TV Talk: ‘Young Rock’ pumps up NBC; ‘It’s a Sin’ will leave viewers sobbing
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Over the next seven days, NBC premieres two comedies, Starz debuts a road show and HBO Max introduces an excellent British drama.
‘Young Rock,’ ‘Kenan’
Of NBC’s two new single-camera, laugh-track-free comedies, “Young Rock” (8 p.m. Tuesday, WPXI-TV) proves funnier and altogether better than “Kenan” (8:30 p.m. Tuesday).
There’s a bit of a “Wonder Years” vibe to “Young Rock” filtered through the writing of executive producer Nahnatchka Khan, showrunner of the former ABC comedy “Fresh Off the Boat.”
“Young Rock” takes place in four time periods with a future Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson running for President in 2032 recounting his life experiences as a child (Adrian Groulux) in 1982, a teen (Bradley Constant) in 1987 and a college football player (Uli Latukefu) in 1990.
All three actors playing the young Rock deliver suitable performances with Australian actor Latukefu best embodying a version of Johnson that will be most recognizable to The Rock’s fans.
There’s a too-crazy-to-be-true quality to Johnson’s real-life story that plays well in a TV comedy but it’s wisely leavened with more grounded, vulnerable moments, particularly the warts-and-all portrayal of Johnson’s father (Joseph Lee Anderson), and the complicated relationship Johnson had with his dad.
“My dad was kicked out of his house at 13 and he was homeless, so that then shaped the man who then raised me,” Johnson said in a January Zoom press conference with reporters. “We didnt want to take the traditional route or the typical route of what you might think this [TV show] could be. Let’s talk about the complications. Let’s reveal things. But also let’s talk about the good stuff.”
NBC’s “Kenan” has been in development for several years and a previous iteration had its lead character in a different profession. In the version that makes it to air, Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”) stars as a widower who hosts an Atlanta morning show while still grieving the death of his wife a year earlier. Don Johnson plays his deceased wife’s father and Chris Redd (“SNL”) plays Kenan’s brother; both help with raising Kenan’s daughters.
There’s some humor to be mined in flashbacks illustrating how Kenan and his wife met on the set of a sitcom – she was only three years older than him but played his character’s mother on the TV show – but the present-day stuff is pretty unfunny, marking this series as a dud on arrival.
‘It’s a Sin’
Easily the best of this week’s bunch, this five-episode, limited series import comes from Russell T. Davies, the writer responsible for the original 1999-2000 British drama “Queer as Folk,” about a group of gay friends (Showtime’s 2000-05 American “Queer as Folk”remake was set in Pittsburgh).
Set in the early 1980s with a head-bopping soundtrack that includes the Pet Shop Boys tune that inspired the show’s title, “It’s a Sin” follows a group of young gay men coming of age in London as the AIDS crisis erupts. Years & Years singer/songwriter Olly Alexander plays one of the boys; Neil Patrick Harris makes a cameo as the boss of another.
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It’s a story TV has tackled before, most notably in ABC’s eight-part 2017 miniseries, “When We Rise,” but “It’s a Sin” is a more intimate account focused on a few characters rather than a sprawling history lesson about the gay civil rights movement.
It’s also devastating. Davies builds up characters in “It’s a Sin” only to have the epidemic cut them down, emphasizing the randomness of who AIDS infected.
Streaming Feb. 18 on HBO Max, “It’s a Sin” plays like a thematic prequel to “Queer as Folk” or a more depressing “Pose,” which also has the AIDS epidemic in its storyline but manages a more hopeful tone. That’s not a criticism of “It’s a Sin,” just a notable difference.
“It’s a Sin” offers one of the most honest, moving takes on the AIDS crisis and in its final episode delivers a searing critique of the shame that ensured the disease’s spread.
‘Men in Kilts,’ ‘New Air Force One’
A charming unscripted road trip featuring “Outlander” stars Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, “Men in Kilts” (9 p.m. Sunday, Starz) follows the two actors as they travel through Scotland exploring its history, culture and heritage. It kicks off this weekend with an episode on food and drink.
Monday at 10 p.m. National Geographic Channel premieres “The New Air Force One: Flying Fortress,” which is short on concrete details about the new 747s that will ferry U.S. President around the world, often hedging on what the plane’s interiors “could” look like.
Coming soon
NBC’s “Law Order: Organized Crime” starring Christopher Meloni premieres at 10 p.m. April 1 with the third season of NBC’s “Manifest” at 8 p.m. that same night.
Syfy’s “Wynonna Earp” returns for its final run of episodes at 10 p.m. March 5 leading to the show’s series finale at 10 p.m. April 9.
NBC’s “Good Girls” returns at 10 p.m. March 7 while “Superstore” will have its one-hour series finale at 8 p.m. March 25.
Channel surfing
Critically acclaimed, award-nominated movie “Nomadland,” starring Monessen High School grad France McDormand, is already showing at the AMC Waterfront (in Imax) and becomes available for home viewing on streaming service Hulu Feb. 19. The film has a boatload of awards nominations, including nomination announced this week for the Critics Choice Awards, which also gave eight nods to filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” … The CW ordered a pilot for a live-action “Powerpuff Girls” series based on the animated show created by Charleroi native Craig McCracken. … HBO Max gave a two-season order to a reboot of cult classic animated comedy “Clone High” from the original’s creators and a series that’s an origin story for “Velma,” voiced by Mindy Kaling, of “Scooby-Doo” fame. … Actress Christina Milian (“The Oath”) will take over the role originated by the late Naya Rivera in the third season of “Step Up” on Starz. … HBO Max renewed “Search Party” for a fifth season. … Streaming service Paramount+ (AKA the soon-to-be-rechristened CBS All Access) ordered a “Yellowstone” prequel series, “Y:1883,” about the Dutton family’s ancestors as they migrated west. … WQED has remastered a few clips from the 700-episode run of “Black Horizons” (1968-2010) and will post the segments on Fridays during February at WQED.org/blackhorizons. … WQED.org will stream the Jewish Healthcare Foundation-produced “What COVID-19 Exposed in Long-Term Care” at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 followed by a discussion panel; register to attend virtually at wqed.org/longtermcare.