Beyond The Pilot : Friends With Better Lives The show Friends with Better Lives premiered just after the season finale of How I Met Your Mother. The show revolves around six 30 something friends each of whom think that the other has it better. The show revolves around Bobby and Jules – the married couple with a child, Will – a divorcée, Kate – a single woman who has not been able to find the right person yet and Andi and Lawll who just got engaged.
The pilot of the show showed more of Bobby, Will and Kate than the other cast thus it relied on the comedic timing of Kevin Connolly (Bobby), James Van Der Beek (Will) and Zoe Lister Jones (Kate) and they never missed a beat to entertain us and make us laugh. Kevin Connolly of Entourage fame was spot on in his dialogues and delivered them with excellence. The pilot belonged to Zoe Lister Jones (Kate) who was the highlight of the episode and would be the one person this show could revolve around on. The show needs to have more character development in the next few episodes for us to relate and care for them. Sitcoms do not usually garner a positive response in their pilots because of the sheer disability of the people to understand the characters and jokes. The basic problem with this show was the sky high expectations people had going in to view the pilot which was because of the way it has been marketed - from the makers of Friends and using the tag lines of Friends and How I Met Your Mother which resulted in low ratings. FWBL could overcome the familiar storyline and plot which they are on and could be something special if the group solidifies and strengthens into a strong dynamic. The actors especially Zoe Lister Jones and Van Der Beek certainly have the ability to do that. Watch it as an independent comedy not drawing comparisons to any of the classics and you will not be disappointed. CBS has not been successful with their new shows but FWBL with some excellent writing not going for the obvious jokes and gags could be the next big thing.
The pilot of the show showed more of Bobby, Will and Kate than the other cast thus it relied on the comedic timing of Kevin Connolly (Bobby), James Van Der Beek (Will) and Zoe Lister Jones (Kate) and they never missed a beat to entertain us and make us laugh. Kevin Connolly of Entourage fame was spot on in his dialogues and delivered them with excellence. The pilot belonged to Zoe Lister Jones (Kate) who was the highlight of the episode and would be the one person this show could revolve around on. The show needs to have more character development in the next few episodes for us to relate and care for them. Sitcoms do not usually garner a positive response in their pilots because of the sheer disability of the people to understand the characters and jokes. The basic problem with this show was the sky high expectations people had going in to view the pilot which was because of the way it has been marketed - from the makers of Friends and using the tag lines of Friends and How I Met Your Mother which resulted in low ratings. FWBL could overcome the familiar storyline and plot which they are on and could be something special if the group solidifies and strengthens into a strong dynamic. The actors especially Zoe Lister Jones and Van Der Beek certainly have the ability to do that. Watch it as an independent comedy not drawing comparisons to any of the classics and you will not be disappointed. CBS has not been successful with their new shows but FWBL with some excellent writing not going for the obvious jokes and gags could be the next big thing.