Light applause for the backyard



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Photo: Justin Lubin (NBC)
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Michael Schur likes Cheers. the Good place Creator, Parks and Recreation Schrute's cousin, formerly a showrunner, praised the barroom comedy as "the best sitcom ever made"; He has more or less developed a situation that would allow Ted Danson to come back into the skin of Sam Malone's shoulder, a towel-sponge shoulder. The right placeThe final of the second season. "What made this event so great is that it has a giant group of incredibly awesome characters, and they would save a lot of time talking," he said. Vulture in 2011. "It was not complicated or complicated, they did not have delusional intrigues."

Drive

B-

Featured

Natalie Morales, Nelson Franklin, Neil Flynn, Jessica Chaffin, Kimia Behpoornia, Leonard Ouzts

infancy

Thursday, March 28 at 21:30 Eastern on NBC

Format

Sitcom multi-camera; three episodes watched for review

Thus, when it was announced that Schur would produce for NBC a multi-camera sitcom placed in a bar, certain segments of the audience received the information such as a breeder of cherubs with a photo waving the words "WE WIN!" on his head. Another reason for celebration: This show, Abby's, would feature Natalie Morales, a Parks And Rec alum who organizes a campaign for a lead role in a networked sitcom since his brief stay as an artist who became a supernatural researcher in the cult series The mediator. To add a touch of novelty, everything had to be filmed outside, to reflect the fact that its main establishment is located in the backyard of the house of the character of Morales.

Schur, Morales and the creator Josh Malmuth did not minimize the image of the series. Cheers parallel: in a Los Angeles Times Morales said, "If I could get any comparison with Cheers or Ted Danson, why would you complain? But it's a huge hurdle to overcome at this stage for a show, given that Cheers driver is widely regarded as one of the best mediums. The three episodes of Abby's provided to critics have their share of laughter and engaging personalities, but are more in tune with the average multi-camera vacant launch, where the premises are clearly stated, while the elements that set them apart – here the outdoor shoots and a elaborate decor rules for bar guests – are emphasized by sweat.

Morales plays Abby, a former Marine who returned to San Diego after many tours in Afghanistan, worked in the service sector. She found that this did not suit her anti-authoritarian tendency and gradually transformed the space behind her rental home. speakeasy de-sac. The dialogue or plot tells us about other things about Abby, including her bisexuality, her tense relationship with her alcoholic father, and the intense sense of privacy that keeps these secrets secret. biographical information, until they are forced out through a dialogue or plot. Abby rules and you may win a place at the bar among the regulars: Beth (Jessica Chaffin), mother of wine, Fred avuncular (Neil Flynn), the nice bouncer James (Leonard Ouzts) and the sardonic disciple Rosie (Kimia Behpoornia) Your point of entry is Bill (Nelson Franklin), the cloddish landowner who first threatened to close the joint, before being convinced of his worth and being part of the gang. welcome to Abby's; no phone, please.

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Such elaboration is one of the most irresistible elements of the three episodes, with their uncertainty about what to do with James and Rosie. (This is the first time the regulars of the series have come out with the series Ouzts and Behpoornia, we hope that their characters will be better defined as the season progresses.) The situation is good, however: Morales is a actor who has spent the last ten years MVP, a long-time actor of the cast, playing a series of best friends, amorous interests and fellow practitioners with dimensions added to their sharp remarks and in their eyes. the Abby's The pilot has the impression of being a test balloon to determine if an entire show can be built around the more pungent facets of these characters, and Morales commands the show as confident as it is. Abby controls her waterhole. While building the flinty and reserved facade that keeps the bar flies in the courtyard, she balances an inviting amiability with Chaffin and comforting father-to-father stories with Flynn.

Morales (left), Chaffin, Franklin and Flynn
Photo: Chris Haston (NBC)

Facing Franklin, Morales has this great alpha / beta friction where Abby's approval is the key to Bill's sense of belonging, a comic group, a comic dynamic highlighted by the difference in pitch between the actors. From the beginning, it's a perfectly symbiotic relationship: the fact that Bill stirs the status quo at the bar could allow Abby to open up a bit, while the regulars will make him relax when they bring Bill into their seats. ranks. Abby is part of a noble lineage of bartenders, whose true service is to listen to the trials and tribulations of their customers, not the other way around. However, Abby's entire setup blurs the line between "customers" and "friends," and it's the most interesting and promising component of the series to date.

It is more difficult to say exactly what the unorthodox means of production of the series provide. There is no real nocturnal mood in a soundscape, but as seen in the curtain shots, the scenery must also be illuminated in the light of the stage for the benefit of the cameras. With the eyes of a studio audience, these images reveal an internal tension within Abby'S: the artificial constructions of a multi-camera sitcom falling into a natural environment; an air of unpredictability lent to something so typically controlled.

If the program gives the impression of placing too much emphasis on outdoor shootings or the arbitrary rules and regulations that govern the bar, it may be because Abby's is so low concept and no frills. The deepest echoes of Cheers He is not heard in the scenery or in the shelter he offers to his pariah band, but rather through his friendly plot. The episodes unfold at a leisurely pace around basic storylines – Beth realizes she might not be as close to Abby as she thought; the gang is worried about losing Bill to the benefit of his ex (a hilarious Mary Holland) who leaves some room for jokes but may also incite to watch the second act clock. Abby's It may sound funny, like when Abby agrees to answer personal questions, but only after the interrogator puts down a foul and promotional vodka, but there is no question of blurring the viewers with flocks of zingers spent in conversation . All this corresponds to what Schur admires about Cheers; he is surrounded by other behind-the-scenes talents who have experience in making drunken drinking comedies: Malmuth worked on the first five seasons of New girl, and My boys creator Betsy Thomas is a producer and director, as it is How did I meet your mother Worker Pamela Fryman.

The first impression of Abby'S is as attractive as its central frame. Sitcoms are often acquired tastes; this one only reminds the rare exception that was good from the first drop. And although everyone around the bar is not aware, it's worthwhile to raise the glass at the sight of Morales then at home on a show bearing his name.

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