The Last Man on Earth is the comedy you are looking for to replace Parks and Recreation. It is very smart, very funny and every time the season nears its end, people will be convinced that it will never return.
I’m going to call it right now. When the first season of Last Man on Earth is complete it will be the greatest parody of traditional romantic-comedy sitcoms ever.
There have been a ton of romantic-comedy sitcoms that have already been cancelled this year and some that haven’t. If you look at Marry Me, A to Z, Manhattan Love Story, etc.; you will see a very long drawn out series of boy meeting girl, boy trying to convince girl that they should be together forever, proposals, goofy friends, blah, blah, blah. How I Met Your Mother somehow was able to drag this concept out for many years.
The Last Man on Earth is going to be the greatest romantic-comedy sitcoms we will ever see because at no point while you are watching it do you think that this show is an overt romantic-comedy. Parks and Recreation essentially turned into a send-up of The Office the show it was spun off from. Airplane! is the greatest parody of all time because at no point does it try to be that overt parody. The Last Man on Earth is the same way. It will take Romantic Comedies and turn them on their head.
Oh, I’m going to start talking about the first two episodes that premiered last night. Go watch them, they are great.
In the first episode we saw what we always see in Romantic Comedy, a guy (Phil) who is looking for someone to spend the rest of his life with. The only problem is he’s gone all around the country and still can’t find it. The whole first episode is trying to find anyone to be with. He doesn’t have friends so he creates them, he doesn’t have a girl so he tries to “befriend” a mannequin.
All of this is to no avail. He can’t live in a world by himself, he feels all is lost, which sounds like most male protagonists in these romantic comedies. Much like the final shot of a pilot episode of one of these romantic comedies this first episode ends with Phil actually finding another person in the world. Even better it’s a female.
As we move into the second episode Phil, along with the rest of the audience, find out that this new female counterpart is quite possibly the most annoying person left in the world. In a great contrast to Phil, Carol plays by the rules. She still wants Phil to stop at stop signs, and not park in handicap stalls. Phil has gone all Nicolas Cage on the world and takes all the prized possessions of the United States.
Carol’s personality instantly grates on Phil, and much like any romantic comedy, Phil retreats to his local watering hole to let off some steam to his “friends.” In effort to properly court Carol, Phil does a nice deed which leads to Carol and his first date. At the end of the episode Phil proposes to Carol because it’s the only way she’ll have sex with him.
In the credits for next week’s episode we see the bachelor party, we see them getting the ring for the wedding, her getting her dress, all the classic things that happen in the meet-cute world of Romantic Comedy Sitcoms.
So when you see the actual television critics point out how this is a great Romantic Comedy, just remember who called it first.
Me, it was me.