Trial and Error on NBC

Um -- July 10 was yesterday.

There was a thread about it last year, and it's been discussed off and on in other threads since then.

Here's an old thread about it.

I loved this show SO MUCH when it was airing and couldn't believe there were no season two plans and was then pleasantly shocked when they announced the second season. I had completely forgotten it premiered in July so thanks for the reminder, I love you!

Season 2 premieres July 19th

[quote]Season two will star Kristin Chenoweth!

Oh my god, I didn't even see this bit at the end at first. Couldn't be more excited!

I searched for a thread to bump it in time for next week's season two premiere! I was away from the DL during last season and wanted to talk about it! I love the show, it's show funny!

Someone already leaked that this is a gender swapped take on Jinxed.

I loved the first season so much. I didn’t realize it was based on the Michael Peterson case until I started watching The Staircase.

Yea they're parodies, and they're so well-written, and funny. This is the only thing that I've enjoyed Sherri Shepherd in.

It sounded good until you mentioned Kristen’s name.

Good thing Kristen is in "The Good Place" while Kristin is in this one.

The couple of teaser commercials I've seen on tv for the new season were funny. Jayma Mays is hilarious, and Nicholas D'Agosto is a cutie. I love a guy with dark hair and dark eyes.

Nicholas is a stallion I’d like to ride.

The lady prosecutor totally stole season one. With Kristen season two will be a tug of war.

Kristin.

And no contest.

It is still Sherri's show to steal.

This deserves some degree of datalounge discussion.

I turned off Kristin’s interview with Seth Meyers. So annoying.

[quote] Seth Meyers. So annoying.

Agreed.

Two-part premiere tonight!

I hope this is a big success for her. Does anything even get huge ratings any more?

I will watch for one reason- Nicholas D'Agosto. He makes me flat out horny. He is gorgeous. That's all because thinking about him anymore than I am will have me whacking off in no time.

r21 I'm attracted to him as well but doesn't his hair look a bit... wiggy on this show? Or is that just all the hair gel?

R22

If it is a wig for the show I am sure that Chenoweth will let us all know about it via social media before the episodes are done airing. Even if only to praise his wig-maker.

R22 Nah it is just how his hair is. Ok I'm getting hard just typing about him.

Are they double-running it every week, or just the first one?

r25 Every week for the next four weeks, including this one. Don't know yet if they'll air the finale on the same day as the penultimate episode, though.

I'm SO excited, I'm a big fan of the show. Last season was so great, I hope I'm not let down! The writers did have a long break between seasons, I hope it's great!

Gods, I missed this goofy-ass show! Started cackling twenty seconds in when Kristin said "I can't see a damn thing in these sunglasses" which she was wearing while driving at night. I just love silly humour like that now and then. The swearing is refreshing as well.

Was that owl twist with Lithgow's case explained last season already and I forgot about it, or did they include it now that the owl theory in the real-life case has been gaining traction? In any case, I loved that, and also that lady doing the M-Town podcast. Who is gorgeous, by the way, and has lots of presence.

Props to the lawyer for trying to get with the programme: "I want to say... [italic]Gaiman... show[/italic]?" But no, it's just camel toe. The gag with the judge speaking that way is an inventive and daring writing approach, especially for a recurring character.

Sherri's conditions are starting to get more and more extreme and surreal and I'm loving it. D'Agosto's hair looks decidedly less wiggy this season but his hair colour is still a shade too dark for his skin and, frankly, his age. Couldn't stop staring at his package in some scenes. His butt is nice as well.

^^ So I just wrote a whole write-up on a sitcom. Whatever, I don't care, I love this damn show.

The lead guy is really cute.

Murder board!

Murder board!

Murder board!

Nicholas is mine, bishes. MINE!

Don't apologize for thinking an actor is hot/cute/doable -- this is datalounge.

It is good to see Chenoweth in a 10 episode story. That is probably the perfect gig for her.

I was surprised to find that after watching the show my favorite character is East Peck, South Carolina. I can't wait to see the town's water tower!

