Monday, October 13, 2014

NBC Fall Pilot Review: Marry Me - Premieres Tuesday, Oct. 14; Full Season Pickups for ABC's black-ish, Murder

Marry Me

Marry Me - Tuesdays at 9:00PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at 9:00PM ET/PT


by Vincent

Six years ago, Annie and Jake bonded over their mutual love of nachos and they've been inseparable ever since. Now, after returning from a romantic two-week island vacation, Jake's all set to pop the question. Before he can ask, though, Annie lets loose on Jake for his inability to commit. She was expecting him to "put a ring on it" in paradise and now Jake's perfect proposal is ruined. Not wanting to spend the next 60 years talking about that mess of a proposal, Jake and Annie decide to hold off on the engagement until they can do it right.

Cast Details:

Casey Wilson as Annie
Ken Marino as Jake
John Gemberling as Gil
Sarah Wright Olsen as Dennah
Tymberlee Hill as Kay
Tim Meadows as Kevin One

Casey Wilson (Annie) is best known for her role as Penny Hartz on ABC's cult comedy hit Happy Endings. She was also a featured player on Saturday Night Live and starred in the Hulu exclusive series The Hotwives of Orlando, a parody of Real Housewives shows.

Ken Marino (Jake) starred as Ron on Starz's Party Down. He also plays Dr. Glenn Richie on Adult Swim's Children's Hospital. He has also appeared on the Yahoo! Exclusive web series Burning Love, a parody of The Bachelor.

John Gemberling (Gil) can currently be seen as Bevvers on Comedy Central's Broad City. He also appeared on shows such as The Office, Delocated, Happy Endings, and Key & Peele.

Sarah Wright Olsen (Dennah) has appeared in a number of television shows, most notably as Millicent Olsen on Parks and Recreation. She has also appeared on Mad Men, The Middle, Happy Endings, and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23.

Tymberlee Hill (Kay) appears regularly on Drunk History on Comedy Central. She also starred alongside Casey Wilson in The Hotwives of Orlando. Her other appearances include guest spots on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Comedy Bang! Bang! and Grey's Anatomy.

Tim Meadows (Kevin One) is best known for his long-running role as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1991 – 2000. He also starred as Principal Duvall in the hit film Mean Girls. His other TV appearances include spots on Bob's Burgers, 30 Rock, and The Goldbergs.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" (Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 9:00PM ET/PT)

After a botched engagement, Annie (Casey Wilson) and Jake (Ken Marino) agree to "re-try" their engagement so they don't have to tell such a terrible story for 60 more years. However, after their next engagement gets botched, they begin to worry if they’re cut out for marriage after all.

Analysis:

In what has been a generally dire fall season for new network comedy, Marry Me is one of two comedy pilots that actually made me laugh out loud (the other is Black-ish). This, alone, makes it a contender for the best comedy pilot of the season, but it already has a few other things going for it. It's helmed by David Caspe, the creator of Happy Endings and stars Casey Wilson, one of the stars of Happy Endings (and also his wife!). It features a pretty solid recurring cast that could easily turn into a likable ensemble given some time, and its talented lead couple already have very good chemistry with each other. All of this adds up to a show that I think could eventually become great, but it's not there yet. The show's premise is groan-worthy, leaning hard on both sitcom and gender clichés that the show will hopefully be able to iron out pretty soon. And while I think the ensemble could become promising, the pilot doesn’t bring them all together in a way that a pilot of a wannabe ensemble comedy probably should. I'm not entirely sure if these people even know each other outside of their relationship to Annie and Jake, and I'm still not clear on who we're going to be seeing every episode (assumingly Jake and Annie's parents won’t be part of the ensemble – although, confusingly, one of her dads is listed as a regular while the other is not).

All of this leads to the Marry Me pilot feeling a little bit formless – there's a clear center at Annie and Jake, but it's unclear what, exactly, the rest of this show is going to be. And although Annie and Jake's relationship is somewhat interesting, it's not unique enough to sustain an entire premise of a show on its own. Of course, looking back at the Happy Endings pilot, it had similar issues – a cliché and unappealing premise (remember when it was a show about a couple that separated at the altar? Me neither!) and an ensemble that seemed talented but wasn’t fully fleshed out yet. The Marry Me pilot is considerably better than the Happy Endings pilot (if only because it has a much more assured sense of humor), but it also sort of feels like it’s desperately trying to be the show that Happy Endings eventually became. And really, that just makes me miss Happy Endings. So my instruction to Marry Me, as if it;s listening to me: make it so that I don't miss Happy Endings every time I watch you. Become your own show, with your own premise, with your own interesting characters. Flesh out your ensemble past the point where they’re all just stereotypes, and dig into your lead characters so they feel more unique and less like cardboard cutouts. If you do all of that, we could be on the way to something special here.

Conclusion:

Marry Me is loaded with potential. It has a creator who's proven himself before, a talented and likable lead couple, and an already sharp sense of humor. What it needs to do now is figure out just what, exactly, it is. "Couple that gets engaged" is not an interesting enough premise to sustain itself for a full season or even, really, a few episodes, so what it needs to do now is expand its world and its ensemble into something that we want to keep coming back to. It's on its way, but it needs a little bit more work to get there.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014 at 9:00PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

  • NBC.com Official Site
  • TV.com
  • epguides.com
  • Internet Movie Database
  • Wikipedia
  • Marry Me Photo Gallery

    Preview:





  • black-ish

    ABC has picked up the new hit comedy black-ish (22 episodes) and the new hit drama How to Get Away with Murder (15 episodes) for full seasons, in the first series pickups of the new season. How to Get Away with Murder was television's top series debut of the season and the biggest 10pm drama debut in two years in Adults 18-49. black-ish opened as the #2 series debut and the #1 comedy debut on television by the same metric. Additionally, black-ish had the best-ever viewer retention out of Modern Family for any comedy debut. The comedy stars Anthony Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson, Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson, Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson, Jr., Miles Brown as Jack Johnson, Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson and special guest star, Laurence Fishburne as Pops.

