Not that I’ve ever been invited, but remind me to be wary about opening any closets inside Billy Crystal’s house, as there might just be a horny bear lurking within. To find out what my uncoded words mean, check out the new trailer for Crystal’s new FX series The Comedians.
That was pretty incoherent, am I right? Not unenjoyably so, although it makes Josh Gad look less like a human being than a fodder prop for reverse-equestrian dry-humping. Although, if we’re being perfectly fair, nothing Gad says or does during the run of The Comedians is going to top this moment.
The Comedians centers on Crystal and Gad making a sketch show for FX, and they’ll star as heightened versions of themselves. Curb your meta enthusiasm, guys. Gad looks like he’s playing the Tracy Jordan of the Comedians universe, if mostly for that awful baby costume and the way he eats ham.
I’m a huge Crystal fan, so it’s a huge deal getting him back to TV regularly for the first time since Soap in 1981. But he’s obviously older now, and the high-energy comedy torch has been passed down. But will he be a straight man or a sardonically wisened celeb? Damn you, 30-second trailer, for not allowing me to understand what kind of a comedy this is going to be, other than a comedy about making a comedy. Luckily, FX rarely misses with any of their series, so I’ve got all the faith in the world that this shot below is going to be funny in context.
I’m in the camp that enjoys when Louie swirls the surreal around to draw some laughs, and that plays a big part in why I also love FXX’s Man Seeking Woman as much as I do. And if a libidinous closet bear doesn’t signify weirdness in the writers’ room, I don’t know what does.
The Comedians’s writing team consists of Crystal, longtime Seinfeld writer Larry Charles (who also directs), Burn Notice creator Matt Nix and Ben Wexler, who worked with Nix on The Good Guys, among other series. That’s a stellar squad of talent, and the cast also includes Dana Delany as Billy’s Wife, Stephnie Weir as the show’s producer, and Matt Oberg as the head writer.
There are too many reasons not to tune into The Comedians when it premieres on FX on Thursday, April 9. No lions, no tigers, just bears.
