The Comedians
Season 1 Episode 10 “Misdirection”
Directed by Larry Charles
Written by Eric Ledgin
Starring Billy Crystal, Josh Gad, Larry Charles, Stephnie Weir, Max Oberg, Megan Ferguson, Rob Reiner, Adam Campbell
FX
Air Date: Thursday, June 11th, 2015 10pm

The Comedians – the show about the making of a show on FX starring the newest Martin & Lewis, Billy Crystal and Josh Gad, was off to a bit of a rocky start, as they struggled find an identity to the show early on. The humor tended to fall on the awkward sophomoric side, but as the season went on, I found myself loving the way Billy and Josh play off one another. The main dynamic is old school veteran comedy vs. new generation in-your-face style comedy. I imagine this to be not too far off from their natural selves. As we begin this week’s episode, Mitch (Max Oberg) has stepped into the director’s chair for a Curious George sketch (now a fully grown alcoholic ape), with an older Man in the Yellow Hat. Suffice to say his directorial style doesn’t mesh with the actors and they go to Kristen (Stephnie Weir).

“Mitch is doing this unpaid and uncredited which is really good for us budget wise.” – Kristen

“You know the expression, ‘you get what you pay for?'” – Billy

The struggle to find a new director is real. Larry Charles still harbors a grudge against Billy for firing him in the premiere. Josh’s suggestion is an indie thriller director prompting Billy to make a great George Lucas “Howard the Duck“ joke. After some pushing from Rob Reiner, Billy allows Josh to hire Connor Tate (Adam Campbell) as the new director. Let’s just say his direction for the show has Billy wishing he never whined about Mitch. Soon they have a new crew, NO scripts, and are off in the woods filming a “To Catch A Predator” sketch about catching the actual sci-fi character the Predator, as a sexual deviant. Turns out, it’s all a practical joke on them and Connor’s sketch is a big “GOTCHA” moment.

While I was totally not invested in the Connor Tate stuff, the relationship between Billy and Josh continues to improve and provide genuine comedy. I love their heartfelt handshake at the end, immediately followed by Josh swinging his legs to fart in Billy’s face. It totally felt real, and plus c’mon, who doesn’t like a good fart joke? I really would love them to actually film some of the sketches they do, and release them either on Blu-ray or in a special episode. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a comedy show where my opinion of it fluctuates as much, not even episode to episode, but actually scene to scene. At times, it’s as good and funny as Curb Your Enthusiasm, and sometimes you’re just sitting there not laughing, feeling confused. The Comedians is truly a unique viewing experience.

The Comedians returns with an all-new episode next Thursday night at 10:00pm ET on FX.

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The Comedians – Next On: Misdirection

Billy agrees to hire a douchey director friend of Josh’s, who suggests they shoot an “unscripted” sketch in the woods at night.