Originally this one hour comedy-drama was to become a family member of TBS but the network executives felt it would work better on sister station TNT. This is a very fair statement, as their list of dramas continues to be successful such as: Rizzoli & Isles, Men Of A Certain Age, Memphis Beat, Hawthorne, Leverage and Southland all are peppered with a bit of humor. Two of the since cancelled shows, Dark Blue and Saving Grace are among the previous list with great writing, directing and acting but were unable to sustain the numbers in the ratings. Franklin & Bash is set in a law firm and the attempt at comedy should be subtle and factual to the characters.
The show is more comedy-based with a good drama story as the under coating. Franklin & Bash could have been set in any office because the stories are based on good guy versus bad guy scenarios and how the good guy can win. Episode 1 (pilot) has every aspect of humor with the characters’ personal and professional lives crossing paths. The team of Franklin & Bash are unconventional in their methods and have to jump through many hoops in order to get to the truth, but it is all about entertainment. They do not build on a foundation of docu-drama where only real-life scenario exists.
Linda Holmes (NPR) is extremely funny in her early assessment, based solely on the preview TV commercials for the show. From her personal experience in a court room, she is looking for a show that has more substance than just unrealistic scenarios. She will unlikely not find what she is looking for within the realms of these storylines. This show is above and beyond about entertainment, making the audience see the funny in what is truly a profession of money and greed over truth.
The cast includes Reed Diamond (Damien Karp), who has appeared on the small screen since he was cast on staple shows like Marcus Welby, M.D., Emergency! and Cannon. Kumail Nanjiani (Pindar Singh) is a newcomer to television and his stand-up has been rated high. He will bring the humor to every scene he is in. Dana Davis (Carmen Phillips) was a regular cast member on the NBC drama Heroes. Malcolm Mcdowell (Stanton Infeld) brings the highest quality professionalism to the cast with his long standing body of work from A Clockwork Orange to my favorite Time After Time and more recently Entourage. Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon (Hanna Linden) was a regular on Models Inc. and NYPD Blue and has a portfolio of guest appearances on sitcoms and one-hour dramas. Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Peter Bash) got his big break playing wise-cracking Zach Morris on Saved by the Bell. He has since starred on several unsuccessful television shows with the latest being Raising The Bar. The show was good but could not hold up in the ratings. Breckin Meyer (Jared Franklin) seems to be sought out for his voice as he has compiled a long list of appearances on prime-time cartoon shows: King of the Hill, Mad, Robot Chicken and Titan Maximum. He also starred in the short-lived sitcom, Married To The Kellys, which had a great cast but the writing lacked in the humor department.
It was a surprise when Kathy Najimy appeared as the judge in one of the courtroom cases. She looked very different, but her voice is so distinct that there was no hiding who was playing the judge. The fact that the station did not use that as a gimmick to get people to tune in to the first episode is a plus. Her part was small but unmistakably memorable when she looks down and sees photos that even TNT could not show. Her reaction was so well done that the audience will laugh longer than the director leaves time for before the next hit. Gosselaar (Bash) has the same reaction but you will be laughing too hard to catch it.
Franklin & Bash will do well, and as the predecessor to Men Of A Certain Age, the two should bond well together. The humor written all over the pages followed by the quiet comedy with a down-to-earth premise should work well for TNT on Wednesday nights.
