In a world of reboots, it’s nice to see some newer ideas.
Taking on the family comedy genre are ABC’s “Imaginary Mary” and NBC’s “Great News.”
“Imaginary Mary” focuses on Alice (Jenna Elfman), whose imaginary friend Mary (voiced by Rachel Dratch) comes back into Alice’s life when she starts seriously falling for a man with kids.
“Great News” focuses on a mother who becomes an intern at her daughter’s work after a friend dies.
Both shows are full of B-list stars, though “Great News” boasts that it’s produced by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock.
The comedies are not as revolutionary as “Modern Family,” but at least they tried for something different.
When was the last time you saw an imaginary friend on TV? And it’s nice to see an older female starring in a TV show about something that is slightly relevant (baby boomers in the workforce)
Yes, there are still some usual tropes: “Imaginary Mary” has the I-don’t-know-how-to-handle-children mentality and “Great News” yet again focuses on the world of journalism. And yes, neither show is laugh-out-loud funny.
But with all these reboots, I’d give these a shot.
“Imaginary Mary” airs 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC. “Great News”airs 9 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC.
