Now We’re Talking is finally back! My favorite indie comedy series kicks off on CW Seed today, with a brand-new season 2 available to stream along with all of the episodes from season 1 in case you haven’t discovered it yet. And if you haven’t, you absolutely should because it’s one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in years, written, acted and brilliantly crafted by two comedic geniuses.
Tug Coker (The Office) and Tommy Dewey (Casual, Code Black) play a pair of former NFL quarterbacks who were frenemies on the field, but wind up being partners off of it when they both embark on post-football broadcasting careers. It’s not a spoiler to tell you that things don’t go well for their characters Tug Tanner and Tommy Arondall, but the result is one-part sports media send-up, one-part buddy comedy, and always worth the watch.
In honor of the show’s return, here are three things I love about Now We’re Talking that will also tell you why you can’t miss it.
1) It’s genuinely funny – without trying to be funny.
Stating the obvious here, but Now We’re Talking is an honestly funny comedy in an age where many TV comedies just aren’t. This is a show that makes you laugh out loud (even moreso now that it’s expanded into a full half-hour) and those laughs come from many different places.
It’s not just setup-punchline type humor and it doesn’t have a ridiculous laugh track. Instead, you might laugh at a joke but you also are just as likely to laugh at someone’s reaction to a joke, or an absurd situation, or a completely unexpected cameo (of which there are a few). This isn’t a show that wants you to know how funny, or hip, or edgy it is and beats you over the head with its jokes. It’s a series that is naturally funny, and allows its humor to breathe.
You might not though, because you’ll be too busy laughing.
2) The characters are worth rooting for.
Comedy without good characters doesn’t mean anything. Tug and Tommy are a pair of characters that the audience wants to spend time with, even when they’re acting like two complete and utter idiots. They’re flawed and they’re vain and they do things that they really shouldn’t do, but all of that comes from a really human place. They feel genuine and not like a stereotypical pair of sitcom buffoons.
Indeed, one of the best things about Now We’re Talking season 2 is that the audience is able to spend more time with Tommy and Tug in each situation. Whereas things moved at a fast clip in the first season, now we watch them wallow in the awkwardness. Or we get to see them celebrate their victories and struggle with their defeats. They grow a lot as people in this season, and that makes the jokes land even better because we see their story arcs and understand where the humor comes from.
3) It’ll fill that sports-shaped void in your heart.
Until recently, it was a lonely time to be a sports fan. We’ve just come out of a period where there weren’t any major sports to watch and even now, the ones that are playing have limited to no fans or even awkward virtual fans (looking at you, NBA). Now We’re Talking is perfect for sports fans on so many levels.
Of course it’s about a pair of ex-athletes who become sports broadcasters. But it also includes cameo appearances from a number of other folks in the sports world, from a few big-name announcers to some actual players. There are lots of football references but there are also a few more obscure sports on the docket.
And the new season shows, right off the top, how hard it is to get by when all of a sudden the sport you love isn’t in your life anymore. That’s something we can all identify with at the moment. Now We’re Talking has a love of sports inside it but it also embraces all of the weirdness that comes with sports. And if you don’t like sports, you’ll at least be able to appreciate the craziness. It’s a win-win situation and a show that once again knocks it out of the park.
Now We’re Talking season 2 premieres on CW Seed today. Season 1 is also now available to stream.
Article content is (c)2020-2023 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram.
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