In a TV age that is so chock full of gimmicks and stunts, it is so nice to see a new sitcom rely just on the jokes. TBS’ new work-place comedy Ground Floor is not a necessarily new premise, but it’s clever humor and eclectic mix of characters make it a pretty funny show. This show is The Office meets (a much more vulgar and less soapy) Downton Abbey, and I found it charming and worth watching again.
Set in a big corporation, the first episode begins with a meet-cute between Brody, played by Pitch Perfect’s, Skylar Austin and Jenny, played by Briga Heelan. Brody is a successful, although straight-laced money manager who works on the upper floors of a giant corporation. He and his associates are preoccupied with making money and live very narrow lives filled with long hours and very little fun, supervised by their boss, Mansfield, played by the always-funny John C. McGinley. McGinley plays a less severe, more mature version of his character on Scrubs, and I think I already like him better in this role.
Jenny, on the other hand, works on the ground floor of the building where the stakes are far lower, and the atmosphere is less serious. Heelan breathes life into a character that could quickly become a caricature, and her supporting cast is filled with a brilliant mix of quirky and undecidedly
unclichéd characters. Rory Scovel plays Harvard (nicknamed so because he is the only one of the bunch to have attended college) and he is a scene-stealer as the weirdly endearing co-worker/friend with a not-so-secret crush on Jenny.
Brody and Jenny have a one-night stand and both regret it the next morning. However, the first episode explores their respective feelings for each other, and by the end of the episode it is clear that they have mutual interest in each other. Their dynamic is just one of the many virtues of this show, and is not the only thing that is going to propel it, should it find an audience. There is enough material in both the upstairs and the downstairs story lines to carry this show far into its second season. The ensemble cast provides a hilarious chemistry, so that even the scenes that Brody and Jenny don’t share are funny and interesting enough to hold my attention.
This show is right up my alley, and I adored it. For me, TBS consistently delivers funny, heartfelt programming to which I can relate and that I always look forward to watching. I have a special place for a network that saved my beloved
Cougar Town, and that kept My Boys around for so long. Well done, again, TBS.
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