Billy Crystal’s return to prime-time TV gets off to a good start in “The Comedians,” his first regular series gig since “Soap” launched him to stardom in the late ’70s.
The setup here finds Crystal playing a slightly tweaked version of himself (think Larry David on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” or Lisa Kudrow on “The Comeback”). He hopes to launch a new solo sketch-comedy show on FX, but when that fails — “There’s too much you,” he’s told — he reluctantly partners with much-younger actor/comedian Josh Gad for “The Billy & Josh Show.”
Gad, too, plays a skewed version of himself (we think); he’s a slobbish, inappropriate, socially awkward man-child who found Broadway stardom in “The Book of Mormon” but quickly flamed out on NBC’s disastrous sitcom “1600 Penn” (both of which are frequently referenced here).
Shot in the mockumentary style of “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation,” “The Comedians” follows the backstage lives of Billy and Josh as they meet (uncomfortably) and prepare for the premiere of their FX show.
They’re surrounded, of course, by an ineffectual and neurotic staff: a lazy production assistant (Megan Ferguson), nervous producer (Stephnie Weir), milquetoast head writer (Matt Oberg) and transgender showrunner (Steven Weber) hired after Billy fires “Seinfeld” veteran Larry Charles (playing himself — he’s also one of the executive producers of “The Comedians”).
Crystal is in fine form and Gad is appropriately irritating (and funnier than I expected).
There are a few laugh-out-loud moments here, but that’s not the intent; “The Comedians” is more an (embellished) character study of its two protagonists, spiced with the requisite zingers about Hollywood’s phoniness. (Crystal, one of the real show’s writers, doesn’t spare himself in this regard.)
Crystal is in fine form and Gad is appropriately irritating (and funnier than I expected). “The Comedians” is more of an acquired taste than a “must-see” — and will appeal to those who enjoy satire and winking, self-referential show-biz tropes.