Last week, Emerson alumnus and Parks and Recreation producer Harris Wittels passed away of a suspected heroin overdose at the age of thirty, sending waves of shock and grief through the comedy community. Wittels was a promising talent who had written for Parks and Rec, Eastbound and Down and The Sarah Silverman Program, performed brutally honest, aggressively silly standup for years and invented the now-iconic term “humblebrag.” More
Now that TV fans (or at least 10.3 million of them) are emerging from a “Breaking Bad” coma, which shows among the new TV hopefuls are actually worth watching? The major networks followed a throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks blueprint this year, as the beginning of the 2013-14 season has seen the big four (ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC) collectively crank out more comedies than any other season over the past decade. Oddly enough, it’s kind of working. Some may think it’s too early to judge some of these shows – after all, some of them have only been on for a month and change. We should give them some time to find a groove, develop characters, and at least let the writers’ room air out a little bit, right? Well, sometimes you can just tell.
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