Thursday, February 06, 2020

NBC Mid-Season Pilot Review: Indebted - Premieres Tonight (Feb. 6); HBO Runs with New Comedy

Indebted


Indebted - Thursdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 9:30PM ET/PT


by Todd

Young parents Dave and Rebecca are ready to reclaim their life after years of diapers and sleepless nights. However, things take an unexpected turn when Dave’s parents show up unannounced and broke, leaving Dave with no choice but to open the door to the two people who gave him everything. But these boomerang parents aren't great with boundaries and the question of who's parenting who quickly becomes blurred.

Cast Details:

Fran Drescher as Debbie
Abby Elliott as Rebecca
Adam Pally as Dave
Jessy Hodges as Joanna
Steven Weber as Stew

Fran Drescher (Debbie) is best known for her role as Fran Fine in The Nanny. She received two Emmy and two Golden Globe Award nominations for the role. She created, executive produced and starred on the TV Land sitcom Happily Divorced, which was inspired by her real-life relationship with her gay ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson. Her other sitcom starring roles include Living with Fran and Princesses.

Abby Elliott (Rebecca) is best known for being a cast member on Saturday Night Live for four seasons from 2008 to 2012. She starred as Brooke Von-Weber in the Bravo sitcom Odd Mom Out. She appeared as Jeanette Peterson in five episodes of How I Met Your Mother.

Adam Pally (Dave) is known for his roles as Max Blum in Happy Endings and as Dr. Peter Prentice in The Mindy Project. His other sitcom roles include Champaign ILL and Making History.

Jessy Hodges (Joanna) is best known as the role of Sophie Parker in the web series Anyone But Me. Some of her sitcom credits include Enlisted, Mike & Molly and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Steven Weber (Stew) is best known for his long-running role as Brian Hackett in NBC's Wings. He starred as Jack Nagle in Cursed (aka The Weber Show). Some of his sitcom guest appearances include Mom, Ballers, 2 Broke Girls and Will & Grace.

Pilot Plot:

"Everybody's Talking About the Pilot" (Airs Thursday, February 6 at 9:30PM ET)

Young parents Dave and Rebecca end up having to take care of Dave's parents who have mishandled their finances and need help to pay down a sizable debt.
Guest Stars: Asif Ali as Ravi, Anders Garrett as Asher, Margaux Heck as Hazel, Amanda Summer

Analysis:

Indebted is a multi-camera sitcom. It's a co-production between by Sony Pictures Television and Universal Television in association with Doug Robinson Productions. Dan Levy, who created the show, will write and executive produce. Doug Robinson and David Guarascio will executive produce. Adam Pally will co-executive produce.

This is an entertaining and enjoyable pilot episode. There's a lot of rapid fire type humor and funny situations. The premise is a bit of a twist on a typical sitcom formula. It's usually the younger couple moving in with their parents. This time it's the broke parents moving in with their son and his family. Fran Drescher has one of the funniest and most memorable quotes when she says: "We're here. We're broke. Get used to it." Another memorable scene is when Debbie and Stew make a fundraising video for Facebook. They unknowingly record a video with Rebecca undressing in the background. The video later becomes a viral hit. Adam Pally and Abby Elliott are a funny couple as well. She has some funny bleeped out profanity lines in the first few episodes. She is the daughter of the always funny Chris Elliott, so she has some good comedy genes. She reminds me of Kaley Cuoco (Penny) from The Big Bang Theory. The trailer and promos have done a good job and highlighting some of the funniest moments.

They have put together a nice cast with sitcom veterans. The cast has some developed some good chemistry in the first few episodes. Fran Drescher and Steven Weber play the parents, Debbie and Stew. Their son, Dave (Adam Pally), is married to Rebecca (Abby Elliott). They have a son, Asher (Anders Garrett) and a daughter named Hazel (Margaux Heck). They have pretty minor roles in the Pilot, but the Asher character has a more prominent role in an upcoming episode that involves him being in a gifted program. Dave's sister is Joanna. She works at a pet grooming business and is looking for a relationship with another woman. Another character stopping by bringing some good laughs is Ravi (Asif Ali), a friend and co-worker of Dave. They work in the home renovation business.

Conclusion:

Fran Drescher makes a welcome return to primetime broadcast network television. It doesn't seem like it's been over 20 years since The Nanny ended. The studio audience gives her a warm welcome when she first appears on screen. She has aged gracefully and still has her recognizable nasal voice and laugh, but her accent is somewhat different. It's also nice to see Steven Weber back on NBC. He's been a steady presence on television in recent years, but this is his first sitcom starring role in a while. He looks a lot like Billy Crystal with his beard. The rest of the cast is solid with some comedy veterans and relative newcomers. The series has all of the ingredients to become a success. They have assembled a talented, funny and likable cast. The writing is funny and fresh with many topical, pop culture, movie and TV references. It will be interesting to see how the characters are developed in upcoming episodes.