The lead actor must have long droopy balls if he keeps sitting on them.

Totally cracked me up when they mentioned season one client Lithgow had written a book "If I Did It".

Happy Birthday, Lavinia!

Put on some pants!!

I hope these ratings are not a disappointment to NBC. Even so, it seems that our-cheno can not catch a break. (Idina's chicken costumed Undercover Boss episode got over 4 million viewers....)

r37 I fucking hate this country.

I very rarely watch comedies, but this show had me laughing out loud. Maybe I like it so much is because it is smart comedy. I really hope this season will be as good as the first.

Lavinia and her cat! Happy Moose Day!

How can ANYONE watch Law and Order after two episodes of Trial and Error. To hell with Dick Wolfe

Watch it again.

I am pretty sad that no one is really talking about the show. It is hilarious.

It really is. I'm afraid it's another show like Better Off Ted or Pushing Daisies, just a little bit too smart.

Too many people's mothers worked around chemicals their entire pregnancy.

The third episode was especially hysterical. Carol Anne being all done up like a dog after her exam at the veterinary gynaecologist. "That exam table has four stirrups!" Bless D'Agosto for not being able to pronounce the word "realtor" properly.

This show is quirky, silly, and fast. A bit like Parks&Rec. Makes me wonder whether people have just moved on from that type of humour or maybe the main characters aren't to their tastes? I love Carol Anne but I could see how she could turn off some people. She's basically the biggest boss in that town.

Chenoweth just having fun in her role.

Oh, and Sherri has hyperacusis like me! Of course, her explanation of it was adjusted to fit her other conditions.

The guy playing Officer Braxton (Philip Prajoux) is a cutie. Delicious nose from the profile.

The only thing I can see to explain people not loving this show is that they are not watching TV right now or maybe they don't want to laugh in this heat? I do think people assumed it was only one episode last night.

This show is far too intelligent for the average TV viewer.

I'm sure they'd rather watch The Big Bang Theory than something original and funny.

Actually we would be more like Two Broke Girls R50

^^^Or Two And A Half Men

It is reality dreck that wins ratings today.

Also this show is being aired all by itself in a brief block this summer. I hope NBC is doing that because they have a little bit of pride in their history of Thursday night sitcoms and they made the decision to produce it (rather last minute and rapidly -- 4 months in Canada) and air it like this without expecting to win viewers away from Big Brother.

I love this show. The fact that Nicholas D'Agosto is major eye candy is a plus.

R54, he’s dongalicious.

He's like a younger, hotter Ralph Macchio.

No new episode this coming week -- NBC has football on Thursday.

The show has a great premise and great season guest stars (Lithgow, Chenoweth), but the writing seems so off. Everything seems so "off". The writers really go too much out of their way to be offbeat to create that "Newhartesque" small town of eccentric and crazies. There is a few inspired moments (the low-talking judge who can't be understood by the defense) but these are few and far between.

And the casting is bad. The cast really can't pull it off, their timing misses its mark almost every time. Sherri's character could be hilarious if it was a different actress, a more seasoned actor whose approach was more "I believe what I'm saying to be real" instead of "I'm kooky and crazy".

Actually surprised this was renewed for a second season.

LADY DRIVER, COMING THROUGH! LADY DRIVER! COMING THROUGH!

If my daughter still lived at home I'd very likely pull that gag on her.

The show is such a farce. In a good way.

r58 Enh, I disagree with every one of those points or I wouldn't be watching it. And it's probably the only comedy show I watch anymore as I've seen so many by now. It's just niche, sweet, goofy, and has more little genius moments than other similar shows.

I need Nicholas D'Agosto to sit on my face immediately.

I'm with you R62. R58 seems to have it exactly wrong.

I am surprised by how well the jokes are set up and then deployed. Things like Lavinia calling men Houseboy and Lawyer being set up in episode one and then explained in episode 4. Anne's maladies seemed like a dumb gag when I read about them last month -- but watching them happen is hilarious and fits in perfectly with the show's brand of physical murder-based infotainment comedy. The podcast person is not in the same world as the rest of the cast in terms of being hilarious - but she is in it so briefly that she really only highlights how funny everyone else is.

