USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Powerless,’ ‘ Superior Donuts’ prove a new idea is not always better
Comic book comedy has clever concept but few laughs; other new show solid but not very new
If we must choose, better to pick an old idea done reasonably well than a new one done poorly. For one night, at least, two networks are indeed asking you to choose, as CBS’ Superior Donuts ( out of four) and NBC’s Powerless ( out of four) make their debuts in the same time slot: Thursday at 8: 30 p. m. ET/ PT. That conflict won’t last; Superior moves to its regular Monday at 9 p. m. slot next week. But the shows’ relative merits seem likely to remain.
The new idea belongs to Powerless, which marks DC Comics’ first attempt at a superhero comedy in decades — a rare genre that has given us Captain Nice, The Greatest American Hero, The Tick, DC’s Mister Terrific and not much else. Considering how many comic book shows there are these days, you’d think the genre would be ripe for a sharp satire. Powerless settles for a kind of gentle silliness along the lines of 1967’ s Terrific — and like Terrific, it isn’t.
You can’t blame the concept, which is both clever and functional. In a world where superheroes constantly battle their way through big cities, what are regular people supposed to do to protect themselves from the fallout?
They turn to Batman’s Wayne Enterprises’ offshoot Wayne Security, which markets devices that warn them when a supervillain is approaching. It’s a noble calling, or at least that’s the opinion of the overeager new director of research and development played by Vanessa Hudgens.
What she finds instead is a boss, Van Wayne ( Alan Tudyk), who longs to close the company and work for his cousin Bruce, and developers ( Danny Pudi and Ron Funches) who have lost all hope and heart. And what you’ll find is a supposed superhero comedy that immediately morphs into a workplace comedy, and a not very amusing one at that. It’s as if, after creating a novel idea, the producers forgot they had to do something with it.
Hudgens is charming, if at times too chipper, and Tudyk, Pudi, Funches and Christina Kirk ( who plays Van’s exasperated secretary), have proven comic abilities. But if Powerless intends to be an actual comedy, as opposed to a harmless way to wile away a halfhour, it needs to give them something to do that counts as funny. Whatever powers this NBC sitcom has on display, the power to make us laugh isn’t one of them.
Which is where Superior Donuts gains the upper hand. It isn’t hilarious, mind you — and even the jokes that work are a little creaky. But they do work, thanks in large part to the talented trio of actors at the show’s center: Judd Hirsch, Jermaine Fowler and Katey Sagal.
Based on the Broadway play by Tracy Letts, Donuts stars Hirsch as Arthur — the gruff but kindhearted owner of a dying doughnut shop in a gentrifying Chicago neighborhood. In walks the recently unemployed Franco ( Fowler), who needs a job and is full of ideas for reviving the shop.
You will immediately see where this is going. They will bond, fight, then bond again. They will trade jokes about old folks and Millennials. They will trade insults with the regulars, led by Sagal as a sexy beat cop and including a guy trying to make a living out of the “gig” economy ( David Koechner), the Iraqi immigrant who runs the dry cleaners next door ( Maz Jobrani), and an overprivileged student ( Anna Baryshnikov, daughter of Mikhail) who does all her studying in the shop.
The oddity in Donuts is that, despite the thread of current events that runs through it, the show still manages to feel like it’s been sitting on the CBS shelf since 1970. ( Trust me: If any show should avoid jokes about Cagney & Lacey and Starsky & Hutch, it’s this one.) Social issues such as race and guns walk in and out the shop door, but none of them really lands in a show that’s pretty much tension- free, and no doubt designed to be.
In the roles played on Broadway by Better Call Saul’s Michael McKean and Elementary’s Jon Michael Hill, Hirsch and Fowler shine and sometimes even delight. You’d expect as much from Hirsch, who is as dependable a pro as you’ll ever find, but the lesser known Fowler ranks as one of the season’s great discoveries.
Odds are this won’t be a show that gets much attention from critics, but it may find an audience on CBS, and that’s fine. Superior, it isn’t, but it’s pleasant, well- acted and spreads a few worthy messages about cooperation and inclusion.
For tonight, that will do.