With such a scarcity of laugh-out-loud broad comedies in movie theaters, it’s only natural that the streaming limited series would attempt to pick up the slack.
David Wain, former The State star and director of the new Peacock comedy Mr. Throwback, is familiar with both sides of this divide, having made Wet Hot American Summer as well as its Netflix prequel and sequel series. But neither Wain’s comic chops behind the camera nor the rest of the talent behind this mockumentary sitcom can mitigate the feeling that Mr. Throwback is hybridizing two distinctly different forms, in a way that’s sometimes more distracting than innovative.
Basically, the show, which premieres August 8 on Peacock, mixes a sitcom premise with a complicated season-long arc that feels more like a movie idea. The sitcom part is fairly inspired: Danny Grossman (Adam Pally) was a child basketball prodigy, until an unusual scandal out of his control cut off his blossoming career. Meanwhile, one of his teammates emerged from his shadow to become, well, massively successful NBA player Stephen Curry, who plays a fictional version of himself.