Chenoweth is hilarious. I can only hope this ends with her losing her hair/wig and becoming immortal.

D'Agosto seems to be having the time of his life.

It's probably been mentioned before but there's an actual 10-minute podcast that NBC puts out for each episode.

r64 Carol Anne jumping over those logs while running like a sprinter in the woods in heels while [italic]highly pregnant,[/italic] or Sherri jumping to the ceiling in the first episode - I just love surreal moments like those. A lesser show would just relay that imagery through exposition and I'd still laugh, but there's an added WTF moment when they actually show that here.

I went from not really having much of an opinion of Carol Anne to being a big fan during the last episode. That hairdo. The parkour in heels to get to the river. Too funny.

I also suspect we are going to veer from The Jinx plotline into "what if Edie from Grey Gardens murdered people" territory soon. That makes me think some of the more strange things Cheno is doing in the podcast with her accent are going to have plot related payoff. I hate that people aren't even watching this!

There's also a whole layer of Sunset Blvd. going on there.

This show is so fucking good even the extras are funny, and are given funny bits to do. I’m glad I watch it on smart TV later on, because more than once I’ve found myself rewinding after laughing out so loud that I miss the next scene.

Love Duane Reade’s Peck history lessons

Shit - it is true. No one is watching this great show!

Already hating that sane journalist from the M- Town show, just because the whole premise should remain One Sane Person struggling against the crazy town.

Once he gets an ally or sympathizer, then we just have a schmalzy love story and the show loses it’s edge.

Loving season two....Kristen Chenowith is hysterical. Every time they do the "lady driver" joke, I can't stop laughing....

I love how casually she mentioned that her cat is immortal.

And that peeing in the pool gag - oh my.

I know R70! It is so funny. What is wrong with people?

It makes no fucking sense! It got great reception from critics -- but no one expects a hilarious show in the middle of nowhere during the summer I guess.

(I don't really feel like the M-town show portion fits into the sitcom either R71. It is just an excuse for extra content. I suspect that the murder-board is going to get more complicated and they will need her to keep track once we get our mid-story twist.)

And the love story had better be Josh and Carol. Legal Segals 4ever! And after that, Lavinia and her bald pussy.

Technical question - if you’re a lady driver from out of town, do you still have to procur the services of a red flag bearer or are you exempt?

Came for Nicholas D'Agosto, stay because season 2 is much better than season 1.

I’m telling you now so I don’t have to tell you then...

That cat is just aloofness personified. So pissed off as well.

Love how it looks towards the mic at the end there and Chenoweth just follows its lead.

Carol’s scene at the vet had me cracking up. I loved how they made her over like a shih-tzu afterwards. I love this show. I’m sad to see the ratings aren’t great.

R75

Flag Boy appears to be a very specific requirement for East Peck 'city limits' going by the fact Lavinia was not cited for driving solo in the opening episode. If a lady driver plans on actually going into town I imagine a flag boy can be picked up at East Peck Elementary along with the local rum.

While our lady was visiting NYC she had a reporter over for an interview and some pics.

Why put this show on Thursday night with so much new content? Wouldn't Tuesday be better?

Was it preempted tonight? I saw football when I turned to NBC.

r83, see r57

Ah, okay. Thank you, R84.

Fucking sports, once again ruining everything.

It looks as if Cheno really is not going to do American Gods this season.

They need to find a way to get Nicholas out of his clothes. Perhaps his character could develop a weird affliction that causes him to show up for work every day wearing nothing but a thong.

Everyone is born with a bathing suit!!

r87 Ruined my week, thanks.

Well she is back on the road touring.

Who do we need to contact to make sure that Hair Live includes "My Conviction" and that they get Cheno to do it?

