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<i>The Comedians</i> – “Orange You the New Black Guy” Review. No Tokens Here.

Season 1, Episode 6

Air Date: Thursday, May 14, 2015, 10:00 pm ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“We got to get some black people on this show.” – Josh

Meeting with the critic. BTW I’m available for season two.

Following an interview with African American film critic Elvis Mitchell (playing himself),  Billy (Billy Crystal) and Josh (Josh Gad) realize almost the entire cast and crew for The Billy and Josh Show are white. Determined to correct this injustice, they task Kristen (Stephenie Weir) with finding some people of various shades and colors to join the production.

Kristen is quick to hire Ron Murray (Affion Crockett), a young, black, up and coming writer whose resume includes shows like Saturday Night Live. Afraid that turning down any of his ideas might appear insensitive, Billy and Josh roll out the red carpet for Ron, quickly approving all his ideas.

Weir gives a wonderful performance when Kristen tries to diversify the show. It’s no surprise when she eventually cracks under the pressure of all the political correctness. I feel sorry for MItch (Matt Oberg) when he is caught in Kirsten’s rant as he can’t unhear what Kristen confesses. In my review of “Go For Gad,” I commented how the crucifix skit might be amusing to some, and then questioned how the audience might react if another religion or race were treated the same. I didn’t have to wait long as Billy and Josh are quick to praise a script Ron writes about a Klansman with Tourettes who attends a lynching. Their accolades are short lived as Billy and Josh realize they “can’t do this sketch.”

There can be only one.

Race is a touchy subject and to some extent, we have become hyper sensitive when discussing it. At times, people go out of their way just to demonstrate how diverse they are. While topics like race and sexual orientation still need to be discussed openly and honestly, we, as a society, sometimes overshoot by trying a little too hard to be politically correct. I applaud the writers for tackling the subject of race from a Caucasian perspective. I laughed as Billy and Josh struggle to appear more diverse without making it look like they are making an effort to be more inclusive.

Josh: “I looked at our show through his eyes and I could just see the way it was radiating back.”

Billy: “Elvis Mitchel, award winning entertainment journalist, and you think all that he sees is race?”

Josh: “Well, no, no.”

Billy: “Josh, if Elvis was white, would you have the same thought?”

Josh: “No I wouldn’t.”

Billy: “No, isn’t that a little racist?”

Josh: “Oh my God, I’m the problem. So we shouldn’t hire any minorities?”

Meeting the new writer.

Despite the main story line, “Orange You the New Black Guy” isn’t all serious. One of my favorite scenes is when Billy and Josh engage in a Nerf gunfight. It’s hilarious watching two grown men shooting foam disks at each other. I can’t help wondering if that scene was scripted or if Crystal and Gad were playing off camera and it turned into a scene.

While “Orange You the New Black Guy” isn’t the funniest episode of The Comedians, the show deserves credit for taking on such an important and thought-provoking topic in a comedy series. Then again, the writers do an excellent job addressing race in an entertaining manner.

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “Orange You the New Black Guy.”

Tune in to The Comedians Thursdays at 10:00 pm ET/PT, only on FX.

Visit the show’s website at http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-comedians.

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You can also follow the cast on Twitter: @Josh Gad, @Billy Crystal, @Dana Delany, and @Megan Ferguson.

Photos © 2015 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.