TV Land Sneak-Previewed 'The Jim Gaffigan Show': It Was Good
The Jim Gaffigan Show popped up on TV Land on Wednesday night, instead of a King of Queens rerun. Gaffigan tipped fans off via Instagram and Twitter. I watched: It was good stuff.
Gaffigan plays himself — or a TV version of himself: a stand-up comic living in Manhattan with a wife (Ashley Williams) and five kids. Like Gaffigan’s comedy-club persona, Sitcom Jim is a lazy guy who likes to eat, but who’s amusingly hurt when accused of being lazy or “puffy” (as someone did Wednesday night). Promising his kids a “super great daddy day!,” he quickly tired of such an exhausting-sounding project and was soon found sprawled on the sofa, eating ice cream and watching reruns of Paw Patrol.
When a friend played by Michael Ian Black made a crack about his slovenly appearance, Gaffigan told Black, “You look like every bad guy on Downton Abbey — which is indeed, now that he mentions it, what Michael Ian Black sort of looks like. This kind of sharp observational humor characterized the whole half-hour. The show was loaded with guest cameos, including Macaulay Culkin and Janeane Garofalo, and Williams is sharp and amusing as Gaffigan’s wife, Jeannine.
All in all, this looks like a step up in quality for TV Land’s sitcoms. I’m now looking forward to watching Gaffigan munch his way through a season of his show.
The Jim Gaffigan Show premieres July 15 at 10 p.m. on TV Land.