The fact that this season is being aired all by itself in the middle of summer suggests they were already planning to move it to some other format. I hope the fact they have not canceled it outright indicates they want to send it somewhere. I love East Peck.

More on the status of the show with NBC...

It's on hulu and I still have a week left of my free trial, so I'll give it a whirl. I love Lithgow, he starred in one of Dexter's best episodes, very funny man. The critics like season two better.

You can also catch the first eps of this season on NBC.com now. And a new episode is airing tonight at 9pm, R94.

Apparently Lithgow was amazing and all last season, but Chenoweth is a critics darling so she gets better reviews.

[quote]And a new episode is airing tonight at 9pm

Not here in NYC. Football is on.

The new episodes will probably be online tomorrow morning.

𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒔!

I did not see that coming.

R98 Really. There are those of us where it has not aired yet.

So what? R99 -- apparently it will either air at 3am or you can watch online tomorrow.

Live tweet -- it is all a twist on the Durst case at this point isn't it?

You're an idiot R100. You got to see it not coming while informing everyone that ha nots seen it what is going to happen. You are just a selfish bastard.

*has not

OK. Well it has aired on the east coast and apparently some sperm gets stolen. I also have not seen it -- and can't imagine how that is a spoiler.

[quote] and can't imagine how that is a spoiler.

Because it was a play on words and not a spoiler. But it was still interesting to see r101 go into shrieking howler monkey mode.

You're a fucking moron R104.

Nicholas, marry me (or just a quick fuck)!

I just saw it tonight and thought it was pretty good, actually too good to be on broadcast tv.

Love the show. Love the spoof (can it even be call that?) of Netflix's Making A Murder (with Lavinia confessing on a hot mic).

Lavinia: Picture somone who betrayed you, then release. Angela Lansbury. (shooting arrow).

I'm watching it now on NBC.com. So technically the best part of the broadcast for me was 101's meltdown. I enjoyed it and am glad that he was here to be pissed off about it.

The Combination to the City was such a silly joke it was inspirational.

Officially NBC is not doing to do a third season of the show. Hope either another network and streaming service picks it up.

*going

[quote] NBC is not doing to do a third season of the show

That was plain from the way they burned off the show in the summer two episodes a night. It's still the best half hour comedy on the main networks.

New Episodes tonight!

I look forward to this show all week. I’m so disappointed with network programming anymore.. Everything I like gets canceled.

Looking for to NBC's new comedies failing. They all look so not funny.

I think we can accept that it has been canceled on NBC -- but with enough luck it make be picked up by Netflix or Hulu or something.

*forward

[quote]He got no legs.

I don't know why, but that made me bust up laughing. I love this show; it's like a SCTV sketch.

I love Dwayne and East Peck.

The Family Tree earworm song. Anybody else think they stole the melody from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's "Period Sex" song?

Kristin Chenoweth needs to work on selling a line of datalounge approved bluetooth ready slapping gloves which will not only make a satisfying slap sound when used-- but will automatically delete the slappee's number from your cell phone.

Lawyer in that mesh shirt and jean shorts was too much to handle!

Speaking of mesh shirt... is Chenoweth wearing a doily in this interview? I take it that her gays are on vacation this week because the below the boob cleavage window area is too much peek as well as too much boob and she has parted her hair disastrously.

Tonight the show wraps up season 2.

I was not particularly thrilled by last week's reveal of Lavinia as Kristin Chenoweth yelling a lot. She may think she hasn't done that a lot in her career - but really she kind of has. So revealing a nasty, vindictive streak was less fun than I'm sure they thought it would be. I also have little to no interest in the 'love triangle' thing with the podcast lady.

I was also hoping for a really loopey final twist (like Lavinia not being Lavinia) -- I hope it comes back to her story in a fabulous way. I also wish it would get picked up for a third season somewhere because I really love East Peck, Dwayne Reed and Ann.

Anne’s “eyes” were killing me!

I love East Peck’s local sketch artist, who draws caricatures with the oversized heads and tiny bodies.

