December 09, 2024 | Read Online

Comedy isn’t dead or dying

It's evolving.

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Welcome back to The Clubhouse!

What’s the deal with comedy? This week, we’re going to be talking about the claim that the left is killing comedy and why that’s not true, as evidenced by incredible shows like A Man on the Inside.

As always, we’d love to hear from you. Tell us about what’s inspiring you this week, a person or organization that’s nailing it, or any thing else you’d like to see us cover in future issues of The Clubhouse. Just reply to this email!

Comedy isn’t dead or dying

by Liam Nolan

A lot of right wingers seem to like talking about how the left killed, or is killing, comedy, and that idea is pretty absurd to me considering that we’ve got shows like Netflix’s A Man on the Inside.

I grew up during a time when comedy often tried very hard to be risqué and crass. Shows like South Park and Family Guy were staples. You quoted them to your friends at school, occasionally getting in trouble for doing so. Although parts of those shows haven’t aged well, there is something to be said about how they more definitively pushed comedy on TV, especially of the animated variety, to be something other than wholesome. They felt cool. They were cool. Now, it’s hard to watch parts of them without cringing.

There’s a lot of nostalgia for that sort of era when comedy felt like it meant getting a laugh out of saying the worst thing that could have possibly popped into your head. Earlier this year, Seinfeld creator and namesake Jerry Seinfeld said that he believed '“P.C." crap” from the “extreme left” was hurting comedians.

The sentiment was echoed by, among other people, notable Wario impersonator Elon Musk, who said, "Make comedy legal again!"

Seinfeld eventually walked the remark back, saying his original comment wasn’t correct. Using a skiing analogy, Seinfeld said, "Whatever the culture is, we make the gate. You don't make the gate, you're out of the game."

The idea that you need to be crass in order to be funny is, of course, absurd. Seinfeld itself wasn’t particularly crass by modern standards, even if there are some jokes and plotlines that have aged decidedly worse than others. The show’s main innovations were breaking stylistically from more classic sitcoms such as Cheers and being a show that was, fundamentally, about nothing.

Since then, comedy has evolved again in some decidedly important ways, with A Man on the Inside feeling like a particularly perfect example of what I’ve come to love in modern comedy.

A Man on the Inside is from Good Place creator Michael Schur and stars Ted Danson as Charles Nieuwendyk, a retired engineering professor who ends up working as a spy at the Pacific View Retirement Community to help a private investigator named Julie track down a missing ruby necklace.

Although the search for the ruby necklace is the overarching plot of A Man on the Inside, the show is much more about the relationships that Charles develops with the residents, and how the experience helps him heal from the death of his wife while building a relationship with his daughter, Emily. Every episode is as likely to make you tear up as it is to make you laugh. Basically, it’s Michael Schur comedy.

A Man on the Inside is probably my favorite TV show of 2024, because it’s so good at layering in themes of healing and friendship with comedy that makes me laugh. The performances are incredible, and it’s a show that makes me feel better for having watched it. After all, if the elderly people at the Pacific View Retirement Community can change, who can’t?

Aside from A Man on the Inside, there are plenty of fantastic comedies on TV right now, including Abbott Elementary and What We Do in the Shadows. All of them take inspiration from the comedy that’s come before while also finding ways to be interesting and enjoyable in their own right. Viewers have responded, and it’s hard to find people who love TV that don’t love them.

Comedy isn’t the same as it was when South Park and Family Guy were the biggest things ever, and that’s a good thing. The fact art — and comedy is an art — evolves and changes is a great thing. Comedy isn’t dead or dying; it’s evolving and changing.