TELEVISIONW
e leave 2021 with TV
mulling the idea of
institutional change.
Onscreen as off, it’s proving a
haphazard process, illustrated by
two new comedies off the Tina Fey
production line. Once envisioned as
an Alec Baldwin-led 30 Rock spin-
off, Mr. Mayor (NOW TV) now stars
Ted Danson, fresh from playing God
on The Good Place, as Neil Bremer,
a billboard magnate installed as
Mayor of Los Angeles. The writing’s
familiarly sharp, but no-one’s yet
worked out whether Bremer’s a
relic of the old guard or another of
network TV’s lovable single dads
(nor, really, what Holly Hunter’s
doing as Bremer’s oddball deputy).
Better is Girlz5Eva, created by 30
Rock scribe Meredith Scardino for
NBC’s new Peacock streaming
service, which launches on
NOW this winter. The tale
of a Spice Girls-like pop act
reforming 20 years on as
variously frazzled and
deluded 40-somethings,
it features some of
Enlightened S1-2
(NOW TV)
White Lotus creator Mike White’s ahead-of-
the-curve comedy-drama sees eager-beaver
Laura Dern attempting to subvert corporate
culture, with poignantly mixed results.120 • DECEMBER 2021
the finest throwaway gags in years
(my favourite: hybrid reality show
American Warrior Singer, where
contestants strive to get a note out
before being thumped). It’s goofily
funny, but also a fond portrait
of women trying to re-empower
themselves within an industry that
values youth above all else.
Over on Netflix, The Chair sees
Killing Eve survivor Sandra Oh
ducking the (not inconsiderable)
fallout from being the first woman
of colour to chair a prestigious
American university’s English
department. Here’s an academic
cousin to Prime Video’s much-missed
orchestral treat Mozart in the Jungle,
deploying a blue-chip ensemble
cast to pick over hot-button campus
issues with an elegant wit. Just
six episodes so far, but there’s
already plenty of scope here
for both characters and show
to grow—which is surely what
anybody wants from
any institution.by Mike McCahillRetro Pick: