Dear Betsy Thomas:
I have been a fan of your sitcom “My Boys“ since it debuted four years ago on TBS. I loved the concept — a comedy centered around a female character and her gang of predominantly male friends. I’ve always had a lot of guy friends, so it rang true to me.
PJ, the female sportswriter at the middle of it all, has girlfriends, too — Stephanie is the one we most often see on the show — but her male poker buds are the constants in her life. Back in my Hallmark days, we called this a ‘chosen family’…and that’s exactly what they are.
I knew the show was on iffy ground this season just from reading the celebrity rags. Jordana Spiro (PJ) has been tapped to star in a mid-season replacement sitcom on NBC, and the oh-so-funny Jim Gaffigan, who plays PJ’s brother Andy, has been written out of the show. (Whose idea was that?) I’m not even sure “My Boys” has a deal with TBS beyond this year.
BUT STILL…
Did you have to turn this season into a big ol’ session of couples therapy? For that matter, did you have to turn ‘em into couples?
When the show began, all their banter was trivia at its best — poker, dating, petty work annoyances, and random silliness. It was funny. This year, they’ve been mired down in discussions about the future, financial planning and doing good for our fellow man.
Even the actors look bored.
Plus, this group of ‘good friends’ started inbreeding at the end of last season! Now PJ and Bobby and Stephanie and Kenny have coupled up. They didn’t look that comfortable with the arrangement, either. And in the season finale on Sunday night, Mike, the lonest wolf of the bunch, suddenly married a woman he has dated a month because “we’re old.”
Who are these people?
If this is indeed the last season of the show, do you really want to leave this group of friends like this? Everyone oddly coupled up and settled…in this unsettled way?
Was that ever what “My Boys” was about?
I don’t think so. In fact, I think you lost your way. And they deserved a whole lot better.
An eye for talent
I cast a major network sitcom.
Let me explain.
Earlier this year, Christina Applegate took to Twitter and asked her followers to suggest comedic actors for a project. Knowing most people would go with the obvious choices, I put forth a recent find:
Steven Pasquale
He took your typical made-for-TV romantic lead and turned it into something uniquely appealing. His timing was unique. I stuck with the mini-series — we’re talking four hours, people — because he made the expected and predictable extremely entertaining.
Christina later tweeted a thank you for our suggestions, saying she had received a couple of names that she didn’t recognize and planned to research.
And look who pops up on Up All Night??
It’s pretty gratifying, I admit. (Would be even more so with a finder’s fee.)
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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Television, TV
Tagged casting, celebrities, Christina Applegate, comedic actor, comedic timing, comedy, commentary, commission, entertainment, finder's fee, guest star, Humor, life, Lucy Liu, made-for-tv movies, Marry Me mini-series, NBC, network sitcom, romantic comedy, series casting, situation comedy, Steven Pasquale, Television, TV, tweet, Twitter, Up All Night, USA Network