The Carmichael Show

It's not ambitious for a trendy, young stand up comedian to get a show deal with a network and develop it into a multi-camera sitcom. It's downright cocky. Even if the reasoning is that it's nostalgic or it's what we grew up on, not only has it not worked if you pretend CBS doesn't exist for a second, it's not how we've experienced comedy on television during the last ten years. Especially not on NBC, home of The Office, 30 Rock, Community and Parks & Recreation. Jerrod Carmichael is an incredibly likable comic. There's not too much of his material out there. He's never done a late night spot or anything on Comedy Central. His debut hour that premiered on HBO last year was shot at the Comedy Store, directed by Spike Lee and was this tremendous combination of standard joke telling and awkward spontaneity. It seemed promising that he was doing a show, but you also understand how these things end up.

The Carmichael Show's first season was six episodes aired two at a time over three weeks. It initially seemed like a lot all at once, but it didn't end up being a bad thing. The show is about Jerrod, who lives with his girlfriend Maxine, his parents (David Alan Grier and Loretta Devine), his brother (Lil Rel) and his brother's ex-wife. Each episode revolves around a discussion between Jerrod and Maxine and his traditional, Southern parents. What separates this show from shows that tried to be multi-cam sitcoms (Mulaney) and multi-cam shows that don't even try (Les Moonves' filmography) is how real and heartwarming it feels. Not in an every-episode-gets-resolved-with-a-lesson way but in a manner in which the dialogue and reactions seem in the moment and uncontrived. His parents can be foolish and ridiculous but they're also parents. Their reactions to healthy diets and transgender people feel genuine and honestly funny. Grier and Devine do such a great job. Jerrod probably has some room to grow as an actor, but that works because his character is the one that's figuring things out.

You have your moments that seem a bit easy and multi-cam-y but I actually laugh at the show. It feels good to watch. It might be too much to say they tackle serious issues within it, but that's very much part of the show. How we talk about certain issues – Obama, protest, gay marriage – how a black family discusses these issues, how this family in particular resolves these issues.
Who knows where network TV goes in the next five years. Four episodes into a six-episode first season, it's hard to not root for Jerrod and company.