The Mayor premieres October 3rd, 9:30pm on ABC.
The Mayor, a new comedy from ABC, is a surprisingly refreshing new premiere that provides something to actually look forward to from network TV in the coming months. While it falters at times which mostly can be chalked up to being a pilot episode, The Mayor features a very harmless premise backed by a very strong and funny cast. At the front of that cast is Brandon Michael Hall who plays Courtney Rose, the Mayor, his mother (Yvette Nicole Brown) and assistant (Lea Michele) who are all given their shining moments on screen and seem to have great chemistry with one another from the very beginning. Where I found myself truly laughing was with the supporting cast of Courtney’s two best friends, T.K. Clifton and Jermaine. They had some of the best lines of the pilot and stood out as integral pieces for making this comedy work moving forward.
What helped bolster the strong cast was the show’s incredibly funny writing. The pilot is packed with one-liners that I know I missed upon a single viewing and will have to rely on rewatches of this and future episodes in order to get some of the jokes I know I didn’t hear. The writing is sharp, witty and never-ceasing which is not only a credit to the writer’s room of this show, but also is amazing to see just how much material they can cram into a half-hour comedy successfully. What makes me even more excited is knowing that it hasn’t even hit its best yet and once that occurs there will be no limit to how funny this show can be.
The Mayor is a solid watch, especially for a pilot with a somewhat silly premise. Over the course of the first episode, it manages to transform into a show that I am willing to invest my time into; whether that be each week or in binge-form postseason. You know almost immediately that the show will need time to find its stride which could take several episodes or even its first season, however, you can also gather almost immediately that once this show comes into form it could be one of the funniest on network television for some time. I would easily suggest this show as a fun watch and if several episodes were missed you are still able to remain guilt free because it will be just as funny to binge later on.
I give The Mayor an A-.
TV and City 