Wednesday 2 September 2015

Truth Be Told NBC's trying-to-hard-to-be-controversial Sitcom

TRUTH BE TOLD (formerly People Are Talking) - Multi-camera
STUDIO: Universal TV/Will Packer Productions
TEAM: DJ Nash (w, ep), Will Packer (ep), Pam Fryman (d)
LOGLINE: A comedy examining sex, race and everything else your parents told you never to talk about.
CAST: Tone Bell, Bresha Webb, Brooke Ishibashi, Mark-Paul Gosselaar



This fall, NBC are adding only one new sitcom to their anaemic line up. It is no secret that NBC has struggled to find new comedy hits after many failed attempts. Even the much loved cult comedies like Community and Parks & Recreation were not big ratings winners and only survived due to their small, but dedicated fan base.

NBC's scheduling doesn't suggest they have much faith in their new comedies or comedy at all. There is only an hour long comedy block in the graveyard Friday 8-9pm death slot.

Truth Be Told is not nearly as progressive or controversial as it thinks it is. Nor is it as funny as the actors or writers think the show is. Tone Bell seems to be just as obnoxious as his character while Gosselaar deserves a much better project than this.

The show is simply a ensemble comedy which follows the relationship between two couples. One couple is Black, the other are mixed race (Caucasian/Hispanic). With a few race jokes, and a sprinkle of raunchy nanny jokes only Ben Affleck would find humorous makes up a recipe of a pretty boring, mostly predictable, stale and dated comedy.



I predict this to be the first new Fall show to be cancelled. NBC have far more interesting shows on the bench (Superstore, Hot & Bothered). Truth Be Told really shows how tragic NBC comedy development team are. To think last season they shunted Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (not the most originally or funny comedy, but very ambitious) to mid-season while shows like Undateable and Truth Be Told snatch fall slots is quite saddening for the state of comedy on network television. Let's hope NBC dumps this show and finds a new comedy hit ASAP!

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