By Lorraine Ali (Los Angeles Times)
Today’s top comedy series also happen to be some of the best dramas on television.
Such shows as “Barry,” “Shrinking” and “UnPrisoned” mine humor in the dark corners of intense subjects — PTSD, grief and incarceration. “Abbott Elementary” turns the depressing realities of a broken public school system into a gold mine of laughs.
Dashed dreams and losing streaks are the lifeblood of “Party Down,” “The Other Two” and “Ted Lasso.”
“My favorite kind of comedy is trauma drama,” says Adam Scott, who plays an out-of-work actor turned part-time bartender in the returning Starz series “Party Down.” “Me too, it’s trauma drama,” replies Jessica Williams of Apple TV+’s “Shrinking.” “Everything is so sad all the time.
Even laughing can be sad. Any time something really traumatic is happening, there’s also something really funny. There’s somebody’s crying over the casket. Or there’s a really intense breakup scene, and [the Spin Doctors’ upbeat love song] ‘Two Princes’ is playing in the restaurant.”
“With ‘Ted Lasso’ we never get to a point when it becomes too heavy,” adds Phil Dunster, who portrays the egotistical soccer star Jamie Tartt in the hit Apple TV+ series.
These actors, along with Janelle James of ABC’s mockumentary “Abbott Elementary,” Anthony Carrigan of HBO’s “Barry,” Delroy Lindo of Hulu’s “UnPrisoned” and Molly Shannon of HBO’s “The Other Two” came together in late April for The Envelope Comedy Roundtable, where they discussed what it takes to turn tears into laughter,fan expectations and lovely man calves.
“We had a mission: We’re still going to address all of these really huge, horrible issues, but we’re going to do it with a twinkle in the eye. With a tongue in the cheek.”
Lorraine Ali: Lorraine Ali is a television critic of the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she was a senior writer for the Calendar section where she covered culture at large, entertainment and American Muslim issues. Ali is an award-winning journalist and Los Angeles native who has written in publications ranging from the New York Times to Rolling Stone and GQ. She was formerly The Times’ music editor and before that, a senior writer and music critic with Newsweek magazine.
