Wednesday, January 31, 2018

NBC Mid-Season Pilot Review: A.P. Bio - Premieres Thursday (Feb. 1); Pretty Little Liars Spinoff Casts Sofia Carson

A.P. Bio

A.P. Bio - Thursdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 9:30PM ET/PT


by Vincent

When disgraced Harvard philosophy scholar Jack Griffin (Glenn Howerton) loses out on his dream job, he is forced to return to Toledo, Ohio, and work as a high school AP Bio teachers. Jack makes it absolutely clear he will not be teaching any biology. Realizing he has a room full of honor roll students at his disposal, Jack decides instead to use the kids for his own benefit.

Cast Details:

Glenn Howerton as Jack Griffin
Patton Oswalt as Principal Durbin
Tom Bennett as Myles
Tucker Alibrizzi as Colin
Allisyn Ashley Arm as Heather

Glenn Howerton (Jack) is best known for his role as Dennis Reynolds on the long-running FX hit comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He has also appeared in recurring roles on The Mindy Project and Fargo.

Patton Oswalt (Principal Durbin) is a comedic actor, known for his role as Spencer on The King of Queens and Remy in the Pixar film Ratatouille. He is also a popular stand-up comedian and has guest starred on many shows, including Parks and Recreation, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and Veep.

Tom Bennett (Myles) is a British actor who has appeared in many British television shows, including The Hunt for Tony Blair, Red Cap, The Worst Week of My Life, My Hero, Life Begins, The Booze Cruise II, Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders and EastEnders, playing Steve Clarke.

Tucker Alibrizzi (Colin) is a young comedic actor, known for his role on shows such as Big Time Rush and Good Luck Charlie, as well as in films such as Bridesmaids and I Am Number Four.

Allisin Ashley Arm (Heather) is an American actress known for her main role as Zora Lancaster on Sonny with a Chance and in Disney Channel's sketch comedy series So Random!

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" (Airs Thursday, February 1 at 9:30PM ET)

Jack Griffin is the newest AP Bio teacher in Toldeo, Ohio, but he makes it clear he will not be teaching any biology – instead, Jack decides instead to use the kids to enact revenge on his rival and take the job that is rightfully his, much to the chagrin of his principal, who is attempting to balance Jack and the school while maintaining his "nice guy" composure.

Analysis:

AP Bio is a weird show. It feels like it wants to be a cable comedy along the lines of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, disregarding things such as plot, character development and empathy and employing a go-for-broke dark humor where everything is a target for laughs. Of course, anyone who watches It's Always Sunny (or You're the Worst or Broad City or any similarly-veined cable comedy) knows that these shows don’t actually disregard plot or character development or even empathy – they just deploy them in less traditional, in-your-face ways. It's Always Sunny may be about a group of sociopaths, but it depicts them in ways that are interesting and most importantly, funny. AP Bio, unfortunately, didn’t seem to realize that was a requirement.

One might look at AP Bio and assume that it will follow the "cold-hearted jerk winds up being inspired by a group of lovable misfits" progression – I saw a lot of Community comparisons when the trailer was released last spring. However, AP Bio makes it clear early on that it has little interesting in transforming its truly deplorable lead character – in the first 5 minutes of the pilot, he tells his students, "I will not be learning from you." That's fine! A truly rotten lead character in a comedy series could be a great source of laughs. But AP Bio doesn't seem to have any direction for its lead character other than "he's a jerk." There are plenty of jerks depicted on TV. "Jerk" is not an interesting character trait in and of itself, and through-out the four episodes released to critics, Griffin never seems to become anything other than "jerk."

On top of it all, AP Bio is just downright mean. It feels like a leftover from 2000s-era sitcoms, when network TV was desperately trying to recreate Seinfeld and did so by churning out a handful of dark, cynical comedies where nothing ever seemed to go right for anyone. Most of these shows were terrible, but some went on to be classics – I'd probably say The Office and 30 Rock had some of this vibe, but those shows succeeded by creating interesting worlds of characters that felt like human beings, and the cynicism of those shows worlds were crafted in a way that was funny and felt like a commentary on their own premises. AP Bio just feels mean for the sake of being mean. It has a great cast, some funny lines, and all of the makings of a good show, but underneath its glossy surface, there's not much there. Hopefully, it can take a cue from some of the excellent comedies on the network it airs on such as The Good Place and Superstore and craft an identity of its own, otherwise it's going to stick out like quite a sore thumb on an excellent line-up.

