Each week, I take a look back at a pilot from the 2010-11 season, first reviewed on my blog during that season. This week, I am looking at the failed Matthew Perry vehicle Mr. Sunshine!
The Details:
Premiered: February 9, 2011 on ABC
Starring: Matthew Perry, Andrea Anders, James Lesure, Nate Torrance and Allison Janney
Created by: Matthew Perry, Alex Barnow & Marc Firek
What I Thought Then:
"The pilot was uneven but the promise was there."
"Despite playing a somewhat unlikable character, Matthew Perry has his usual charm."
"The highlight of the premiere was Allison Janney, who is completely committed to being as offbeat as possible."
"To use a sports analogy for a show set in an arena, it didn't knock the ball out of the park with its premiere, but it kept the ball in play."
What Others Said:
"There's some smart slapstick, and I believe that Perry could be the one sane man in an arena that holds 17,505 people." - Paige Wiser, Chicago Sun-Times
"Mr. Sunshine looks promising, with former Friend Matthew Perry playing straight man in a swirl of kooks, including an especially amusing Allison Janney, who deliver consistent laughs." - Jonathan Storm, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Much like Cougar Town was back in the fall of '09, Mr. Sunshine is a show with a lot of likable performers, a solid creative pedigree, occasional laughs and a whole lot of room for improvement." - Alan Sepinwall, HitFix
"Mr. Sunshine isn't particularly hilarious or endearing, and the comedy doesn't surround Perry with a balanced ensemble of characters who get to be funny as well." - Maureen Ryan, Huffington Post
"I suppose Sunshine can get by for a time on Perry's familiarity to audiences and because it has the great Modern Family as a lead-in. But in the long run, those factors aren't enough to counterbalance how much of a downer this show is." - David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle
What I Think Now:
Mr. Sunshine was a show with so many great pieces (particularly, the cast) that just didn't come together in the pilot. Despite the thread of Matthew Perry being involved in every scene, there's a feeling of each character being in a different show. Was it the wacky and almost surreal sitcom he was doing with Allison Janney? Or the slick workplace comedy with James Lesure or the romantic comedy with Andrea Anders or the juvenile bro comedy with Nate Torrance? I think part of the problem was the characters pretty much interacted only with Perry and not really with each other in the pilot so there was no gelling of tone or feel to the show. Matthew Perry played a really an unlikable character here but he was doing the same type of comedy he became famous for so the character had the feel of being a "mean Chandler" and that just didn't work. There were very little redeeming qualities for his character in the pilot. Allison Janney seemed to be having a blast here playing a pretty ridiculous character after years of being buttoned up on The West Wing. But again, she was in an entirely different show even though she was giving it her all. The setting was fun, the actors are good, Matthew Perry could be likable. The baseline of all those things made this an OK show compared to some clunkers but compared to expectations or what it could have been, it was a gigantic miss.
What Happened to the Show:
Mr. Sunshine was a highly anticipated show as it was Matthew Perry's first return to a sitcom since Friends (he was also part of the high profile flop drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip but that's for another day). The show encountered a lot of problems including a pilot retooling before it even premiered so it had the reputation of a "problem show" by the time the first episode aired. The series, which premiered after the huge hit Modern Family, got a strong sampling for the premiere but the ratings dropped quickly from there. Critics were generally negative (54 on Metacritic) but seemed to hedge their bets at first before they realized it wasn't going to get better. It was cancelled officially in May with four episodes (that were never originally scheduled) left to air. Before his untimely death in October 2023, Perry would have two more comedy attempts in the 2010s with his one season run on the better received Go On on NBC and a three season run of the reboot of The Odd Couple on CBS, which was slightly more popular but not liked by critics.
Final Episode: April 6, 2011
Episode Count: 9 + 4 unaired
Where to Watch: Available for purchase on Amazon or on DVD
I'm excited to be contributing to The TV Ratings Guide! You can read my regular work at Benjamonster's TV!
