The Perfect Harmony set needs to tune

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NBC loses two notable sitcoms next year: critically acclaimed film The right place and nostalgic favorite Will & Grace both end in 2020, leaving a certain void in the network's list for warm, entertaining and punchy comedies. It's quite natural to watch his new fall entries, including the musical sitcom directed by Bradley Whitford. Perfect harmony, as possibly worthy substitutes. This beneficent comedy for church choir seems perfectly adapted to the network of peacocks on paper, but on the basis of the pilot, it does not have the necessary power yet.

Perfect harmony is essentially an unorthodox comedy in the workplace, which fits well with NBC's previous successes like 30 rocks, Parks and Recreation, Office, and even the newly acquired Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Of course, it took a little while after the pilot for all these beloved series to find their place, which means that there is room for Perfect harmony improve his poor opener. For now, he relies too much on the star of Whitford, winner of the Emmy Award, despite a set including PerfectAnna Camp and Rizwan Manji, the latter having established his brand of niche humor in Schitt's Creek and The magicians. It is clear that Whitford's gruff performance alone can not sustain an entire series, but as his disgruntled and redeemable protagonist (his qualities often recall Ted's Michael Danson in The right place), his presence offers a little hope to the band and the show.

The pilot begins with Arthur Cochrane (Whitford) sitting in his car near a church, mourning the death of his wife in his small hometown of Kentucky and contemplating his own will to live. It's when he hears a discordant chorus trying to sing "Hallelujah" and decides no, it will not be the last sound he hears. He breaks into their session and quickly begins to correct their voices, merely assuming that he has the right to do so. As a former president of Princeton's music department, he has some sort of an argument, but Arthur's rigid methods are also at the root of the student revolt (in the form of formal complaints) that led to to his resignation. This first scene alone defines the approximate characterization of the series for Arthur: he does not speak as critical, targeting everything from posture to accents. Arthur also gives them nicknames clichés (Tymberlee Hill Adams is Whitney Houston because they are both black, South Black of Will Greenberg, Wayne is nicknamed Matthew McConaughsnake for his tattoos).

This mediocre choir is led by Ginny (Camp), which is nothing less than a ray of sunshine; rather than screaming after her son said "B-word", she smiles and congratulates him for controlling his speech, confirming that she is a cool mother and a darling. Ginny convinces Arthur to stay and help the choir train for an annual singing competition, which she loses each year to another church run by a man Arthur despises (and who could be the ex wife of his deceased wife). This is reason enough for Arthur, who decides to let vengeance motivate him, and training begins. But the man with the ornaments can not help playing, and his blunt personality clashes with the rest of the immense hospitality and politeness of the south of the choir. Perfect harmony repeatedly tries to emphasize the juxtaposition between Arthur and the rest of the characters; This state of resentment is matched only by Ginny's optimism or the constant smile of Reverend Jax (Manji). But the conflict is superficial at first. Perfect harmonyThe mismatched comedy consists mainly of a visual contrast between Arthur's grumpy behavior and the sunny exteriors of everyone.

Naturally, the bluster finally surpassed Arthur by getting involved in the imminent divorce of Wayne and Wayne, and he opened the door. That's when Perfect harmonyThe other problem quickly becomes transparent: God, is this show predictable? About half way through the episode, you start visualizing the end and it's never a good sign. Arthur is back soon and the day of the competition (yes, we get there from the first episode), the choir comes on stage and surprises by singing a strange mix of "Hallelujah" and "Eye of the" from Survivor. Tiger ", a song he had previously shared the personal importance with Jax. This is your usual moment of well-being, but the precipitous pace of the episode diminishes its impact. We know that Arthur and the choir are going to find a way to work together – that's the premise of the show – but the pilot does not convince you why this awesome group of Southern people so easily welcomes a grumpy old alien in their life and their hard work keeping him there.

Lesley Lake Webster, who created Perfect harmony, is also responsible for blessing our screens with comical gems like Mute and Life in piecesShe is therefore accustomed to performing sitcom tropics with a certain degree of joker and compassion. These qualities are not obvious enough in the opening episode, but that does not mean they will not show up. The pilot is not a complete failure: some jokes and some jokes work, like Principe's description of Ginny ("They've never done the Final Four, but outside basketball, it's actually a very good school "). Camp, originally from South Carolina, shines brightly in the pilot project, thereby highlighting the Whitford abrasive, but there is not as much cohesion in the larger group. The reasons why Arthur stays in the city, not to mention his unconditional acceptance by the city, remain unclear at the end of the pilot project. Yes Perfect harmony really wants to follow in the footsteps of The right place or even Will & Graceyou have to find the rhythm – and quickly.