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<i>The Mayor</i> – “Pilot” Spoiler Free Advance Review. Politics 101.

Season 1, Episode 1

Air Date: Tuesday, October 3, 2017, 9:30/8:30c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“Turns out, it’s super easy to run for local office.” – Courtney Rose

Courtney Rose (Brandon Micheal Hall)

Recording his music in his bedroom closet, rapper Courtney Rose (Brandon Micheal Hall) is in search of his big break. Frustrated with his lack of notoriety, Rose decides to run for mayor to create buzz for his fledgling music career. Leading Rose’s campaign are his friends, T.K Clifton (Marcel Spears), his press secretary, and fundraiser Jermaine Leforge (Bernard David Jones). Will the voters see Rose’s campaign as a publicity stunt or believe in his campaign and vote for him? The real question remains, what if he wins?

Full disclosure, I can’t stand rap. So the premise of rapper turned mayor of the fictitious city of Fort Grey, California did little for me. Having appeared in nine episodes of TBS’ series Search Party, as well as a few other minor roles, Hall isn’t exactly a household name, making me wonder if he would be able to carry the series. It didn’t take long to get my answer – Yes.

Hall’s personality is absolutely infectious and every time he appears on screen, you find yourself wanting to root for Rose. There’s an innocence to Hall’s hilarious portrayal of Rose that makes the absurd political premise almost believable. Heck, while watching the pilot, I found myself wishing I were a registered voter in Fort Grey. As funny as Hall is, it’s Spears and Jones who get the biggest laughs. I couldn’t stop laughing  each time the two appear together; their characters are easily one of my favorite comedic duos on television this fall season. I can’t wait to see what the writers have in store for T.K and Jermaine.

Courtney Rose and Dina (Yvette Nicole Brown)

Jokes alone don’t make a comedy successful. One thing that sets good comedies apart from the bad is heart. You don’t want to just laugh at characters; you want to care about them. The humanity on The Mayor is provided in spades by Yvette Nicole Brown, who plays Courtney’s mom Dina. Brown is the glue that holds The Mayor together. She adds a level of credibility and turns what could have been a silly series into one full of kindness and compassion. The scenes between Dina and Courtney are surprisingly powerful; I was amazed by how much Dina’s motherly advice resonated with me. As much as Hall is the star of The Mayor, I couldn’t get enough of Brown.

As television studios strive to create shows with diverse casts, it has become almost too easy to lump series like Black-ish, Dr Ken, Fresh Off the Boat, and The Mayor into groups and define them by the cast’s race. Don’t get me wrong, diversity on television is important but viewing a show should be based on the quality of the series and not the skin color of the cast. While The Mayor tackles many issues facing the African-American community, the underlying theme of family, community involvement, and trying to better one’s life is something everyone can relate to. Not to mention, The Mayor is flat out funny.

Created by Jeremy Bronson, The Mayor draws its inspiration from rappers like Daveed Diggs and Chance the Rapper. Diggs not only serves as executive producer, he writes the music for the show. Despite the political nature of the premise, The Mayor focuses less on politics and more on community. Given today’s divided political climate, it was refreshing that labels of Democrats and Republicans aren’t mentioned.

My only gripe about The Mayor is the use of Lea Michele, who plays Valentina Barella, Courtney’s former classmate and rival campaign manager. Michele is a talented actress and I can see what the writers are trying to accomplish with the character but it failed to connect with me. Unfortunately for Michele, the role of campaign manager is a lot like being a mother. This appears to have created an interesting dilemma for the writers as scenes that could have fit either Valentina or Dina often went to Brown. As the series progresses, it will be interesting to see whether the writers are able to find better ways to utilize Valentina.

The Mayor is one of my biggest surprises of the fall season. The childish antics I’d been expecting from the series are instead heartfelt with a strong family message. While I’m still not a fan of rap, I am a supporter of Fort Grey’s newest politician. I can’t wait to see what comes next for the young Mayor.

The Mayor pilot is currently up early on the ABC website.

Tune in to the series premiere of The Mayor Tuesday, October 3, 2017, 9:30/8:30c, only on ABC.

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about The Mayor – “Pilot.”

For more information on The Mayor, visit the official website.

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Photos: ©2017 ABC. 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.