Cable has done a remarkable job in the last few years of revitalizing the television drama. First, it was pay networks like HBO, then basic channels like USA, so much so that the effects have even trickled down to the networks in the form of shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives. For all of their success with serious, weighty dramas, though, cable has yet to make real inroads into comedy (not counting stand-up and sketch comedy). Sex and the City was the only original, narrative comedy on cable in the last decade to make a real, lasting impact. Both FX and Showtime are looking to change that.
The main problem with their efforts seems to be a misunderstanding of what exactly is funny. Only one of the three shows premiering this week produces genuine, sustained laughs, and it's also easily the best of the trio. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, Thursdays, 10:30 p.m.) has a rather familiar sitcom premise: Four friends own a bar, where they both conduct business and bicker with one another. The plots of the first three episodes also are relatively predictable and stick to typical sitcom structure. With some toned-down language and a laugh track, this could be a show on a major network, with one major exception: It's actually funny.
Creator and star Rob McElhenney has built a show with self-absorbed, Seinfeld-ian characters who are also somehow sweetly endearing. Each episode focuses on a controversial issue (racism, abortion, underage drinking), but the gimmick doesn't feel forced and the show tackles touchy subjects with a complete lack of restraint. There are no lessons learned and no deep truths reached, but there are tons of real laughs.
Nearly the opposite is true of Philadelphia's companion show, Starved (FX, Thursdays, 10 p.m.). Also created by its star, Eric Schaeffer (who wrote and directed all of the season's seven episodes), and also about four friends, Starved tackles one big issue: eating disorders. Each of its main characters has a serious problem with food—anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeating—and each deals with it (or doesn't) in their own way. It's not easy to build a comedy around such a heavy subject (pun intended), and Starved tries way too hard to show how open and fearless it is. Rather than shocking, the dark subject matter comes off as desperate, and none of the grating main characters is likable or funny.
Winding up somewhere in the middle is Weeds (Showtime, Mondays, 10 p.m.), which like Starved, focuses on a hot-button issue (marijuana) and is at least as much drama as comedy. Unlike Starved, it feels much more organic (no pun intended), as the situations are an outgrowth of the characters, rather than the other way around. It also has some good, unforced humor, although it's clearly not as laugh-focused as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
The show's greatest asset is its cast, led by the always excellent Mary-Louise Parker as a suburban mom who starts dealing pot to pay for her affluent lifestyle after her husband dies of a heart attack. Supporting players, including Elizabeth Perkins and Kevin Nealon, bring nuance and a diversity of voices to the show's upper-middle-class setting. At first, Weeds comes off as a Desperate Housewives knockoff, playing up the tired notion of sinister secrets lurking just below the surface of suburbia. While it never quite gets past that crutch, it does flesh out its characters enough to offer a more full-bodied take on real suburban life than the empty, cynical Housewives.
The problem, again, is that Weeds is really a drama masquerading as a comedy. While it may be a promising show, it's still a shame that cable has yet to learn how to really let loose and just make us laugh.