Lauren Ash
Michael Ian Black
Paget Brewster
Beth Dover
Brett Gelman
Christina Hendricks
Brian Huskey
Dave Koechner
Natasha Leggero
Riki Lindhome
Jason Ritter
David Wain
Armen Weitzman

Created by:
Natasha Leggero
Riki Lindhome

Comedy
2015-
Comedy Central

TV-14

“Another Period” is a period piece set in 1902 … airing on Comedy Central. So, it’s certainly not to be taken seriously. This half-hour comedy spoofs the British period piece drama genre: “Downton Abbey,” “Upstairs, Downstairs,” and others, that means you. And it actually does a good job of it. But this time, we’re treated to turn-of-the-century America, instead of England. This is like a period piece that smashed into a reality show, a genre that’s also spoofed here, set to the soundtrack of faux hip-hop music.

The characters, instead of attempting to hide their feelings underneath the required decorum of society, just come right out with it. For example, one exchange between a man and a woman, after the woman accepts and then discards a telegram, goes like this:

Man: “What does it say?”
Woman: “I don’t know how to read.”
Man: “Right.”

The comedic bits can go a bit too far at times – screaming, incest, Helen Keller, a brawl – but that’s the point, isn’t it? Plus, the actors are game. The cast is rather large, as we should expect from a proper spoof of this genre, and it contains many recognizable faces: Christina Hendricks, for one, Jason Ritter, for two, and so on. So it all works rather well. And in this context, I’ll take too much over too little any day.

If you like period dramas and reality shows, then this is for you. I was surprised by how well it starts. The question is: How long can they keep this up? I’m not so sure of the answer.

Verdict: Good

About: (Source: anotherperiod)

Another Period follows the lives of the obscenely rich Bellacourt family and their many servants in turn-of-the-century Rhode Island. Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome lead an all-star cast — including Michael Ian Black, David Wain, Christina Hendricks, Jason Ritter and Paget Brewster — in this historical satire about narcissistic aristocrats and the poor souls in their employ.