NBC will have some holes to fill on their schedule in the fall with the The Good Place and Will & Grace ending. It's always nice to see another traditional multi-camera sitcom on the air. They seem to have made a comeback in recent seasons. Indebted is more of an adult oriented comedy with some of the bleeped out profanity and other adult situations, so I think they made a good decision to put it in a later timeslot. There's some good potential for it to become a dependable hit. Meet NBC's newest family on Thursday nights at 9:30pm ET/8:30pm CT.



Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3.5/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 9:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

  • NBC.com Official Site
  • epguides.com
  • Internet Movie Database
  • Wikipedia
  • Indebted Photo Gallery

    Preview:

  • Run

    Written and produced by Vicky Jones, HBO's new half-hour comedy series Run, debuting Sunday, April 12 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, follows a woman whose humdrum life is thrown upside down when she receives a text from her college sweetheart inviting her to drop everything and meet him in New York to fulfill the pact they made 17 years earlier. The series will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners' streaming platforms.

    Starring Emmy(R) winner Merritt Wever (Godless, Nurse Jackie) and Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Ex Machina), Run is a romantic comedic thriller about a woman, Ruby Richardson (Wever) who walks away from her ordinary life in the suburbs to revisit her past with her college boyfriend, Billy Johnson (Gleeson), with whom she made a pact 17 years prior that if either one of them texted the word "RUN" and the other replied with the same, they would drop everything and meet in Grand Central Station and travel across America together.

    Recurring guest stars for season one include Emmy(R), Golden Globe and SAG winner, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Solo: A Star Wars Story) as Laurel, a woman who Ruby and Billy meet on their journey; Rich Sommer (Mad Men) as Laurence, Ruby's husband; Tamara Podemski (Coroner) as police detective Babe Cloud and Archie Panjabi (HBO's upcoming I Know This Much Is True, The Good Wife) as Fiona, Billy's former PA.


    Sitcoms Airing Tonight

    Wednesday, March 29

    The Conners - "Stuck in the Middle and Stuck in the Past" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    Darlene and Ben get into a fight and ignore Becky’s boundaries in the house. Elsewhere, Dan accuses Jackie of losing all of their home videos.

    The Conners - "New Pipes and Old Secrets" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    Darlene has issues with Dan’s plumbing work in her new house. Elsewhere, Jackie tries to find a caregiver for Bev.

    Abbott Elementary - "Fundraiser" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
    Barbara organizes a candy-selling fundraiser to raise money for a school field trip to the science museum. When sales don’t go as planned, Ava steps in to teach the students new, unconventional selling tactics. Elsewhere, Mr. Johnson and Jacob butt heads about how to take care of a cat found in the janitor’s closet.

    Not Dead Yet - "Not a Tiger Yet" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
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    Complete TV Listings


    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 27)

    Wednesday, March 29

    • Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Ali Wong (Big Mouth/American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - Ali appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Jay Pharoah (White Famous) - Jay is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He talks about taking his impressions to the next level in the new film Spinning Gold on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
    • Adam Scott (Party Down/Ghosted/Parks and Recreation) - Adam will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits-in with the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
    • Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso) - Brendan is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
    • Ali Wentworth (Nightcap) - Ali guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
    • Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
    • Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
    • Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim chats about the new season of the hit comedy The Upshaws on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
    • Judy Gold (All-American Girl) and BD Wong (All-American Girl) - Judy and BD discuss their new play Yes, I Can Say That! on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
    • Zach Braff (Scrubs/Alex, Inc.) - Zach Braff is telling Drew about the real-life inspiration behind his new film, working on it with Florence Pugh and why he got his pilot's license on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
    • Jason Ritter (Another Period/The Class) - Jason will be on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
    • Reba McEntire (Reba/Malibu Country) - Reba is a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
    • Alex Borstein (Family Guy/Getting On/The Cleveland Show), Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Wings) and Marin Hinkle (Two and a Half Men/Speechless) - Alex, Tony and Marin talk about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
    • Lena Waithe (Master on None) - Lena talks about A Thousand and One on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
    • Paula Newsome (Barry/Conrad Bloom) - Paula chats about CSI: Vegas on Sherri, so check your local listings.
    • Nancy Travis (Last Man Standing/The Bill Engvall Show/Work with Me/Almost Perfect) - Nancy talks about Hallmark Channel's Ride on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
    • Gabriel Basso (The Big C) - Gabriel talks about Netflix's The Night Agent on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
    • Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra talks about Space Oddity on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
    • Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Andi Mack) - Peyton will be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.


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    11/08 - Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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    11/22 - That '70s Show - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
    11/29 - Ghosts - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    12/06 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Christmas Collection
    12/13 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season
    12/13 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
    01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
    02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
    02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
    03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
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