With the exception of a gay couple, Clipped is what a 13-year-old boy would write. It’s written like a Nickelodeon show with profanity, adult situations, and terrible Boston accents. It’s hard to believe that the two writers for Will & Grace (David Kohan and Max Mutchnick) created such a juvenile show that’s never clever.
At its core, Clipped is an ensemble sitcom. There’s the obligatory Two-fer Token Minority, Charmaine Eskowitz (Diona Reasonover), a black Jew. Buzzy (George Wendt) is the gay one. Danni (Ashley Tisdale) is the blonde. Mo (Matt Cook) is the perpetual loser. Joy (Lauren Lapkus) is there, but no one is quite sure why. Mo is a male version of Joy, but even more of a loser. Ben (Ryan Pinkston) wants to be a baseball player, but is doomed to follow in his father’s footsteps as a barber. Lonnie is basically Louie De Palma in a barbershop right down to his height and attitude. It’s like someone went to sitcom school and wrote a paint-by-numbers sitcom.
The first episodes plot had Lonnie ordering his crew to choose one person to let go. They bicker. Buzzy calls Charmaine “Dr. Dreidel.” She calls his relationship “Brokehip Mountain.” Those are the most clever lines the pilot. Ben spent the episode lying about a major sports agent wanting to recruit him because he knew if he left everyone else’s jobs would be saved. The climax has everyone quitting, which causes Lonnie to realize he needs all of them because he can’t find other people who he can trust and would work for minimum wage in the worst part of Boston.
Clipped thinks it’s wittier than it is. The show could have been a quirky gem hidden away on TBS, airing once a week at 10:30 before Conan. Instead, TBS produced a show that wants to appeal to the same crowd as Family Guy, but fails at that mission. Believe it or not, a rerun of The Big Bang Theory is a better alternative and its not like that show is lacking in airtime.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Clipped airs every Tuesday night on TBS.
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Allison Lips is the Founder of Wait! What’s a Dial?, a television blog that showcases the writing of millennials. Allison graduated from Rowan University in May 2013. She has a passion for TV history, especially late night and game shows. If she could go back in time, Steve Allen would still be hosting The Tonight Show. Follow her on Twitter @waitwaitsadial.
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