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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Friday, November 8

    Happy's Place - "Fish Fry Monday" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    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.

    Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs the Roast of George Lopez" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
    After George experiences a minor fall that leaves him with cake on his face, the family begins to treat him like a fragile old man; when Chance is caught using a curse word, Rosie questions Mayan's modern parenting techniques.

    Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Wizards Just Wand to Have Fun" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    Billie and Justin work together to undo a spell when Billie's prank goes awry; Roman gets some new muscles thanks to a magical muscle tee; Milo's class pet is loose in the house.

    Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "The Legend of Creepy Follows" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    Billie uses a spell on her BadgerBook profile and accidentally enchants her classmates; she tries to find a way to break it to get everyone back to normal.

    Complete TV Listings


    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 4)

    Friday, November 8

    • Allison Janney (Mom/Mr. Sunshine) - Watch Allison on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • Kathy Bates (Disjointed) - Kathy appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
    • Pamela Anderson (Stacked/Home Improvement) - Pamela is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
    • Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Rachel Bloom (Reboot) and Jim Rash (Community/Help Me Help You/Thanks/Katie Joplin) - Rachel and Jim are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
    • Lauren Graham (M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren is in the house on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
    • Tim Matheson (Just in Time/Window on Main Street) - Tim talks about his book, Damn Glad to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches, on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
    • Pete Holmes (How We Roll/Crashing) and Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - Pete and Judy are chatting about their new holiday movie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
    • JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Blockbuster/The Millers/Bent/'Til Death) - JB talks about Buy It Now on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.


    New on DVD and Blu-ray

    Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

    09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
    09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
    09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
    09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
    09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
    09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
    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)
    02/04 - 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

    11/07 - A Very Merry MeTV 2024 Schedule; Stranger Things Final Season in 2025
    11/06 - Outer Banks to End with Season 5; Nothing to See Here Season 2 on Netflix
    11/05 - ABC Holiday Schedule for 2024; NBC Holiday Schedule for 2024
    11/04 - Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas Schedule 2024; A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin at NJPAC
    11/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 4, 2024)
    11/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Simpsons Themed Monday Night Football Alternate Telecast in December; MeTV Planning for Christmas
    11/01 - BET+ Renews Churchy for Season 2 and The Ms. Pat Show for Season 5; Remembering Teri Garr
    10/31 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Gets Full Season Order; Fox's Going Dutch Trailer
    10/30 - Clifton Davis Joins CBS Daytime's Beyond the Gates; Ronny Chieng's 3rd Netflix Special
    10/29 - The Simpsons Monday Night Football Disney+ Telecast; Prime Video Announces The Sticky
    10/28 - Fortune Feimster Gets 3rd Netflix Special; Cruel Intentions Series for Prime Video
    10/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 28, 2024)
    10/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Matlock Renewed for Second Season; Happy's Place Off to a Solid Start
    10/25 - Peacock's Based on a True Story Returns November 21; CBS to Honor Jerry Mathers at Awards Show
    10/24 - Family Guy's Gift of the White Guy Holiday Special; Laid Arrives December 19 on Peacock
    10/23 - Bad Sisters Season 2 Returns November 13; Trailer for Hulu's Interior Chinatown
    10/22 - Goosebumps: The Vanishing Premieres January 10; Michelle Buteau Gets 2nd Netflix Special
    10/21 - Fox Adds Martin Short to Grimsburg; Secret Level Cast Announced by Prime Video
    10/20 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 21, 2024)
    10/19 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Rick and Morty Renewed for Two More Seasons; A Look at Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Crossover
    10/18 - Apple TV+ Renews Shrinking for Season 3; Guest Voices for Phineas and Ferb New Season
    10/17 - Watson Premieres January 2025 on CBS; Anthony Jeselnik Gets 3rd Netflix Comedy Special
    10/16 - Lifetime's It's a Wonderful Lifetime 2024 Schedule; YouTube Sitcom Gets Season 4
    10/15 - Tom Papa Is Home Free on Netflix; Apple TV+ Reveals Season 2 Details for Silo
    10/14 - ABC Halloween 2024 Schedule; Reba Creates Happy's Place Theme Song
    10/13 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 14, 2024)
    10/12 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Spinoff of The Big Bang Theory in the Works; Velma Canceled by Max
    10/11 - Netflix Renews Nobody Wants This; Alicia Silverstone to Lead Acorn TV Series
    10/10 - Max's The Sex Lives of College Girls Returns November 21; FETV Acquires Laramie
    10/09 - HBO's Seth Meyers Special Debuts October 26; New Late Night Comedy Series Focuses on Crazy Florida
    10/08 - Somebody Somewhere Returns for Final Season; Virgin River Season 6 Drops for Holiday Season
    10/07 - Vice TV Announces Black Comedy in America Series; Netflix Stars Team Up for Netflix Movie