    How to Get Away with Murder

    How to Get Away with Murder stars Academy-Award Nominee Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, Billy Brown as Nate, Alfred Enoch as Wes Gibbins, Jack Falahee as Connor Walsh, Katie Findlay as Rebecca, Aja Naomi King as Michaela Pratt, Matt McGorry as Asher Millstone, Karla Souza as Laurel Castillo, Charlie Weber as Frank Delfino and Liza Weil as Bonnie Winterbottom.


    Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Friday, February 21

    Happy's Place - "Sisters Ink" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    When Isabella gifts Bobbie matching sister mugs, Bobbie is forced to quickly think of an equally thoughtful gift, resulting in Isabella expecting the sisters to get matching tattoos; Steve and Takoda investigate where Emmett has been sneaking off.

    Happy's Place - "Fish Fry Monday" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    When Emmett sees Bobbie drowning in work, he devises a clever ruse to give her a much-needed day off fishing, all under the guise of reviving the tavern's Fish Fry Mondays; Isabella dives into the world of bartending with Gabby.

    Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "When You Wish Upon A Squonk" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    After finding out about the prophecy, Billie avoids using magic, but when a magical creature causes mayhem in the Russo house, Billie worries it's still her fault.

    Complete TV Listings


    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 17)

    Friday, February 21

    • Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal) - Watch Anthony on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class/The Pitts) - Lizzy appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Tina Fey (Only Murders in the Building/30 Rock) and Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - Tina and Amy are guests on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - NBC's Today catches up with Jane sometime between 7-9am.
    • Alan Ritchson (Blue Mountain State) - Alan talks about Reacher on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
    • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


    New on DVD and Blu-ray

    Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

    10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
    10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
    11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
    11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
    12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
    12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
    01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
    02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

    More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


    Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

    02/21 - CBS Renews 9 Additional Series for 2025-26; Hulu Picks Up Paradise for Season 2
    02/20 - 31st Annual SAG Awards Pre-Show Hosts; Hulu's Ellen Pompeo Series Trailer Released
    02/19 - Hulu's Am I Being Unreasonable? Returns for Season 2; Apple TV+ New CG Animated Comedy Series
    02/18 - Cartoon Network's Iyanu Debuts April 5; Chelsea Handler: The Feeling Premieres March 25 on Netflix
    02/17 - Netflix Renews XO, Kitty for Season 3; The Pitt to Return on Max
    02/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 17, 2025)
    02/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Sets Cast for Potential Backdoor Spinoff of The Neighborhood; Martha Stewart to Co-Host New NBC Cooking Competition
    02/14 - FX's Dying for Sex Premieres in April on Hulu; BET+ Announces Lil Kev, Adult Animated Comedy
    02/13 - Antenna TV and Rewind TV Celebrate Valentine's Day; The Handmaid's Tale Returns for Final Season
    02/12 - Official Trailer for Hulu's Deli Boys; Doctor Odyssey Returns with a 2-Part Event
    02/11 - Trailer for Shoresy Season 4; More Stars for SNL50: The Anniversary Special
    02/10 - First Ever SNL Episode This Saturday on NBC; FX Renews English Teacher for Season 2
    02/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 10, 2025)
    02/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: English Teacher Renewed at FX; MeTV Toons to Launch House of Hanna-Barbera Programming Block
    02/07 - SNL50's Star-Studded Lineup; Adult Swim Presents Oh My God... Yes! A Series of Extremely Relatable Circumstances
    02/06 - Prime Video Iliza Shlesinger Special; Kate Hudson Stars in Netflix Comedy
    02/05 - Fox Midseason Tuesday Change; 2025 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Rosters
    02/04 - NBC Summer Staples Return in Summer 2025; Gronk Guests on Animal Control
    02/03 - The Conners Final Season Premieres March 26; Tyler Perry Gets 2nd Comedy Series for Netflix
    02/02 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 3, 2025)
    02/01 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Little House on the Prairie Reboot Headed to Netflix; George Sr. Set to Return on Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage
    01/31 - Final Season of The Righteous Gemstones; Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell's Audible Original
    01/30 - Netflix's New Little House on the Prairie Series Coming Soon; Sabrina Brier Gets Awesomeness TV Series
    01/29 - MGM+ Orders Comedy Series; Peacock's Amanda Seyfried Series Premieres March 13
    01/28 - Ellen Pompeo's Hulu Series Gets Premiere Date; The White Lotus Season 3 Launches February 16
    01/27 - Hulu's Deli Boys Adds Tan France; Joel McHale Taking Over The 1% Club
    01/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 27, 2025)
    01/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Righteous Gemstones to End After Upcoming Season; Mid-Century Modern to Pay Tribute to Linda Lavin
    01/24 - Prime Video George Lopez Special; Netflix Renews The Lincoln Lawyer for Season 4
    01/23 - Tubi's New Comedy The Z-Suite Launches February 6; The White Lotus Renewed for Season 4
    01/22 - Fox Announces Animation Domination 2025 Schedule; Abbott Elementary Renewed for Season 5
    01/21 - Fox Renews Murder in a Small Town; O.J. Simpson Netflix Docuseries