Four Kings

FOUR KINGS

Network: NBC

Airs: TBD

Grade: D-

Hit me baby 1 more time! If NBC wants to spinoff its new summer reality series, maybe it could do a version with one-hit wonder sitcom writers. The very first slot could be filled by the writing duo of Max "Mystic Tan" Mutchnick (see photo, left) and David Kohan, who brought us one hit series (Will & Grace) and then laid a massive egg on the same network in the shape of the dreadfully misguided and unfunny Good Morning, Miami. Now poor, hit-starved NBC has another half-hour turd on its hands, this one dubbed Four Kings.

The writing duo has a penchant for casting vaguely semitic looking, hunky actors, probably because that's what they fantasize is winking back at them in the mirror every morning. Miami had Mark Feuerstein, and now Kings has Josh Cooke, fresh off NBC's recently (and mercifully) cancelled midseason comedy, Committed. As bad as it was, Commited at least gave the likeable actor a character to play. Four Kings has him playing Ben, a generic-as-a-UPC-symbol 'slacker' in New York with no discernible personality traits beyond having a dead cool, foul-mouthed grandmother (they also have a penchant for cool, foul-mouthed grandmothers) who leaves him her large apartment. Ben reacts to this news in the completely plausible way anyone living in the actual world would: he invites his three annoying wisecracking friends to move in with him! Of course they gleefully drop everything and do so: Barry, played with one loud, angry, grating note by Seth Green, Jason (Todd Grinnel) who is 'anal retentive' and 'formerly fat', and Bobby (Shane McRae), who is 'dumb' and 'dirty'. They 'banter' and 'talk shit' for 23 minutes but deep down they all 'really love' each other and the entire thing comes of as phony, tin-eared, and worst of all, very, very unfunny.

Here's a sample scene: Jason has to 'break up' with his personal trainer because he is moving across town. The personal trainer gets very hurt and acts like they are an actual couple breaking up. Isn't that HILARIOUS??

The multi-camera sitcom is dying quickly and taking NBC down with it. Four Kings is the reason why.

Comments

[Angela]

Are they trying to be Entourage without blatantly being Entourage?

Haven't you heard? NBC is the new UPN.

[Natalia]

it's great!