Great News

Just discovered this little gem on Netflix. Gentle humour with good ensemble cast. Nicole Ritchie is very good as the vacuous co-anchor playing against John Michael Higgins as Chuck, the old school news guy. Briga Heelan and Andrea Martin work well as daughter and helicopter mum. Adam Campbell adds a little British humour and works well as the middle man between Chuck and the rest of the crew. It's not that original in terms of format or content but it makes me laugh, which is all it needs to do.

Katie Wendelson (Briga Heelan) has been stuck producing puff pieces on MMN's The Breakdown with flighty Portia Scott-Griffith (Nicole Richie). After a friend's funeral, her Jersey mom Carol (Andrea Martin) is inspired to chase after her dreams and gets a job as difficult anchor Chuck Pierce (John Michael Higgins)'s intern on Katie's show. Greg Walsh (Adam Campbell) is the show's producer and Justin (Horatio Sanz) is the editor.

Creator Tracey Wigfield comes from writing and producing 30 Rock. This is a similar show but a step down. The lead Briga Heelan is a pretty woman with some comedic skills. Of course, she is no Tina Fey. Veterans Andrea Martin and John Michael Higgins deliver some solid wackiness. This is good network sitcom but it is nothing compared to 30 Rock. Even the addition of Tina Fey cameo does nothing to elevate it further. Two half seasons is not a bad run for this type of shows.

I recently watched two episodes of Great News and found myself laughing out loud through both. Andrea Martin is as funny now as she's ever been and the supporting actors were funny as well. The show is well written and I'm happy to say devoid of predictable sitcom humor. I think the show will hit its mark with people who can relate to helicopter parenting and unless you are or have known a parent like the one Andrea Martin portrays you probably will be left in the dark. That being said, I think the side stories about the newsroom are funny as well and wasn't offended in the least when the focus shifts to the older newscaster. I don't think he was portrayed in an offensive manner. In fact, I think he adds a believable slant on being an older person working within a younger work force. I hope the show gets a following and can continue on the same path as its first two episodes.

Great News, even though it was short-lived, is worth a binge watch. While it has it's issues, which many have pointed out, check the dates those reviews were posted on. The negative ones were mostly posted in 2017, during the show's first season. However, the series solved it's issues by the time the fifth episode of the season aired. But, it wasn't until the seventh episode that the series truly began to shine. It is one the best sitcoms to air on NBC this decade. It's so witty and humorous. Each character really comes into their own after a handful of episodes. The character of Chuck, played by John Micheal Higgins, is the most lovable of them all. His charm is irresistible and I found myself enjoying his portrayal most of all. Give a watch and stick with it, it gets better, even when you think it's already at it's best. Support the series online, and tweet at Hulu or Netflix to pick-up the series for a third season, if you like it. It deserves to thrive like Tina Fey's other Netflix sitcom, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which is also quite funny, but not as funny as Great News.

I find there is so much depressing stuff on Netflix (I am including 80% of the so called comedy series in this) that I was so happy that I found this immediately funny and easy to watch. Give it a go you won't regret it.