You might find yourself in a relationship with NBC's 'Undateable' after its live show
The cast of 'Undateable' is taking their show live on Tuesday night.
By Sandra Gonzalez 2015-05-05 15:45:38 UTC
Not 20 seconds into 30 Rock's 2010 live episode, Jack Donaghy, standing in the middle of his suddenly too-real office, reached into the brains of the show's millions of viewers and scooped out a line of dialogue that was the equivalent of a slam dunk immediately after tip-off.
"Does it seem weird in here to you?" he asked Liz.
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Yes, it did. But when a TV series dares to go where few have gone before, weird is the goal.
On Tuesday night, NBC's Undateable will join the small but bold club that also includes ER, Will & Grace, The Drew Carey Show and The West Wing — The We Usually Don't Do This Live club.
The show's hour-long outing is being spearheaded by executive producers Bill Lawrence and Adam Sztykiel.
Lawrence, the man behind Scrubs and Cougar Town, is even bringing back some alum from his former shows for the episode — Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Neil Flynn, and Christa Miller among them.
The episode will follow Danny (Chris D'Elia) and Justin (Brent Morin)'s efforts to woo a backup singer in Detroit — where the show is set — for a music festival.
That framing device, says Lawrence, was an important part of the "let's do a live show!" puzzle. While doing a great scripted live show seemed fun, they aimed to take it to a different level with a variety show-like approach.
Rehearsing for #UndateableLive with @RonFunches ! pic.twitter.com/xXEOfq0GXx
— Undateable (@NBCUndateable) May 5, 2015
A few musical guest stars — including Victoria Justice and one mega artist who's being kept under wraps — have been lined up to get in on the action, but the cast, too, will be involved. (Update: Ed Sheeran has revealed that he's the special guest.)
The attempt to do a variety show is a move that not any show can make, as you might guess. But Lawrence says the Undateable cast — which includes improv-loving standup comedians and a number of musically talented figures — was special and crazy enough to attempt the feat.
"The cast was just so game," he says.
Pulling off a live show takes more than just the willingness, though. In the past, the experiment has had mixed results.
ER's live episode, a Season 4 outing titled "Ambush," was not loved by critics.
The packaging used to deliver the live concept to the viewers — in this case, a PBS documentary crew who was filming the staff and doctors of County General Hospital — also stripped the show of the urgency and tension usually built into taped episodes. (It's worth noting, however, that drama is especially hard to pull off in the live format.)
30 Rock's two live shows, meanwhile, succeeded — with an excellent slate of audience-pleasing guest stars like Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jon Hamm — but were seen by some critics as subpar episodes of the series as a whole.
Undateable has a few tricks up its sleeve, however — small touches that Lawrence hopes highlight the best aspects of a live show recipe.
#Undateable LIVE rehearsal went well last night. Hopefully no one tweeted the guest stars... Tonight, LIVE, NBC, 9:00 after The Voice...
— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) May 5, 2015
Best case scenario, he says, they pull it off — with surprises woven into every scene and just enough unscripted laughter to draw some from the audience, too. (A longtime fan of Saturday Night Live, Lawrence says he loves it when a cast member starts laughing at another, but "if it happens too much I'm like, 'Get it together.'")
Other case? A "complete disaster," he jokes. But one that nonetheless hopefully gets new eyes on a show that — despite what their brave attempt might convey — only has 20 episodes under its belt.
"If it works out, great; we had to try it," he says.
The Undateable live show — titled "A Live Show Walks Into a Bar" — will be performed twice on Tuesday (once for each coast) and air at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Mashable will be Periscoping from backstage starting at 8:45 p.m. ET/5:45 p.m. PT.
The show's season finale airs May 12.
BONUS: 6 Questions About Love with the Cast of 'Undateable'
Topics: Entertainment, Television, undateable