It explains so much that Mr. Mayor was initially conceived as a 30 Rock spinoff starring Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy; consequently, the present performs like a rushed rewrite that doesn’t fairly match. (It acts like we should always know who Danson’s retired enterprise tycoon Neil Bremer is, regardless that we don’t.) To make certain, Danson has been a reliably charming TV presence for practically forty years now, going again to his days tending bar as Sam Malone on Cheers. (His gleefully kooky activate HBO’s Bored to Dying deserves a re-assessment, by the best way.) However even he can’t rescue this.
After all, the premise wouldn’t matter as a lot if the present had laughs, however Mr. Mayor comes up brief there as effectively. Fey and fellow 30 Rock/Kimmy Schmidt alum Robert Carlock function co-creators and government producers, and Mr. Mayor delivers that very same relentless tempo of punchlines, with jokes coming quick and livid. Most, although, land with a thud, with numerous drained jabs at acquainted targets (Los Angeles, millennials, social media) and few of them eliciting even a lightweight chuckle. The tone is muddy, too, seemingly undecided between Veep‘s pitch-black cynicism and Parks and Recreation‘s earnest grassroots optimism — so it tries to do each, and neither feels real. (Plus, after the bruising election 12 months all of us simply survived, can we even want any extra political comedy at this level? Give us a 12 months off, at the least.)
By the second episode, Mr. Mayor is already resorting to dangerous toupee jokes and the aforementioned “PPPORN” debacle. (Actually, nobody at Metropolis Corridor raised a crimson flag about that one?) Even a sure-fire winner like getting Ted Danson stoned on weed gummy bears one way or the other falls flat. (He finally ends up preventing a hockey mascot, for some cause.) The actors appear virtually resigned right here, too; perhaps they know they’re hooked up to a misplaced trigger. The one saving grace is the data that everybody concerned will go on to extra worthwhile tasks. The earlier this time period ends, the higher.
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: Regardless of a unbelievable pedigree and Ted Danson on the helm, Mr. Mayor falls flat with a skinny idea and only a few laughs.