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markduncan908
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Almost There (2015)
This would be a good show if it weren't for the main plot
This show was written by a couple of women from St. Louis who have no experience writing for TV and had to raise the money to produce the pilot. St. Louis Magazine has a great article about it called "Kim and Debbie Go to Hollywood." Anyway, Coop's search for Natalie, is the worst part of the show. Having them always just missing each other, no matter how cleverly it's done, is a cliché that's been done to death, and here it's going on too long. Better to have him just going about his business and trying to find her but not having her be in any of the episodes until the writers are ready to get them together. Plus, now that we know how screwed up Coop is, I'm hoping for Natalie's sake that they never get together.
The actors do well with the material, sometimes better than it deserves. This whole thing kind of reminds me of Seinfeld with the people in and out of Coop's apartment and the slacker best friend. Christopher Fitzgerald plays a Kramerish sidekick, and he's hilarious. There is usually something in each episode that makes me laugh out loud, which puts it above most of the sitcoms on network TV.
Maddie Corman plays Coop's secretary. In real life, she's married to Jace Alexander (he directed a LOT of Law & Order episodes), who got the show made and directed the episodes. After he finished the season he was arrested and pled guilty to possession of child porn, and now the credits show a pseudonym for the director's name.
So seven episodes in, I recommend you watch this show, but if they don't get Coop and Natalie together soon, I'll change my mind.
Black Tie Affair (1993)
Book about the making of this show
If you're interested in this show, you should read a book called We Bombed in Burbank: A Joyride to Prime Time by Vance Muse (Addison-Wesley, 1994). The author was there from the beginning and interviewed everyone associated with the show as it was being created, cast, and shot. He documents everything from writing, to set decoration, to what the legal firm who checked the scripts found, to what happened when the show finally aired. He didn't say anything about the problem with the film mentioned in a previous comment. I never saw the show, but I still found this book interesting; if I'd actually seen any of the episodes I'd have found it fascinating.