Super-producer Chuck Lorre is Hollywood’s king of sitcoms, but if you’re expecting another Two and Half Men or Big Bang Theory from his new effort, The Kominsky Method, you’re in for a big surprise.
SEE A PREVIEW OF THE KOMINSKY METHOD BELOW
The new Netflix series, starring 80s and 90s movie favourite Michael Douglas as fading acting coach Sandy Kominsky, and Alan Arkin as his long suffering best friend Norman, is a brave and edgy effort that isn’t afraid to venture far from the established TV comedy formula.
I was laughing my head off when Kominsky’s serious lecture on the art of acting was interrupted by an airhead student asking about how to apply the lesson to his upcoming shampoo commercial audition.
The pretension and stupidity of the acting world is taken down a peg or two, showing this is a comedy willing to embrace sometimes harsh self-deprecation.
But when Norman’s wife Eilenn (Susan Sullivan) passes from a serious illness, it is definitely not played for laughs. Taking a sharp angle into the unfunny reality of death, the show displays a depth and emotional resonance that most TV comedies are unwilling or unable to explore.
But dark humour soon re-emerges, with preparations for Eileen’s funeral complicated by her wish ‘to be buried in an unpretentious coffin, made from driftwood or reclaimed timber from a ship wreck.’
The funeral itself is both touching and sometimes hilarious, with a number of big celebrity cameos – and one false alarm.
The revelation of the reason behind Norman’s ongoing feud with Patti La Belle is a hoot.
At its core, this is a show about a deep friendship between two men who are facing the harshness of growing older and all that comes with it.
Blending great, sophisticated humour with deeper subject matter, The Kominsky Method is perfect binge viewing. Check it out.
To hear the a full discussion of The Kominsky Method, check out this week’s episode of WHO’s TV podcast, Binge List. Details below…
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