Conclusion:

AP Bio isn't a total waste of time – Glenn Howerton does good work with a fairly uninspiring lead character, and there are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. Unfortunately, the show suffers from being too mean-spirited and operating without much of a purpose. There's nothing about Jack Griffin or anyone on AP Bio that feels unique or lived in – they're just hollow joke machines, churning out jokes that are sometimes funny but not frequently enough to excuse just how little there it the show. There is potential here, so hopefully the creative team can re-evaluate some of the series’ flaws and make better use of its talented cast.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 2/5
Funniness: 3/5
Overall: 2.5/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 9:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

  • NBC.com Official Site
  • TV.com
  • epguides.com
  • Internet Movie Database
  • Wikipedia
  • A.P. Bio Photo Gallery

    Preview:





  • Sofia Carson

    Freeform, Disney's young adult television network, announced that rising star Sofia Carson (Descendants) has joined the cast of the drama pilot Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. Carson will play Ava, a beautiful trendsetting blogger and coder, who strives to be a fashion icon. She joins Pretty Little Liars stars Sasha Pieterse and Janel Parrish in the spinoff pilot. Carson will also appear on the upcoming season of Freeform's series Famous in Love, which like Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists is executive produced by I. Marlene King. Carson will guest star on the series as Sloane, the daughter of a movie mogul, who becomes entwined with Paige Townsen and her friends. The second season of Famous in Love will premiere on Wednesday, April 4 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on Freeform, streaming, and on demand. Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, is based on the popular book series "The Perfectionists," written by Sara Shepard, who also penned the No. 1 New York Times bestselling book series "Pretty Little Liars." Everything about the town of Beacon Heights seems perfect, from their top-tier college to their overachieving residents, but nothing in Beacon Heights is as it appears to be. The stress of needing to be perfect leads to the town's first murder. Behind every Perfectionist is a secret, a lie and a needed alibi.


    Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Sunday, July 6

    none scheduled

    Complete TV Listings


    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)

    Friday, July 4

    • Ayo Edebiri (Big Mouth/The Bear) - Watch Ayo on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Jay Pharoah (White Famous/Champaign ILL) - Jay is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • Frankie Grande (Henry Danger/Danger Force) - Frankie appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • Mark Hamill (The Texas Wheelers) - Mark is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
    • Cristin Milioti (The Resort/Made for Love/A to Z/How I Met Your Mother) - Cristin appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
    • Arnold Schwarzenegger (FUBAR) - Arnold is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Rob Riggle (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/Golan the Insatiable/Gary Unmarried) - Rob appears on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
    • Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
    • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
    • Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario talks about And Just Like That... on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
    • Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob opens up about being married six-times and is sharing all about his new show Landman on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
    • Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela) - Justine is telling Drew about her viral wardrobe moment with Kathy Bates and shares behind the scenes moments of filming Succession, revealing the cast member she had a crush on, on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


    New on DVD and Blu-ray

    The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

    01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
    03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
    04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
    05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
    06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
    06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
    07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

    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

    07/05 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Comedy Central Delays South Park and Digman! Season Premieres; Jackée to Appear in Guest Role in Netflix Series
    07/04 - Happy 4th of July; Antenna TV's McHale's Navy Red, White and Navy Independence Day Marathon
    07/03 - The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Season 3 Premieres August 6; South Park New Season Moves by Two Weeks
    07/02 - FETV Acquires The Rookies; Hulu Renews The Bear for Season 5
    07/01 - Bert Kreischer Gets Netflix Sitcom; NBC Gets Into Survival Mode This Summer
    06/30 - The Comeback Makes Another...Comeback; First Look at Black Rabbit at Netflix
    06/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 30, 2025)
    06/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Comeback Returning for a Third and Final Season; South Park to Remain on HBO Max
    06/27 - The White Lotus Star Teams Up with Netflix; Remembering Bobby Sherman, Lynn Hamilton, and Rick Hurst
    06/26 - The CW's Fall Movie of the Week; First Look at New York Comic Con 2025
    06/25 - Netflix Renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2; My Life with the Walter Boys First Look for Season 2
    06/24 - Marc Maron Gets Second HBO Comedy Special; Outlander Prequel Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
    06/23 - MeTV Summer Changes, Adds Adventures of Superman; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
    06/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 23, 2025)
    06/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Officially Dead After Not Finding New Home; Weigel Announces New WEST Network
    06/20 - Great American Media Announces New Danica McKellar Movie; Jennifer Love Hewitt ID True Crime Series
    06/19 - Bad Thoughts Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix; Zarna Garg Gets Hulu Special This July
    06/18 - Weigel Broadcasting Announces WEST Network with Classic TV Westerns; Hulu's Season 2 of Such Brave Girls
    06/17 - Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife on A&E Series; Digman! Returns July 9 on Comedy Central
    06/16 - Hulu's Chad Powers Teaser; Prime Video's Jesse Williams Series
    06/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 16, 2025)
    06/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Mulls Airing The Paper on Primetime Lineup; Fox Revives Baywatch Reboot Talk
    06/13 - My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Renewed for 2 More Seasons; Hanna-Barbera Developing Adult Animated Series
    06/12 - Comedy Superstar Jack Black Is the King of Comedy at Nickelodeon; Doc Adds Felicity Huffman
    06/11 - Celebrities for Celebrity Family Feud Season 11; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Starts Production
    06/10 - Warner Bros. Discovery Separates Company; Peacock's Jennifer Garner Series Adds to Cast
    06/09 - Comedian Ms. Pat Gets Season 3 of Courtroom Series; Disney Branded Television Animated Slate
    06/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 9, 2025)
    06/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Cancels Alert: Missing Persons Unit and The Cleaning Lady; Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune Headed to Streaming
    06/06 - Hulu's First Look at Amanda Knox Drama; Prime Video Lands Spy Thriller
    06/05 - Disney's Electric Bloom Gets Premiere Date; Conan to Guest on NBC's Late Night