I still don’t get the relevance of Erkel

So was this season worth it? I have most of it recorded on DVR but was actually thinking of deleting it since I missed taping about 3 episodes (due to football airing instead). If it was any good, perhaps I can catch the episodes I missed on On Demand. If not, I'll just skip it.

Yes you should watch it. Lots of good bits/throwaway lines that are worth it.

r129 I enjoyed it far more than season 1.

Why skip it. The episodes you missed are probably still up on the NBC site R129.

This season was hilarious.

Thank you. I will try to catch up with it this weekend.

I haven't laughed this hard in a while. This was a genuinely funny show and I actually looked forward to each new episode. It will be missed.

The dead Moose parade was hilarious.

The stock photos are pretty hilarious. And Dwayne especially is always funny.

I am so sad this show got shafted the way it did. Even though I should have expected it.

I enjoyed this season but it seemed to fall apart in the last two episodes.

I think it fell apart when Josh figured out Lavinia was guilty third hand by listening to audio taken by the least interesting character. Also the old murder was never well worked out or depicted with any degree of clarity in terms of Lavinia's actions (um...why did the letters stop when Chet died?) -- the ongoing murders were hilarious but the way Josh handled the 'investigation' of the old murder just didn't work narratively or comically. There was too much A-plot focus on the idea that Josh was romantically interested in Nina, Carol and the object of Lavinia's attention. Nina wasn't really a good addition to East Peck because the whole love polygon thing was imbalanced and uninteresting and did interrupt both the plot and the comedy. But it wasn't THAT big a deal. The show was still consistently hilarious.

Is it just me or is the podcast actually funny the final episode because Anne and Dwayne are always good.

You nailed it. The setup was stellar but it feels as if the writers didn’t have a clear resolution in mind. The comedy makes up for it though. Anne’s eyes! Jessie Ray Beaumont stripping and then taking a seat was perfectly played. I haven’t listened to the podcasts yet but I plan on it.

R139 the last podcast is the only one I have actually made it all the way through because it is more Ann and Dwayne. The others were spoofing a genre of podcasts that I don't know well enough to enjoy seeing spoofed.

I don't understand how this hilarious show is such a secret. Even here on frikkin datalounge.

Seeing Jesse Ray in his tinfoil hat in court watching Carol try to keep her baby in killed me. I don't know what it was about that scene but I nearly pissed myself laughing it was so absurd.

Yes to the tin foil hat. I laughed so hard at that too. This show excels in presenting weird shit without comment.

It sets things up so well.

And just when you thought they were going to declare flag boys obsolete:

“BREAKING NEWS: Women allowed to be Lady Driver Flag Bearers!! A great day for women’s rights!”

Back to Nina and the M-Towne stuff -- while I did think it wasn't perfect and was the easiest thing to pick out of the show to complain about I really didn't think it was not good.

It was literally 'not my favorite part' of an episode that I totally loved. Like having walnuts in your brownie when you like walnuts -- it doesn't ruin it for you even though you're there for the brownie. In terms of getting some of the plot stuff moving and providing a little more outsider reaction she was great.

The show is hilarious and deserved so much better from NBC. And I would hope she would continue as a part of the cast if it does get picked up by Netflix or whatever.

Just watched the final two episodes On Demand. I'll be very disappointed if we don't somehow get the third season and explore the East Peck Witch Trials of 1994.

I feel as if Nina and the podcast got cut down in editing. These episodes are so dense that her story probably got trimmed. She was great in the talking head when she did a 180 on a relationship with Josh. I also want a third season to see what they do with these witches.

The Lady Driver Flag Bearers breaking news got me. I love a show that double downs like this.

The NFL helped Fox reign supreme on Thursday night, with a showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns that scored the network a Nielsen ratings touchdown. The preseason game’s numbers topped everything else on the Big 4 for the evening, including ABC’s “The Story of the Royals,” NBC’s “Trial & Error” finale and CBS’s hit “Big Brother.”

