The MGM+ comedy American Classic deserves a standing ovation. It’s perfectly cast and written so sincerely, with genuine laughs but just as much genuine emotion. It’s reminiscent of David Mamet’s underrated film State and Main, except instead of the movie business, the show by Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin shines a light on the theater.

Kevin Kline is at the core of American Classic as stage legend Richard Bean, who has his Will McAvoy moment when chewing out a critic and the critic’s husband over a review of King Lear. Kline’s monologue isn’t as epic as the one Jeff Daniels got in the pilot of The Newsroom, but it’s damn close. And it’s perfectly fitting that Kline is playing a Broadway icon, because he is one; his performance as Richard evokes his Tony Award-winning work as Garry Essendine in the 2017 revival of Present Laughter. He’s that stunning—seeming to move so effortlessly between scenes and layers of Richard, who is bombastic and tone-deaf when he needs to be and yet equally capable of just being human.

Yet this is not a one-man show. American Classic is populated with stage talents, including multiple Tony Award winners—the epic Len Cariou, Tony Shalhoub, Jane Alexander and Aaron Tveit—as well as four-time Tony nominee Laura Linney and three-time nominee Jessica Hecht. These actors having lived that bond with the stage that the show talks about is clear in their performances; they’re not just pretending to know or care about theater. They actually do, and that gives the series an underlying authenticity. Jon Tenney and Nell Verlaque are also ably cast, with the former being a perfect foil to Kline as Richard’s much more grounded brother Jon, and the latter a breath of fresh air as Richard’s niece Miranda. Everyone who turns up on screen fills their part so well; there are no throaway characters in this show, which is particularly remarkable given its premise.

In broad terms, the idea is “big shot comes back to small hometown,” which TV viewers know very well. It’s been done a lot, particularly in Hallmark movies and most recently in FOX’s comedy Best Medicine. But what sets American Classic apart is the fullness of the world that Hoffman and Martin have created. The citizens of Millersburg feel like people, and not small-town caricatures who serve up punchlines. The show never cracks jokes at the expense of the city or the people who live there. The most cringe-worthy moment actually comes from one of the two clearly positioned antagonists, which is fine because viewers are obviously supposed to dislike them. It’s great that American Classic makes the audience want Richard to save the Millersburg Festival Theater before he does.

Make no mistake about it: this comedy is laugh-out-loud funny. There are some absolutely hilarious lines, both in witty turns of phrase and in the way they’re delivered—it’s no spoiler to say that Kline has many of them, hitting his comedic targets with the aim of a sharpshooter. Yet Hoffman and Miller do their jobs in spreading the laughs around, from the core cast to the guest characters. Everyone gets to play and the jokes come fast, particularly around the Bean family dinner table. It’s some of the best comedy in years.

At the same time, American Classic knows when to stop being funny. Not everything has to be a setup for a joke. There are serious scenes that are allowed to be serious, particularly amongst the family. One of Kline’s best moments is simply a reaction shot in a moment opposite Cariou. That’s something often lacking from comedy TV shows these days—that the show doesn’t have to always be “on.” There still has to be a story under all the jokes, and this one is a poignant one.

It’s not just about a family that puts the “fun” in “dysfunction.” It’s a reminder, both on-screen and off, about the value of an art form that doesn’t always get its due. The theater is a space that’s unique from TV and film, not just logistically but emotionally, and American Classic is able to capture that. And watching so many great stage actors being a part of that process is its own reward, just to appreciate them and see what they bring. There’s a sincerity to American Classic that pushes it over the top. This is Emmy Award-worthy work for Kevin Kline, and it’ll be a hilarious hit for MGM+, but it’s also a show that will make people want to go to the theater. Or maybe just go back home. And those kinds of TV series, the ones that also make people nostalgic about life, just don’t happen very often. This one can’t be missed.

American Classic premieres Sunday, March 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on MGM+. Photo Credit: Courtesy of MGM+.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 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. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.