Evaluating Chuck Lorre’s Biggest Hits and Misses on CBS

United States of Al, Season 2, Episode 1 Review

A mediocre freshman sitcom that was renewed by CBS largely based on the clout of its legendary producer, Chuck Lorre, finds the opportunity to redeem itself in the surprisingly serious and dramatic Season 2 premiere.

Rediscovering United States of Al

 

Last April, CBS debuted THE UNITED STATES OF AL, an unlikely comedy from producer powerhouse Chuck Lorre (TWO AND A HALF MEN, YOUNG SHELDON, BIG BANG THEORY) with an unusual premise.  A Marine who served in Afghanistan applies for his interpreter to join him in the U.S.  After a three year long battle with bureaucracy, the Marine finally succeeds in getting him a visa and welcomes his friend to his Cleveland, Ohio home and family where the two best friends sleep in the garage.

Even with middling ratings and reviews, CBS decided to renew USoAL for a second season.

Starring Adhir Kalyan (RULES OF ENGAGEMENT) as Afghan interpreter, Al, and Parker Young as Marine Riley, USoAL is worth revisiting not because it's a great show but because it has now collided into historic events with the fall of Afghanistan and the plight of Afghan interpreters and their families now very much in the news.

USoAL was criticized for casting a South-African-born Indian actor with a poor Afghan accent.  The show producers responded that the show has two Afghan-American and one Afghan writer, as well as two Iranian-American producers. They also argued that the show's development included extensive interviews with Afghan refugees and U.S. veterans. 

Still, having binged through Season 1, it's a challenge for the show to balance a thoughtful comedy about two brothers in arms without ending up more like a fish out of water comedy like, oh, anyone remember PERFECT STRANGERS or MORK AND MINDY?  Al's Muslim faith and Afghan culture and traditions are treated respectfully, which makes it tough to milk sitcom yucks even though there are regular jokes about Afghan food.

What works? The core friendship chemistry between Al and Riley is going to make or break this show. Although the first few episodes were predictable (Al: "In my country, the father is always right!") and the hunky Parker Young takes his shirt of a couple times, the show was just starting to get its groove, balancing some serious issues in a family friendly comedy.  The square jawed Parker Young is always fun to watch - he was the very funny frat boy bro in the sadly short-lived comedy, SUBURGATORY - and he seems perfectly cast in USoAL, especially as his character goes through his own post-Afghanistan demons like alcoholism as well as tinnitus and a growing list of injuries he's too proud to apply for VA benefits.

What doesn't work? The writers don't have a firm grip on the secondary characters. We have a good cast with little to do. Riley's dad, Art (BREAKING BAD's Dean Norris), Elizabeth Alderfer as Riley's sister Lizzie, Kelli Goss as Riley's estranged wife Vanessa, and Farrah Mackenzie as Riley and Vanessa's daughter. So far, these characters are around just to hold their noses at Afghan food or make jokes about Riley's past. While one episode had Al frozen in shock at seeing a woman's bare legs, he doesn't seem to have any problems with Riley's sister in the house. 

But it's Adhir Kalyan who has to make the audience care about Al. And this is where history and current events will make the second season of USoAL especially challenging.  In the show, Al waited three years for his visa to come to America to escape the Taliban. There are references made to the U.S. visa program being slow and bureaucratic. Riley promises that he won't give up applying for the rest of Al's family to follow.  So how will the show writers handle the situation in Afghanistan today? Will Al's relatives make it out? Or will the show steer into more serious waters with a new Taliban government locking down the borders? Current events have opened up new possibilities.

One of the best episodes of USoAL was Episode 8 "Roht" when Al and Riley's family search for an Afghan restaurant outside of Cleveland that makes 'roht' - an Afghan sweetbread. At the restaurant, Al is smitten by the owner's daughter, but when she finds out he was an interpreter for the U.S. Marines, she calls him a traitor to Afghanistan.  It's a serious confrontation that's eye-opening, poignant and a hint to us sitting comfortably in North America what might await the interpreters desperately trying to get a flight out of Kabul. And suddenly USoAL steers into Norman Lear territory, a sitcom with serious social commentary.

