Mid-Century Modern on Hulu

[d.anders]

I'm not holding my breath on another gay comedy by Will & Grace alumns Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Hollywood gay-funny is almost always in its in own lane, and alien to the rest of gay America. The pairing of Nathan Lane and Matt Bomer is interesting. And then there's the Black gay. I guess on paper it makes sense to roll out tried and true Linda Lavin, but really, was there no one else willing or able? Another reason to not hold breath is Ryan Murphy, whose version of gay life is the most distorted and cliche as ever. At least they're all trying, and doing so in Palm Springs. A gay Golden Girls perhaps?

 

[samhexum]

Wasn't interested when I heard about it, even less so after seeing the preview.

[Danny-Darko]

One cliche after another to ridicule and reinforce the stereotype that straight people have of us. 🙄

[d.anders]

21 minutes ago, Danny-Darko said:

One cliche after another to ridicule and reinforce the stereotype that straight people have of us.

I often wondered if that's a byproduct to acquire financial backing in Hollywood. Inevitably, some of the money probably has to come from straight investors.

[+ FrankR]

I can’t wait! When everyone hates it based on the trailer, I usually end up enjoying it. Plus Nathan Lane! 😆

[d.anders]

I loved Vicious with Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi. The writing was so sharp and funny, and their love seemed so real. I don't have much faith that Hollywood can do that, especially this writing team.

[handiacefailure]

Watched the first two epsiodes this afternoon.   I like it so far.   Nathan Lane is great.   

[d.anders]

Just saw the first episode, twice. Some of the lines were very funny. Nathan Lee Graham is much better than I expected, passing him off as an Andre Leon Tally type. He's quite good. Matt Bomer as the dumb-blonde is perfect. Thank goodness they didn't actually make his hair blond. Didn't know Nathan Lane and Matt Bomer are executive producers. Serious gay-Hollywood clout behind this project. I hope it succeeds. Had to turn on closed-captioning, because they talk too fast. I missed a lot of words the first go-round.

[TonyDown]

Binged it all the way through. 

So many fun guest star cameos!

Also some very poignant bits, but mostly zany gay jokes, Jewish jokes, and old folks jokes.  

It took me a minute to get used to Matt Bomer playing comedy.  He's funny!  

Linda Lavin plays the mom.  R.I.P.   

Great show!

[AtticusBK]

It is 100% inspired by The Golden Girls. Bomer is Rose, Lane is Dorothy, and Lavin plays his mother — inspired by, not the same as. It’s easy-breezy, totally fun/ny, and entertaining. Too bad Lavin died before they finished filming — she’s great in this. 

[d.anders]

I got half way through, until 3 am. So glad they didn't do the weekly dump thing. I'm enjoying the jazz orchestra musical support elements. It has a similar brightness and zip that the piano thing had with Will & Grace, but far more enjoyable. Makes me want to dance.

The show is very Hollywood sit-com formula, so no innovation here. The players are solid (especially with James Burrows directing), the writing is crisp, the edits are fast, and they seem to have created an homage to the Golden Girls. I absolutely loved the Golden Girls, so a good gay version of that is very welcome.

Lots of room for supporting characters, although Jesse Tyler Ferguson as a fashionista is hard to buy. I love Vanessa Bayer. Lucky for Isaac Mizrahi that they brought him on as Consulting Producer.

Linda Lavin is very good, in spite of her helmet hair. I wonder how the show deals with her death. The snarky Jewish mother is very much a part of this ensemble's chemistry.

Interesting they touched on Matt Bomer's history as a former Mormon. The hymn singing scene was quite touching. It's a bit cliche that Matt gets all the hotties.

The background of the friendships is developing nicely. A lot of the more serious conversations are relatable. Nathan Lane is chewing up scenery. He must feel very much at home. He can do full-on Off-Broadway on a Hollywood sound stage, and make a ton more money.

I hope the writing team can keep up with the challenge. All the characters here are well equipped to deliver great lines and hit home runs. Good comedy is not easy. I wish them all good luck. We need a good laugh these days.

 

Edited March 29 by d.anders

[SirBillybob]

As well as Hot in Cleveland. Estranged child parallel, among others. 

M-C M is on Disney Plus in my jurisdiction. Hah. Disney.

Edited March 29 by SirBillybob

[AtticusBK]

 

Through Tears, ‘Mid-Century Modern’ Makes Them Laugh - The New York Times

WWW.NYTIMES.COM

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Partway through filming Season 1, the beloved cast member Linda Lavin died. To honor her, the remaining cast and crew decided the...

