This is one half of a dueling column about NBC’s new comedy A to Z. See the argument against A to Z here.
A to Z is not the savior of the Thursday night comedy block on NBC. Nor is it fair to expect that it should do just that. On the surface, the show is a rom-com told over weeks instead of an hour and half chunk of time. However, once you pull back the veil, A to Z, ironically, has the potential to fill the How I Met Your Mother sized gap in your life.
The experiment with the story line is a nice break from the “friends share apartment and find love” dominant comedies that come and go, occasionally succeeding. Stepping away from New Girl, Big Bang Theory, The Millers, and Mike and Molly, A to Z‘s jump away from the “will they, won’t they” lands the show just before the bickering fall out of in-laws and “I dos.” It has a Nora Ephron spirit waiting to be fully realized. If it can harness that essence, it will do just fine.
The other half of the pairing comes with Ben Feldman’s Andrew. Again, the “guys’ guy” with a sensitive side is a well overdone categorization, but Feldman follows Milioti and brings the adorkable leading man to the tale. The character of Andrew may take a bit more time to warm up to, especially following his rant at the bar about destiny. (We just revived Milioti from the dead on another show about destiny. Don’t jinx it, man!) His number one bro, Stu (Henry Zebrowski) is there to provide the narration of the guy with no filter between his mind and his mouth. Pick up lines, check. Awkward whispering, check. Funny with a beard, check. However, I think with the right writing, Stu can go on to be the comedic fall back the show needs when, the relationship, inevitably hits the fan.
The supporting cast is, if not on par with the leading cast, a very strong backup that I look forward to seeing more of each week. (It definitely does not hurt that Stu’s lines and Zebrowski’s delivery of them hits the perfect cord of my type of humor. Think Jim Gaffigan as a best friend.)
The voice-over, provided by a third party (Katey Sagal) is not nearly as overbearing as hearing Bob Saget say, “Kids…” and hopefully, will only provide a Grey’s Anatomy-style intro and outro to the show. Pilots have a lot to accomplish in only twenty minutes. A to Z aptly sets up the serious lawyer who works across the plaza from the man whose job is to bring couples together at the Wallflower dating site. Instead of the various meet-cutes that dominate the romantic comedy genre, a flash of several cute-misses spin Andrew and Zelda around each other in the months proceeding their meeting.
None of the romantic comedy tropes felt overdone or our of left field. They were expected, they did their job, and I have hope that the show will be able to move away from them as the series progresses. I can turn on any network cable station to find a movie half over know what transpired and what is to come. With Andrew and Zelda’s story, can I guess what I think will happen? Sure. Do I feel like I know? Absolutely not. That is what keeps me intrigued beyond the show’s cutesy exterior.
I do fear for the show’s fate in its current time slot. Up against Shonda-Thursday’s on ABC, the show may not have the pull to draw viewers from the “must see live” TV shows taking place a few channels away. Personally, I would be more inclined to choose A to Z on a slower night of television or even as a series online. NBC is notorious for pulling shows from the air, but hopefully A to Z will be extended an olive branch to see how the series develops!
It is easy to make comparisons to How I Met Your Mother as the two shows share numerous qualities, not to mention a leading lady. However Ben Feldman and Cristin Milioti are adorably convincing enough to keep me tied to the show than Robin and Ted’s intro ever did. The creators of the show have already spoken about going into the show with a very specific (8 months, 3 weeks, 5 days and 1 hour) and they do have plans for the future should the show reach that minute. Whether they break up or get engaged, I will be around for week 2.