UNITED STATES OF AL returns on October 7.

If you're in the U.S., you can watch some episodes here:

Show trailer:

Harrison Cheung is the author of the award-winning biography of Christian Bale (BenBella Books) and a contributor to Brave New Hollywood and The TV Ratings Guide.

@harrisonic (Twitter)

balebook.com

B Positive Ordered to Series by CBS

CBS has ordered comedy pilot B Positive. Coming from Chuck Lorre, the prospective show centers on a newly-divorced dad who needs to find a kidney donor, who runs into a rough-around-the-edges woman from his past who volunteers her own kidney. Together, they form an unlikely bond and begin a journey that will change both of their lives. Annaleigh Ashford, Thomas Middleditch, Kether Donahue and Sara Rue are attached to star.

What do you think of this news? Are you interested in B Positive? Let us know in the comments!

The Hits and Misses of Famous Creators and Franchises

Everyone knows Dick Wolf, Anthony Zuiker (CSI), and Chuck Lorre, amongst others, as creators of timeless, legendary shows. But did you know that they've also created their fair share of ratings disappointments? Also, did you know that your favorite procedural drama franchise wasn't comprised
of all hits? Take a look below and see some of the hits and misses created by some of the most famous television creators today.

The Hits and Misses of Dick Wolf

Hits	Up and Coming	Misses
Law & Order (20 seasons)	Chicago PD (4+ seasons)	Law & Order: LA (1 season)
Law & Order: SVU (17+ seasons)	Chicago Med (1+ seasons, strong start)	Law & Order: Trial by Jury (13 episodes, 12 aired on NBC)
Law & Order: Criminal Intent  (10 seasons)		Conviction (13 episodes)
Law & Order: UK (British show, 8 seasons)		Players (18 episodes)
Chicago Fire (5+ seasons)		Mann & Machine (9 episodes, only 4 before pulled from the schedule)

CSI Franchise (Anthony Zuiker)

Hits	Misses
CSI (15 seasons)	CSI: Cyber (1.5 low-rated seasons)
CSI: Miami (10 seasons)	Whodunnit? (9 episodes)
CSI: New York (9 seasons)

NCIS Franchise

You've heard of NCIS, NCIS: LA, and NCIS: NO, all hits at one point or another, with NCIS remaining one of CBS's main staples and NCIS: NO also doing better than most dramas. But did you know that in between NCIS: LA and NCIS: NO, CBS was planning a spinoff of the franchise tentatively titled NCIS: Red? Well, despite being a part of their prized franchise, the show never made it past the pilot stage--meaning it must have been bad, and I mean BAD, since they didn't trust in the power of the NCIS franchise to save the ratings of this one.

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior

In the winter of hit CBS drama Criminal Minds' sixth season, CBS premiered a spinoff entitled Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. After premiering well it went down to a 2.4 A18-49 number for its second episode, airing out of a 3.2 for the parent show. For its season (and series) finale, Criminal Minds was a repeat and hit a 1.4--Suspect Behavior fell down to a 1.8, and given that just five years ago were much different times, it was cancelled, never to make it past its 13 episode order.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

In the 2013-2014 season, ABC ordered a spin-off of Once Upon a Time. It was originally intended to air as a bridge series while Once Upon a Time would go on winter hiatus, but when the schedule was released it was revealed it grabbed a fall spot in the dreaded time slot of Thursday at 8. It premiered to a weak 1.7, and it was all downhill from there. By the time of its finale it hit a 0.9 A18-49 number--and that wasn't even the season low. Putting things into perspective, Once Upon a Time had a 2.1 that week, and Wonderland's lead-out of Grey's Anatomy had a 2.7. 

Other: Chuck Lorre

Even though Chuck Lorre hasn't really created any franchises, I think he's also a solid case.

Hits	Up and Coming	Misses
Two and a Half Men (12 seasons)	Mom (3+ seasons)	France’s Turn (6 episodes)
The Big Bang Theory (10+ seasons)
Mike & Molly (6 seasons)
Dharma & Greg (5 seasons)
Grace Under Fire (5 seasons)
Cybill (4 seasons)