American Classic, the new small-town family comedy on MGM+, has a hell of a pedigree. For one, it stars Kevin Kline as Richard Bean, a pompous, famous thespian who suffers a massive fall from grace and returns home following the death of his mother to lick his wounds and hide from the press. Sounds like a great of a set-up, right? Send in a guy who is convinced he’s better than everyone to interact with normal folks and perhaps learn a lesson or two along the way. But the show doesn’t stop there! He’s back to living alongside his brother, Jon (Jon Tenney), and sister-in-law, Kristen (Laura Linney, in a great performance) – who he just happened to date once upon a time. Oh, and their parents (which includes their very much alive, albeit suffering from dementia, father played by stage legend Len Cariou) started a beloved regional theatre in the town that has fallen on hard times – perhaps Richard can put on a show and save it?
Now, the show is lovely when it’s focused on its several clear, overarching plot points – saving the theatre by putting on a show – naturally, Our Town is chosen, Richard starting to learn and grown and realize how awful he had become, the deep but frayed relationships between Richard and Jon, Jon and Kristen, and Richard and Kristen – it’s a great mix of laugh-out-loud comedy and strong emotional beats. But it’s when it tries to pull in the townspeople where things are much more hit or miss. There’s a subplot that involves a local businessman petitioning the town to build a casino – an interesting idea, but the execution is poor. Part of the issue is that this character, Connor Boyle (Billy Carter, who tries to find the nuance in the character when he can) is pretty broadly drawn at times which makes it hard for him to be remotely sympathetic. And his incredibly over-the-top girlfriend, Nadia (Elise Kibler) seems like a complete caricature until she’s granted a gorgeous monologue late in the season that throws her into a new light – but it’s almost too late to really flesh her out, and it should have come much sooner in the season. The rest of the town is also pretty flat – which is fine if the characters are around for one-off moments or for color, but these characters are in the play. They’re around a lot. So it would help to see them as three-dimensional people. Oh, and there’s a jealous teenage boyfriend/romance arc that includes Jon and Kristen’s daughter, Miranda (Nell Verlaque, who reads much older than eighteen) that doesn’t quite work.
It might seem like I’m telling you not to watch American Classic, but that’s not the case. I just wanted to let you know that this isn’t a perfect comedy. But when it’s on, it’s great. Kline is granted the opportunity to really show off his comedic chops – something he hasn’t gotten a chance to do a lot recently. He’s great at playing the blathering fool and just as great at showing us how Richard starts to recognize his own failings and try to atone for them. Co-creators Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin (who penned most of the episodes, with Hoffman directing) make sure that we see the growth – and that we know this guy isn’t a jerk, he’s just lost his sense of self. And that his changes are genuine and come from a real place. And Linney is a delight. She’s tasked with playing the only adult in the room at times – which can sometimes turn into a killjoy role. But Kristen is necessary to balance our Jon’s fun dad energy and Richard’s prickly me-first personality. The series never makes her into the villain – an easy trap to fall into – and always makes it clear why she is doing what she is, even when her actions put her at odds with other characters. Linney has a sharp comedic wit and she gets to use it to great effect in the series. And Tenney is great as the brother who never amounted to what he hoped. Jon’s not someone who complains – he loves his life and his family – but we get to see the resentment that Richard got out and he didn’t. And to see how much he’s adrift in his mid-life crisis at the moment.
It’s hard to create a new sitcom, but American Classic is a good one. The central characters are fully realized. The leads are sharp as tacks and know precisely what to do. And the writing does what it needs to when it needs to – even if some of the supporting characters and subplots don’t quite work as well as they could. And, at a half hour, it’s a quick, light watch. If you’re looking for a new comedy to pick up, this one is worth your time.
American Classic premieres on March 1 on MGM+. All eight episodes of the season were provided for review.
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