Ray Romano's new TNT show, Men of a Certain Age, is sad, poignant, touching, and funny. Know what else is all those things? Life. Which means those who tuned in to last night's series premiere expecting to see the Ray we remember—the lovable idiot on Everybody Loves Raymond who's constantly trying to coax his wife into sex—were in for a major shock.
Romano, who co-created Men of a Certain Age, has the comedy thing down, as evidenced by his many Emmy comedy nominations, but his new venture is more suited for a sigh track than a laugh track. The show—which is about three college friends approaching the half-century mark—is much darker than what we're used to from Romano, but it's balanced by levity and certainly wears the "dramedy" categorization as well as any show ever has.
At its heart, Men of a Certain Age is a character study in the vein of Friday Night Lights, another program that puts characters in very real situations that we can instantly relate to. You may or may not be knocking on the doorstep of 50, but you can certainly identify with life's difficult decisions (though many in Men are fed through a midlife-crisis tube) and that's exactly where MOACA shines.
There's an excellent scene in the first eight minutes of the premiere during which Romano's character Joewho is separated from his wife and running a party supply storeruns over a possum with his SUV while on a hiking excursion. The critter slaughter becomes an examination of a moral dilemma, as Joe and his friends Owen (Andre Braugher) and Terry (Scott Bakula) all have different ideas about what they should do. It's not the situation that's the centerpiece here; sure, there is a potentially dead marsupial in the road, but it's how each character reacts to the problem that's enticing. And that is what makes a good drama.
All three leads' performances are exceptional, but Romano really stands out and could be in line for another Emmy nod, this time for drama, if he continues on this route. An excellent supporting cast (former Nickelodeon star Lil JJ is prepped to break out as one of Joe's employees) only makes things better. Bonus points for a great soundtrack!
My early vote for most surprising midseason show goes to Men of a Certain Age. Let's hope it keeps this real-life focus through the rest of the season.
Men of a Certain Age airs Monday nights at 10pm. In case you missed the premiere, TBS will be rerunning the pilot throughout the week.
Comments (16)
This show can be great, only thing i'm wondering off is. Does Scott Bakula comes back in the third season of Chuck, as his master brainy father. I really liked him in that part. And i'll keep my eye on Men of Certain Age.
It's a solid show.I was at the gym on the back and was watching on mute, you have to have headphones to hear it, and I really enjoyed what I saw and read (CC).It's also refreshing to see a show based on men, from a male point of view too. As a woman it's interesting.
I really enjoyed the show; it was nice to see something where the writing was funny and moving without being hit over the head with it. Ray Romano, Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher are terrific together. I also really enjoyed Penelope Ann Miller, Michael Hitchcock, and Richard Grant. I think TNT has a hit on their hands if they can continue to promote it and stay behind something that is different than most things on TV these days.
hm, i thought it was pretty boring. o.O
I watched the premiere episode and lost it when I saw the scene with the opossum. I especially laughed my A off when the opossum got up and walked away after getting rolled over 3 times. I believe this will be a good show and TNT is really good at keeping good shows.
oh ok will look for it on tbs
I''m nowhere near 50 and I really liked the episode! Can't wait to tune in the next one.
I missed it satellite went out in snow storm maybe TNT has it online
I missed the premiere, but I want to watch this show. All three leads are great actors. I knocked on the doorstep of 50 over a year ago. Now I'm sitting at 50's kitchen table having a cup of coffee.
Yes it is, what a nice surprise it was to watch it. I am definately putting it on my watchlist.
I was bored and removed it halfway through my DVR viewing - all my best for the show - just not for me
It was not wery good I think, rather boring. I might be wrong, but this is not how everybody feel their life has been I hope?
Good for Ray Romano. I still got to check it out but it looks good. Happy he could reinvent himself again, most sitcom stars don't.
It was ok, but I see it as just a "filler" show. It didn't wow me or make me think after I shut it off. And I thought Romano was the lesser of the 3 characters!
Romano continues to make hits
I couldn't agree more! The series just feels so real - there isn't anything in the show (so far) that isn't relatable! I've been extremely excited about this series since it got the green-light and it certainly doesn't disappoint.