 

[d.anders]

It's relatively easy to get a free-trial of Hulu. This show can be watched in plenty of time before the trial ends. If you've done the free-trial before, you just need a different email address, and you sign-up using a different browser. Otherwise, you have to delete cookies on the browser you used to do a clean sign-up. The fact that I figured out how to do this several times is evidence that my brain still functions in my old age.

Edited March 29 by d.anders

[d.anders]

Just finished Episode 9 and I can't stop sobbing. God bless Linda Lavin.

[d.anders]

It is very interesting how they handled Lavin's death and completed the last episode of the season without her. Can't help but wonder about the future of this show. Will it survive without her? Can it survive without a strong, older, female character as part of the ensemble? I had forgotten how talented Lavin was. She has quite a history in show business, and her presence on this show gave it a lot of gravitas.

It sure was nice to see Judd Hirsch and Rhea Perlman again. Lavin's character created an easy space to feature these older actors doing guest spots. I think many of us older gays would appreciate that nostalgia. Richard Kind was fabulous, too. This show is a great acting opportunity for talented men (and women) actors to play gay.

I'm not a fan of Pamela Adlon. She is talented, but she burned me out in Californication and Louie. I would have preferred a different actress playing Mindy.

I'm hearing from friends who are disappointed with Matt Bomer's performance. They are not getting his casting. He's far from Betty White, but I love the fact that he's channeling her. They did end up giving him blond highlights, and I think he's doing a terrific job.

Definitely ready for Season 2. Will it happen? Will we have to wait 3 years?

[TonyDown]

11 hours ago, d.anders said:

It is very interesting how they handled Lavin's death and completed the last episode of the season without her. Can't help but wonder about the future of this show. Will it survive without her? Can it survive without a strong, older, female character as part of the ensemble? I had forgotten how talented Lavin was. She has quite a history in show business, and her presence on this show gave it a lot of gravitas.

It sure was nice to see Judd Hirsch and Rhea Perlman again. Lavin's character created an easy space to feature these older actors doing guest spots. I think many of us older gays would appreciate that nostalgia. Richard Kind was fabulous, too. This show is a great acting opportunity for talented men (and women) actors to play gay.

I'm not a fan of Pamela Adlon. She is talented, but she burned me out in Californication and Louie. I would have preferred a different actress playing Mindy.

I'm hearing from friends who are disappointed with Matt Bomer's performance. They are not getting his casting. He's far from Betty White, but I love the fact that he's channeling her. They did end up giving him blond highlights, and I think he's doing a terrific job.

Definitely ready for Season 2. Will it happen? Will we have to wait 3 years?

 

Credit to how the show worked losing the Sybil character.  So touching. 

Also the Mormon character (Zane Phillips) dealing with his faith was quite poignant.  Jerry had quite a noble side to his character several times.

They could replace Sybil and do a Season 2.  Could Rhea Perelman move in?   Or they could find another senior actress.  Candace Bergen? Lily Tomlin?

 

[samhexum]

11 hours ago, d.anders said:

It is very interesting how they handled Lavin's death and completed the last episode of the season without her. Can't help but wonder about the future of this show. Will it survive without her? Can it survive without a strong, older, female character as part of the ensemble? I had forgotten how talented Lavin was. She has quite a history in show business, and her presence on this show gave it a lot of gravitas.

 

26 minutes ago, TonyDown said:

Credit to how the show worked losing the Sybil character.  So touching. 

They could replace Sybil and do a Season 2.  Could Rhea Perelman move in?   Or they could find another senior actress.  Candace Bergen? Lily Tomlin?

If they hadn't misspelled the name, they could've just recast the part and had Cybil Shepherd play Sybil if they thought she could pull off playing a character with that name on a sitcom set in California.

[+ Gar1eth]

On 3/28/2025 at 10:31 PM, d.anders said:

Just saw the first episode, twice. Some of the lines were very funny. Nathan Lee Graham is much better than I expected, passing him off as an Andre Leon Tally type. He's quite good. 

I doubt I'll watch it. From the previews it looked too stereotypical. I'm not saying I haven't met a few people similar to Nathan Lane.  But the majority of us aren't like that. It makes me uncomfortable.  But I'll admit to not liking drag or overly 'butch' lesbians. Come to think of it, I'm not fond of overly butch straight guys either. 
 

Who is Andre Leon Tally?

Edited March 31 by Gar1eth

[+ poolboy48220]

12 hours ago, Gar1eth said:

Who is Andre Leon Tally?

