PilotWatch: FREE AGENTS

NBC Wednesdays @ 8:30

What's it about?
Hank Azaria stars as newly divorced Alex, who is missing his kids and trying to keep himself together.  Alex's co-worker Helen thinks she has it together, but she drinks too much in order to cope with her fiancé's untimely death.  It's no surprise that when these two overworked public relations executives share an ill-fated night of passion and are forced to cope with the awkward aftermath.

So, how was it?
I'm torn on this one.  Both Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn are great actors and are very capable in their roles.  They have terrific chemistry together and the show is at its best when they're alone together.  Unfortunately, they can't always be the only two people on screen, and the rest of the characters aren't nearly as interesting.  Anthony Head (another BUFFY alum trying to make a TV comeback) plays Alex and Helen's painfully un-funny overly-brusque boss.  Mo Mandel is a painfully un-funny "playah" who's only dialogue is concerned with picking up women.  Al Madrigal is a painfully un-funny married schlub who can't seem to grasp the concept that showing women pictures of your kids is not being an effective wingman.  Jo Lo Truglio is a painfully un-funny doorman who loves to show off videos of himself playing with swords (I'm not joking).  You should see the trend by now.  The only bright spot in the supporting cast is Natasha Leggero who plays the delightfully sharp-witted and sarcastic secretary.

Then there's the fact that all of these characters work for the PR branch of a chemical company, and their job in the pilot entails them covering up a salmonella outbreak.  I know we're supposed to find that funny, but I just couldn't.  I found their job -- and therefore everyone working there -- inherently unlikable.  And I admit I don't know much about a typical workday at a chemical company, but I was astounded by how much of everyone's day was reserved for talking about sex -- the sex their coworkers were having (or not having), the sex they were going to try to have that night, sex sex sex.  I kept wondering, don't these people have JOBS to do?  They held a legitimate meeting just to help Alex get his mojo back, for goodness sake!  I wish I had their inexplicably easy yet high-paying job.

If I return to FREE AGENTS, it will simply be to watch Azaria and Hahn do their thing.  Without those two in the lead, I probably wouldn't give this show a second thought.  Maybe I'm just not the demographic the show is aimed at, but I found the attempts at office humor farcical and ungrounded in any reality.

Rating:
** Okay. I may give it another episode or two to see if it gets good.
Maybe my expectations were set a little high because the show immediately followed the premiere of UP ALL NIGHT (which was my favorite pilot so far), but I was underwhelmed.  Luckily, this show has two very strong leads carrying most of the weight, and if the rest of the supporting cast finds their footing (and the writers find better jokes), maybe Azaria and Hahn can help pull it up a bit.  I'll give it another week or two to see where it's headed.

Have at it, Fellow Addicts!  Vote in the poll below and then tell us what you thought.  Was I way off the mark?  Or did you also find the office politics a bit strange?  Did you like it better than UP ALL NIGHT, or less?

(For a quick glance at the other pilots coming out, check out my Fall TV Preview.)

What did you think of FREE AGENTS?