If timing is everything in show business, then “The Mayor” has landed on arrival — though its thin-yet-topical premise needs more depth to ensure its future survival.
With a wink and a nod to the 2016 presidential election (laterally referenced here several times), this pleasant-enough ABC sitcom tells the tale of 27-year-old wannabe rapper Courtney Rose (Brandon Micheal Hall), whose recording studio consists of his bedroom closet (which he’s lined with soundproofing). In a bid for attention of any kind — and hoping to spark his big break — Courtney runs for mayor of his Northern California town and debates his opponent Ed Gunt (David Spade with a dodgy beard), whose pit-bull campaign manager, Valentina Barella (Lea Michele), happens to be Courtney’s old 10th-grade lab partner. Courtney charms his debate audience with his banter, including this description of the town center which Gunt is so proud of reviving: “There’s so much trash, Bravo gave it a second season.” Well, wouldn’t you know it, Courtney wins the election, snaring 52 percent of the vote and stunning everyone, including his “staff” — his goofy best friends Jermaine (Bernard David Jones) and T.K. (Marcel Spears). His stern-yet-supportive mother, Dina (Yvette Nicole Brown), can’t understand why her son would put himself in this position. “Why does anyone in my generation do anything? Attention,” Courtney answers. Can’t argue with that one.
All of this happens within the first nine minutes of “The Mayor,” which means there’s around 13 minutes of airtime to fill with the “What now?” premise. That’s partly filled by Valentina, who (creepily) reappears in Courtney’s bedroom after the election to announce she wants to be his chief of staff. He agrees with a handshake, she goes to work and, before you can say “Next commercial!,” Courtney’s got himself a few bedraggled, motley-crew staffers (including Jermaine and T.K.). But he’s still unable to scratch the itch to perform, so when a local club comes a-callin’ … well, you can guess what happens next.
There’s nothing really bad about “The Mayor” and nothing, save for its (sort of) ripped-from-the-headlines narrative, that sets it apart from your average run-of-the-mill sitcom. There are some snappy lines (“Russia clearly tampered with the voting machines”; “The media is never wrong”) and everyone fits into their roles admirably, including Hall (“Search Party”), who carries the ball with enthusiasm. I particularly like Clifton, who makes the most of his supporting role as T.K. and knows his way around a punch line.
But “The Mayor” needs more depth to take it beyond the standard sitcom formula; it’s up to the show’s executive producers, including rapper/actor Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton”), to keep us interested going forward.