"Mid-Century Modern" is DEAD TO ME!

I tried. I wanted to like it. I didn't think it was funny.

I liked it. It took a huge blow with Lavin’s death, though. She was the heart of the show.

I never could buy Matt Bomer as gay...

I never bought that Matt Bomer’s character would be friends with either of them.

Too bad. While I thought the characters were a bit too over the top playing to stereotypes, the series was 10 times better than most of the crap out there.

I liked it. There aren't many sitcoms being made today. The loss of Linda Lavin was rough. But they could have brought in another snappy 80-something lady, perhaps as Bomer's grandmother. Jane Fonda is looking for a gig; she would have been a good fit.

I’m glad this travesty has ended.

And Ms. Lavin destroys yet ANOTHER show…

it was seriously unfunny.

I liked it. I don't think Linda Lavin was all that important to the show, and could have either been replaced, or simply moved on from.

The real problem was being on Hulu. Not enough people subscribe to it (I don't). I was only able to see the show after a friend uploaded all the episodes to a sharing site.

Most queens don’t live like that anymore—it felt more dated than the mid-century modern set.

No one actually lives like the people on sitcoms!

They could’ve recasted with someone younger, like Valerie.

from the very opening sequence of the first episode .....

This is a dark day for America. I’m ordering Pride flags to half staff until Sunday.

It was very cringe. I could feel the desperation coming off the screen. It felt like something out of the mid 90s (derogatory.) Cast was winning, but writing was trash. Definitely not worth continuing without Linda, too.

Nathan Lane's an odd one. An undeniable superstar on Broadway, brilliant in supporting/guest sitcom/TV comedy roles like Only Murders and Modern Family, but anytime a sitcom is built around him, it's terrible.

Cringe from the very first episode. I had Covid several weeks ago and binge-watched it. The acting and dialogue was written and delivered like a bad high school play. The actors (especially the black queeny dude, and Bomer) delivered their lines flatly and had no comedic timing. The other death knoll was when they added that raspy-voiced chic as Lane's sister...she started out on The Facts of Life when that show jumped the shark, and every time I see her in a bit role in a sitcom I know the show is gonna tank. Even the house set in Palms Springs was a meh design.

Aw, it was getting better. They should have given it another season.

Dreadful writing and dreadful acting. I actually thought Bomer was less bad than the other men. Lavin was fine.

Gays can’t have nice things.

It was ten times better than that fucking pile of shit that was this season of Hacks, but “sophisticated “ audiences can’t relate to any show that isn’t a bunch of miserable bastards berating each other every other minute.

Your tastes are shit

I have no idea what it is competing against. Maybe everything is crap now, but this was definitely crap.

I’d rather watch Alf.

It made the Will & Grace reboot play like comic gold.

I wonder whether it would have been renewed if Linda Lavin had not died.

If you haven’t seen it, imagine the Cosby show, but with fried chicken and watermelon in every goddamn episode.

I forbid it.

God damn, absolutely heartbreaking...this is fucked up.

Despite what some people here are posting, the show had good enough reviews and audiences to merit a second season. Why didn't it get one? I'd bet my paycheck it was because it was a gay show. Hulu and Disney are clearly trying to please the Trump administration, and renewing a gay show would have pissed them off.

Everyone's kissing the orange ass.

It wasn’t great but it was entertaining in a nostalgic sort of way. It reminded me of those 1980s shows like It’s A living and Too Close For Comfort. Sometimes you just want an easy watch and not something more high brow like The Bear.

Sandy Duncan would have been a good replacement for Lavin.

I binged the whole thing in one night, and laughed twice.

Sitcoms feel like museum pieces now, and unless you’ve got 'Frasier' level writing, you’re just serving weak nostalgia. This had heart, but the pacing dragged, the writing was thin, and the 'situations' barely qualified as comedy. As gorgeous as Bomer is, broad comedy just isn’t in his wheelhouse, and Nathan Lane’s mugging was just too one-note. The result wasn’t offensive, just forgettable.

And yes, gay men, especially those of us from the 'Dataloungia garrulus' branch of the family tree, can be mercilessly critical of gay media. But that doesn’t mean we weren’t rooting for this to succeed. Unfortunately, hope and crossed fingers don’t make the writing sharper or the laughs more frequent. In the end, it was effort without impact. Sigh.

English Teacher is a “gay” sitcom that feels fresh, funny, currant.

Mid Century would have felt dated even in 1995.

No big loss. It should have been the gay Golden Girls, but just wasn’t funny.

all the heterosexuals on the laugh track splitting their sides over "birkin bag" references.

R27 is Matt Bomer

It was embarrassingly bad.

I can only imagine it was cancelled because of the flood of Emmy nods and glowing articles praising the show’s historic value and the incredible chemistry between the cast and guest stars. Then again, maybe that’s just the lithium talking.

[quote]No big loss. It should have been the gay Golden Girls, but just wasn’t funny.

Exactly. It turned out to be more like Hot in Cleveland.

r37 Except "Hot in Cleveland" last for six seasons and 129 episodes.

Although not a classic, Hot in Cleveland was a thousand miles ahead of this show in interest and laughs, which is why it lasted six years.

It was only cringy if you somehow identified with the characters and didn't like what you saw in that mirror, or maybe if you were expecting high art. Otherwise it was a fairly harmless distraction and likely would have improved if it continued. Honestly I don't see how what was presented here is much different than Hot in Cleveland.

