacky Libertarian. And a Libertarian is just an anti-authority Republican.
posted by C. David Dent (Thu Sep 17 09, 1:36PM)
I'll watch it online probably. If it doesn't have any topical jokes or plays "safe" or turns into a farce I'll give it a big skip. If you are going to do a sitcom about congresscritters and don't play dirty then you are doing the country a huge disservice.
posted by JoshDM (Thu Sep 17 09, 3:09PM)
Sounds like political Gray's Anatomy.
posted by Paul (Thu Sep 17 09, 6:06PM)
@Accounting Ninji: You just described the relationship at the center of a show called "Studio 60" in which a liberal man and a conservative woman are in love and hate it. West Wing also had a recurring conservative woman character who worked there. She was the main character in two or three episodes.
They only made one season of "Studio 60" despite some of it being brillient, or maybe because of that. Hard to say, but it was fun watching a TV show about making a TV show, with liberal writers and actors butting heads with conservative management. It is out on DVD.
posted by Tonio Kruger (Thu Sep 17 09, 8:55PM)
There's a reason for that. And no, it ain't corporate censorship.
I'd like to see that, too, if only because:
(1) I know too many real-life conservative women (or at least, women who are conservative by Hollywood's standards).
(2) it just might make John Nolte and the other cultural conservatives who are always kvetching about how much "liberal" Hollywood hates conservatives shut up once and for all.
That said, the failure of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip with a similar premise is hardly an encouraging sign.
But then I held similar doubts about a great many TV shows that I ended up loving: The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ugly Betty, Pushing Daisies and the U.S. version of The Office.
So maybe this show will prove us all wrong.
posted by Linda Jordan (Wed Sep 30 09, 11:14PM)
Hey, now, let's give this a chance. We've not seen it yet. Greg and Arianna are both charming, witty, and smart folks. I think it sounds great.