In the US: Tuesdays, 9/8c, NBC
David Walton has something of a reputation. Two reputations in fact.
- He’s NBC’s unofficial comedy mascot, having now appeared as a regular cast member in mid-season replacement shows 100 Questions, Perfect Couples and Bent
- He’s a show-killer, 100 Questions, Perfect Couples and Bent all having been cancelled after a season or even before that.
To be fair, although 100 Questions had its moments, these were largely quite bad shows, in which Walton did little apart from be a feckless, aimless, but amiable womaniser who learns the error of his ways when he meets that special lady.
So now we can perform some actual science. Given Walton’s experience in this area, it’s understandable that NBC called him yet again when they had a very similar role for him in yet another mid-season comedy replacement. But unlike those previous shows, this new one should in theory be very good. It’s About A Boy, based on Nick Hornby’s book and movie of the same name. It’s got Minnie Driver as the love interest. It’s got Jon Favreau directing its pilot episode and even got Leslie Bibb (Iron Man, Popular, GCB) to guest. It’s got Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) show-running it.
If it fails, it must therefore be because
- No one will watch a comedy on NBC any more
- David Walton is a show-killer
Which do you think it is?
Here’s a trailer. And just for comparison, I’ve added the trailer for the Hugh Grant movie below. See if that helps.