NBC was fourth in viewers with 2.3 million. Sandwiched between repeats at 9, the night’s first episode of “Trial & Error” sttled for a 0.4/2 and 2 million viewers. The finale at 9:30 managed a 0.4/2 and 1.7 million viewers.

Those are terrible ratings. NBC really buried this show.

NBC apparently ordered the show be made in impossible circumstances as well -- they shot 600 scenes (10 episodes) in just 45 days. All in all I think the whole thing happened in under 4 months between signing Chenoweth and NBC canceling. And in spite of it being in a pseudo documentary style it actually looked fabulous. They did an amazing job.

I kind of wish they would hand over the podcast concept to Ann and Dwayne and do a Save East Peck radio comedy half hour series until Netflix picks them up. Like a cross of Lake Wobegone and listening in on the police scanner 'for news' the way some people do.

Considering the limitations NBC placed on production, these ten episodes were a minor miracle. They packed in a lot of layered comedy and a few songs. Cast and crew should be proud, NBC ashamed.

And I love your podcast idea. It’s a great way to keep East Peck alive. Anne and Dwayne can handle it. Well, not really.

They might call the podcast "Don't Let Go of the Peckers".

R154 Haha, moderated by Judge Horsedich

R152 Considering the limitations and the final product it is a major miracle.

You couldn't even shoot it live 3-camera show in that amount of time!

I want to watch this, but Kristen Chenowith just destroys comedy.

R157 I’m not a fan of her shtick either but I enjoyed this show. She’s a small part of the tapestry.

R157

Her character wasn't the central comic element -- I watched it FOR her but found myself instantly more delighted by Anne and Dwayne's blissed outapproach to life as East Peckers and the overall speed of the joke set ups and pay offs.

I do understand that Chenoweth's approach to being the center of attention and then acting like it is funny that she just wants to be the center of attention (the 'hee hee she is a pocket diva!' joke was worn out before they used it in the 1999 Easter Bonnet Competition) is cringe inducing at times. -- but here it was very much a part of the plot rather than the comedy so it worked. Her best moments were Boyer's reaction shots and anything to do with the cat. Her worst moments were fleeting and plot related so there you go.

It was a light, breezy comedy and I really enjoyed it and wish there were more episodes.

I love how sinister Livinia's cat looked. He didn't seem to be up to anything, but always looked like he was planning something.

The cat was immortal. It probably goaded Cleopatra into her schemes.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

She is a very attractive little thing but I hate the drag queen talons.

I just hate the fact that she thought she had any kind of a chance to play Dusty Springfield.

Yeah -- her singing voice is too much for her to get away with faking an attempt to sound like someone so very different. While you'd probably have no trouble accepting Meryl singing Dusty it is harder to listen when Chenoweth tries to channel a singer she admires. Could she fake a raspy smokey voice? Possibly. But would the effort be painful to watch? Definitely. Almost as cringeworthy as when she tries to be 'genuine and nice like Dolly.'

Going by the clips I have seen and the reviews of Star Is Born, Lady Gaga would have been a great option for the Dusty Springfield project. She does have a knack for channeling other singers or styles adequately while her basic instrument is so much better than the usual singing actor who would be easier to accept. What a shame it never came to anything.

Now they have taken Wicked out of Universal's 2019 release schedule and replaced it with Cats I wish they would animate it. I think Chenoweth's voice and mannerisms and mania were perfect when paired with Idina. She sounded so direct and present when she needed to be genuine and the weird indicating and invasive coluratura stuff all worked to indicate her character going back and forth between being self aware and just plan nuts. She needs to get back to Glinda.

Or they could put her in Cats. Who have they got for Jellylorum?

r166 Lady who? You must be joking. Reviews for that awful film? It looks ridiculous and her singing is irritating. The "reviews" now are payola. Wait until the real ones come out. It'll make Glitter look like Citizen Kane.

Not to hijack Trial & Error -- but who do you see as Dusty Springfield?

Adele, if she’d lose 200 lbs.

Can Adele act?

(If she can, I would like to see her in everything while her vocal cords heal. I find her charming.)