From wikipedia: André Leon Talley (October 16, 1948 – January 18, 2022) was an American fashion journalist, stylist, creative director, author, and editor-at-large of Vogue magazine.[1] He was the magazine's fashion news director from 1983 to 1987, its first African-American male creative director from 1988 to 1995, and then its editor-at-large from 1998 to 2013. Often regarded as a fashion icon, he was known for supporting emerging designers and advocating for diversity in the fashion industry;[2] while the capes, kaftans, and robes he wore became his trademark look. Talley also served on the judging panel for America's Next Top Model (from Cycle 14 to Cycle 17).

[d.anders]

14 hours ago, TonyDown said:

They could replace Sybil and do a Season 2.  Could Rhea Perelman move in?   Or they could find another senior actress.  Candace Bergen? Lily Tomlin?

Since they played the mother as having died, I doubt they would go the soap opera route and bring her back to life as a new actress. For the writers, I imagine it would be very awkward to pluck a woman from thin air and offer her Sybil's bedroom. For a creative, this is not a fun place to be.

14 hours ago, samhexum said:

they could've just recast the part and had Cybil Shepherd play Sybil

Cybil Shepard is way too pretty to have spawned the looks of a Nathan Lane.

13 hours ago, Gar1eth said:

I doubt I'll watch it. From the previews it looked too stereotypical.

Much like Will & Grace, this show may not be fun viewing for every gay. However, I thought the previews sucked, and promoted possible doom. Once I started watching, the characters immediately grew on me, and many of the jokes had me laughing out loud.

[samhexum]

12 hours ago, d.anders said:

Cybil Shepard is way too pretty to have spawned the looks of a Nathan Lane.

Maybe the father was REALLY ugly and REALLY rich.  A decent idea that would never happen would be for them to secure the rights to her character from Chuck Lorre and have her play it on the show.  She could meet Nathan Lane's character and they get to talking.  "You know, Sybil was my mother's name..."  When she mentions that she's been thinking about relocating to Palm Springs but can't afford it...

12 hours ago, d.anders said:

I thought the previews sucked, and promoted possible doom. Once I started watching, the characters immediately grew on me, and many of the jokes had me laughing out loud.

Good to know.

Edited April 1 by samhexum
because he's bored as hell

[TonyDown]

1 hour ago, d.anders said:

Since they played the mother as having died, I doubt they would go the soap opera route and bring her back to life as a new actress. For the writers, I imagine it would be very awkward to pluck a woman from thin air and offer her Sybil's bedroom. For a creative, this is not a fun place to be.

Cybil Shepard is way too pretty to have spawned the looks of a Nathan Lane.

Much like Will & Grace, this show may not be fun viewing for every gay. However, I thought the previews sucked, and promoted possible doom. Once I started watching, the characters immediately grew on me, and many of the jokes had me laughing out loud.

They may already be brainstorming a proper scenario, including a final homage to Lavin/Sybil.

Those 3 "queens" need another "old broad" in that house.

There is buzz about season 2, below.  IMO, promoting the Mindy character may not serve the comedy formula well enough, as an old age character would.

Mid-Century Modern Season 2 Gets Major Update from Hulu Series Creator

THEDIRECT.COM

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Nathan Lane's new streaming comedy may only just be getting started on Hulu.

 

Mid-Century Modern Creators Recall the ‘Terrifying’ Process of Writing Linda Lavin’s Death Into the Show

TVLINE.COM

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The creators of Hulu's 'Mid-Century Modern' detail the difficult task of writing Linda Lavin's death into the show.

 

[d.anders]

3 hours ago, TonyDown said:

Those 3 "queens" need another "old broad" in that house.

It sure worked for me. Linda Lavin was terrific at throwing zingers and making a Maude face. She had millions of Broadway theater fans.

3 hours ago, TonyDown said:

There is buzz about season 2, below.  IMO, promoting the Mindy character may not serve the comedy formula well enough, as an old age character would.

That's my greatest fear, they're going to promote Pamela Adlon playing Mindy, and the show will go south for me.

[d.anders]

Maybe not enough board members have seen it yet, but I'm surprised no one has mentioned Nathan Lane's refusal to do nudity. How weird was it to see Nathan Lane wearing a t-shirt in all the hot-tub scenes? Who among us would do that? (I'm going to ask in The Lounge.)

I remember listening to Nathan do an interview many, many years ago, where he said he would never take off his clothes for a role. Seeing him in the hot-tub scenes reminded me of that interview. He definitely does not want to be seen in public shirtless. How bad could it be?