A successful TV comedy series doesn’t necessarily need to have a particularly unconventional setting or a particularly complicated concept (Friends and Seinfeld, for example, can largely be summarized as “a group of people hanging out,” as can plenty of other hit comedies), but skillfully utilizing a non-traditional theme or environment can pay big dividends. An unusual focus can help a show stand out in an increasingly-crowded TV marketplace, bring in new viewers attracted by the setting, and open up new areas of comedy beyond the traditional plotlines. Whether it’s municipal government, community college, a Brooklyn police precinct, the 1980s, or an apocalyptic wasteland, many recent comedies have used atypical settings to great effect. Doing so successfully requires more than just the initial concept, though; it necessitates understanding the subject matter and how to tell funny stories that work with it.
The recently-concluded first season of Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, which wrapped up Thursday night (Sept. 17) on FX, is a great example of this. Creator, executive producer, writer and star Denis Leary, along with his cast and collaborators, decided to do not just a comedy set in the world of rock music, but one that works within that world, and one that uses that world to great and believable effect to generate a remarkably clever and hilarious show.
https://youtu.be/5m22nJT6_7E
A comedy about rock music may not sound all that groundbreaking, especially given the success of movies like This Is Spinal Tap and Almost Famous, but the advantage of doing this as a longer TV show rather than a feature film is that it can focus on the characters involved and explore the smaller interactions between them without always having to drive the plot forward. There’s some plot involved in S&D&R&R, but what it really does well is to create a compelling cast of characters.
There’s Leary as Johnny Rock, lead singer of 80s band The Heathens, John Corbett as Heathens guitarist Flash, Bobby Kelly as drummer Bam Bam, John Ailes as bassist Rehab, and Elaine Hendrix as backup singer Ava, who also happens to be Johnny’s long-time girlfriend. The group broke up after just one album, though, and they only get back together when Johnny’s estranged daughter Gigi (Elizabeth Gillies) moves to town with showbiz dreams in the pilot and gets her dad to reform The Heathens as her backing band. The subsequent episodes then follow the trials and tribulations of this new band, The Assassins, and the various steps they take in pursuit of a record deal.
This is a decent premise, but one that doesn’t necessarily blow viewers away. It would have been easy for S&D&R&R to be forgettable, either by becoming too plot-focused and diving too deep into the niches of the music industry, or by going the other way and becoming a generic workplace comedy that didn’t have much to do with music.
https://youtu.be/qnM0FBzwDYc
Fortunately, this talented cast helps avoid both pitfalls, bringing each of these characters to life with nuanced, quirky portrayals and driving much of the comedy through their interactions. Character traits such as Flash’s admiration for Lady Gaga (he was her touring guitar player before reforming the band), Rehab’s pursuit of a wide array of pharmaceuticals, Bam Bam’s obsession with barbecue and Rock’s fear of success all pay off spectacularly, as do the various relationships involved; the rhythm section bromance between Bam Bam and Rehab (who are looked down on by the rest of the band), Gigi’s decision to date Flash (and the horror this causes her father), Flash and Rock’s constant feuds that fuel their creative collaborations, and Ava and Gigi’s unlikely friendship all work to make this show interesting. These characters are well-written and well-acted, and that’s crucial to why S&D&R&R works.
The show also excels at using the musical theme and setting to the fullest as a source of comedy, and that’s perhaps what really helps it stand out in a crowded landscape. S&D&R&R gets great mileage out of funny cameos from the likes of Joan Jett and Dave Grohl (the resolution of Jett’s storyline is particularly hilarious), but what’s even better are the musical in-jokes it works in. Much of this show is relatable even if you don’t care about rock, but the more inside rock jokes provide some of the best moments, from Rehab and Bam Bam demanding U2’s equally-split pay without being able to name their drummer and bassist, to Rock being attacked by Rush‘s Fly By Night owl during an on-stage drug trip, to jokes about AC/DC’s cannons, which need to be taken to “PBS Civil War” levels (“Ken Burns type bombs, baby!”), to a long discussion in the season finale about which member of the Beatles everyone is (with Rehab and Bam Bam lobbying to be The Who instead, until they’re told that ends with them dead from drug overdoses).
Beyond the specific, though, the show also gets the general nature of rock and cleverly explores plenty of its elements, from the creative tensions within The Assassins (particularly during a group therapy episode) to the role of drugs and alcohol to the challenges of intra-band relationships. Smartly, it keeps things pretty focused on the music and the band’s challenges (there aren’t any “The gang goes to a Yankees game!” episodes), drawing plenty of comedy from those, but it doesn’t get so engrossed in particular technical details to throw up an entry barrier. There’s lots to like here even if you can’t differentiate John Entwistle and Geddy Lee.
https://youtu.be/DmXxQ0EhG1o?list=PLIDyzBpnfjqmTfOqAwkGWUCB3Niu4Q61u
S&D&R&R is far from a full-on musical, but many of the episodes have substantial musical segments, and the songs (written by Leary) are often catchy. Gillies, who’s collaborated with Ariana Grande and whose songs (both S&D&R&R and otherwise) can be seen on this impressive YouTube channel, has a Broadway background and has worked on a music-focused show before, Nickelodeon’s Victorious, and S&D&R&R fully utilizes her voice and her stage presence. It’s not hard to see her becoming a bigger name as a result of this.
There’s no word yet on if there will be a second season of S&D&R&R, and the ratings don’t appear to have been great, but it’s possible we could see more of it given FX’s desire for comedy and their relationship with Leary. If so, it will be eagerly anticipated from this corner; this is an excellent, unconventional comedy, and one that’s explored a different world than that we usually see. It’s one that shouldn’t die anonymous.
Even if this is it, though, it’s a show that’s been worth watching, and it ended with one particularly funny and apt twist in the finale. If that’s setting things up for another season or more, terrific; it would be awesome to see more of these characters and this world. If not, though, at least we got 10 solid episodes, and it will have burned out rather than faded away.
