New CBS comedy to tell a relationship story across 20 years
by Jason Hughes, posted Sep 15th 2009 2:27PM
It's hard to come up with a headline to sum up this new project by Andrew Secunda (Upright Citizens Brigade and Late Night with Conan O'Brien). I love the concept, though. CBS, which is developing the show with Secunda, calls it a multigenerational comedy. The show will be about a couple in love who move in together. From there, we start to get their story in a clever way.Through the extensive use of flashbacks to their childhoods, we'll see how they developed the quirks and habits that they're discovering about one another now as adults. We'll also see their parents both now and 20 years ago, to see how they shaped their children, and how their own relationships in the past may impact the way their children are today. Why didn't I just say that in the title?
If they flesh out the world 20 years ago with these two kids, they could essentially be building three shows at once. I'm assuming the couple in the present era didn't know one another 20 years ago, but maybe they did. Either way, you can have a fully realized and enjoyable show in the present about a young couple moving in together, and you can have another great show about trying to raise kids in the late '80s. The connections between the two make it even better.
Maybe I'm being overly optimistic. It is a really unique way to explore relationships and how our pasts shape our present and future. I love creators who push the envelope of what we're used to, and I think Secunda has stumbled on something with great potential here. I'll certainly tune in to see if it's as innovative and exciting as it could be.

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