UP ALL NIGHT and FREE AGENTS Reviews: Fall TV 2011 [Worth Watching?]

I hear COMMUNITY has gotten better, as has PARKS & RECREATIONS. Also, I love Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, and Hank Azaria, so I had high hopes for NBC’s new comedy block starring all of them — though I also had major resentment that it didn’t pop off until 10pm. You’d think that the powers that be would know that most of the people in UP ALL NIGHT’s target demographic have to get up early with their children the next morning. But, no worries, apparently the block is moving into the 8pm/7c time slot as of next week.So without further adieu, here are my spoiler-free reviews of UP ALL NIGHT and FREE AGENTS.

Overview

UP ALL NIGHT: Power couple Regan (Christina Applegate) and Chris (Will Arnett) have a baby. Their whole life gets turned upside down even as they try to hold on to the old versions of themselves. In a refreshing twist, Chris leaves his law career behind to become a stay-at-home dad, and Regan goes back to work as a producer on a talk show hosted by the zany and wonderfully self-absorbed, Ava (Maya Rudolph).

FREE AGENTS: Alex, a recently divorced dad (Hank Azaria) hooks up with fellow PR executive, Helen (Kathryn Hahn), whose fiancee died a year ago. While trying to keep things simple, things get messy. The series also stars Anthony Head (Giles from BUFFY!) as their boss.

What I Liked

UP ALL NIGHT: Um, a sitcom that talks frankly and openly about new parenthood? Really, I might as well have hit the series record button based on concept alone. Maya Rudolph is also a scene-stealing joy to watch. And, smarm-master Will Arnett is somehow just right playing a nurturing father — this might just be his comeback role.

FREE AGENTS: I didn’t have high hopes for this sitcom, but I was surprised to find myself laughing in quite a few places. It’s nice to see a recently-divorced dad portrayed as an emotional wreck (keepin it real, son) and to see someone grieving over a long period of time, as opposed to just getting over it a few episodes later. The show’s title sounds fun, but really it’s a sitcom about how horrible it is to be a newly free agent. I’m actually rather bummed that I can’t add it to my series recording list (see why below).

What I Didn’t Like

UP ALL NIGHT: Not every pilot joke landed, and it felt a bit rushed, to the point that you could practically see the NBC executive notes saying that all the set-up had to happen fast. Not five-minutes fast, but like 2 minutes fast — seriously they found out they were having a baby, had the baby and came off maternity leave in under two minutes. My writer’s mind was like, “Slow down, dudes!” (But my ridiculously low attention span was kind of thanking them for it.)

FREE AGENTS: At a couple of points in the show, they do that weird thing that I hate, where the main male character tells a joke, and everybody laughs hard, especially the women, because he’s just soooo funny. Note to male writers: Only Bill Cosby can pull this off. Also, this has the worse Diversity Report Card I’ve seen on a good show since HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.

How many PoC in the main cast?

UP ALL NIGHT: 2 — Biracial comedienne, Maya Rudolph plays an Oprah-like talks show host, but manages to put her own spin on it. And (surprise!) Nick Cannon plays her on-air sidekick/DJ. He didn’t have much to do in the pilot, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in future episodes.

FREE AGENTS: 0 — which means that I can’t watch it, since I can’t be bothered with shows that can’t be bothered with diversity (Note: this rule was instituted after I started watching HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (starring BUFFY alum Alyson Hannigan — yes, I also read the BUFFY comic books, and yes, I’m aware that I might be a little obsessed with BUFFY in general). In any case, Anthony Head is not enough to make me go back on my main television-watching rule, so way to go FREE AGENTS casting team.

Final Grades

UP ALL NIGHT: Show/B Diversity/A-

FREE AGENTS: Show/A- Diversity/F

Worth Watching Again?

UP ALL NIGHT: Like I said, they had me on Maya Rudolph and the concept alone.

FREE AGENTS: No, because their casting sucks. Even the sassy executive secretary is being played by a white person. C’mon!