Remember in the 80s when we all collectively agreed to love cheesy sitcoms with clunky dialogue and plots?

And it was fun?

That’s what MCM reminded me of. I liked it.

Good riddance to a minstrel show. (As is anything that Nathan Lathan touches.)

They had it coming. They had it coming. They only had themselves to blame.

Nathan Lane was better as Pepper Saltzman on Modern Family.

But he suffers from Paul Lynde Syndrome: He's too strong a spice to be a leading actor. He works best in small doses, as a side character.

It was so dated and unfunny. Bomer was coming off of a couple of prestige projects, what made him do this shit at this stage of his career?

R45 personal favor to a friend.

That never ends well

OP It's snooze to me. I don't recall ever hearing about this show

Strangely enough, the issues folks are raising were not flaws with the show, purposely created.

I don't think gay men, except maybe a small segment of 60+ aged ones, were the target audience. I think it was intended to be fun for middle aged women who don't want to be uncomfortable, as well as their be sufficiently inoffensive so that their husbands don't get up in a huff and walk out.

Shows like English Teacher actually target gay men to the degree that gay men (and women who like to pretend having gay friends makes them oh-so openminded and edgy) watch tv shows which is why it's not a ratings blockbuster.

It was not very funny, and the laugh track was truly annoying.

And so is Nathan Lane.

When I got here, Beth Howland told me "Linda, without you, that show stinks to high heaven."

And she was right. I could smell it all the way up here.

I tried to like it. And unlike most of you I love Nathan Lane. But it was stupid and the jokes might have been funny 20 years ago . I agree Nathan excels as a side character but is too much as a main character. though that episode he did of Elsbeth he was great .

Nathan lane was good as Bitsy von Muffling’s gay lounge singer husband. I agree that he is good in small doses as as a sidekick. I did not like him in The Producers I liked him in Birdcage where over the top gay was appropriate.

[quote]It was only cringy if you somehow identified with the characters and didn't like what you saw in that mirror, or maybe if you were expecting high art. Otherwise it was a fairly harmless distraction and likely would have improved if it continued. Honestly I don't see how what was presented here is much different than Hot in Cleveland.

What ridiculous excuse-making. There are far more than two reasons why someone can find the show awful. Most of us were not looking for high art nor were we uncomfortable with the main characters (we were mostly repelled by how unimaginatively they were constructed).

Do you conclude that everything you encounter is fascinating, and, if you find otherwise, it's a question of excessive expectations or a failure of personal acceptance? Some things and some people are just boring and simplistic. Jack on Will and Grace was a walking stereotype, but the actor actually knew how to act and was assigned some funny lines.

To compare this show to Hot in Cleveland is insane. That's not to say Hot in Cleveland was a masterpiece. That's to say what a wretched show this was. Watch the Cleveland Indians episode of Hot in Cleveland if you want to see how lacking in plot, imagination, acting, and dialogue Midcentury Modern was. One of the highlight reels used to promote Midcentury Modern featured Bomer joking about how much he likes cottage cheese. In the highlights reel. Seriously.

Good

[quote] English Teacher is a “gay” sitcom that feels fresh, funny, currant.

Red currant, black currant, or white currant?

[quote]But he suffers from Paul Lynde Syndrome: He's too strong a spice to be a leading actor. He works best in small doses, as a side character.

Interesting comparison. And to that point, I’m sure if “Bewitched” ever got the proper reboot it deserves, Nathan would make a fabulous Uncle Arthur.

Yeah we get it, it wasn’t the greatest show. But how many garbage shows on Hulu are WORSE and still got renewed for another season?

[quote]Or did you mean CURRENT?

You can't have Current without a CUNT!

[quote]But he suffers from Paul Lynde Syndrome: He's too strong a spice to be a leading actor. He works best in small doses, as a side character.

See also: Martin Short.

A condiment too often cast as an entree.

We really tried to like the show but we never laughed. Like never. And we were rooting for it to be good. After episode 6 we gave up on it. Nathan Lane seemed to be playing to the cheap seats in the upper balcony which became extremely grating. He probably knew his lines were not exactly comedy gold. I just never bought into these guys being friends. Ever.

Show was a stinker. Impossible to believe those guys would be friends or living together

Terrible writing. Not Funny once.

The only reason to watch it is Matt Bomer’s ass

They are all terrible including the woman who plays the sister.

[quote] It was so dated and unfunny. Bomer was coming off of a couple of prestige projects, what made him do this shit at this stage of his career?

He must regret choosing this over starring in summer blockbusters like Jurassic World Rebirth.

r63 he surely had other options instead of this dreck.

And he was not good in it.

Nice ass though.

Am I the only one who felt the multiple references to Mormonism to be a bit odd? The scene where Bomer realizes his Fire Island pickup is wearing Mormon undergarments was one of the strangest moments on TV.

Mormonism is the new St. Olaf!

I hope Linda Lavin moves on to better things.

R68 Well, Polly Holliday just died, so you know there’s a real pissing match going on the afterlife. Bonnie Franklin is rolling her eyes, I’m sure.

If schlock and dreck had a love child, it would be called Mid-Century Modern.

The dead friend was our favorite. He had the best lines and the most natural acting style.