ABC’s fresh ‘The Mayor’ should earn your vote
Political humor in this comedy lands on side of hopeful, fun
The Mayor is a breath of earnest fresh air in a dark and cynical world.
Watching the new ABC comedy (Tuesday, 9:30 ET/ PT, eeeE out of four) is the most fun you’ll have with a new broadcast series this fall. It tells the story of a young rapper in a California town who runs for mayor to promote his mixtape but ends up winning the election.
Created by Jeremy Bronson ( Speechless) and produced by Daveed Diggs ( Hamilton), the comedy is a sweet political parody that celebrates the best in people.
Courtney Rose (Brandon Micheal Hall) decides he’d be a more successful rapper if only more people could hear his mixtape, so he plans a run for mayor, figuring it’s “super easy.” At first, it’s all a big promotional joke, but onstage at a debate, he gets into it with a real candidate (David Spade) over cleanup at a public park. His earnest plea strikes a chord, he ends up winning, and his opponent’s campaign manager, Valentina (Lea Michele) joins his new staff.
The Mayor can drop political jokes without sounding pedantic or tired, and it simultaneously respects and has fun with the political process, using the casual and carefree Courtney and the up- tight Valentina as foils.
The Mayor finds something fresh in this well-trodden sitcom dynamic, and Michele and Hall have excellent chemistry. The series also is smart and authentic about Courtney’s music, an important part of his identity. It’s easy to see Diggs’ influence here, and the Hamilton star shows up in a cameo in Tuesday’s premiere.
The series wouldn’t work without Hall ( Search Party), a charmer in the lead role. Courtney is affable without being annoying, and a little selfish, but he’s working on it. When he stands up to a political hack at the debate, you believe him, thanks both to Hall’s innate appeal and the clever writing.
Another standout is Yvette Nicole Brown ( Community), who adds a maturity to the proceedings as Courtney’s mother Dina, giving him the reality checks only a mother can give. She also adds her frantic comedic stylings, as in a scene where she yells “FIRE!” when she just wants to speak to her son on the fire escape.
The Mayor delivers on the two most important things a sitcom pilot needs: great characters and a great concept. That the jokes are relevant and funny is a good sign of things to come. In a TV landscape where political humor is either cynical or angry, it fills a hole by landing squarely on the side of hopeful and fun.
That may be just enough to earn your vote.