Blunt Talk
Created by:
Jonathan Ames
2015-
Comedy
Starz
TV-MA
At the beginning of “Blunt Talk,” there’s a closeup on the back of a bald head. It’s a very famous bald head, that of Sir Patrick Stewart. Stewart’s head is the silhouette featured in this show’s opening logo, as well. I guess that’s supposed to be funny … or something.
Walter Blunt, played by Stewart, is a 70-something British news anchor who wants to conquer nightly cable news in the States. According to Stewart in a CNBC interview, Blunt is named after a character in Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part 1,” a character that was Stewart’s first role with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Shakespeare’s Blunt is rather foolish and dies at the end of the play. This Blunt is rather foolish, too, but he’s not dead … not yet. You may wish that he is after watching 10 minutes of this show.
Regardless of the cast and what the story is, a comedy must be a comedy – it has to be funny. Edgy and funny aren’t synonyms. While they can be complementary, they’re separate things. Many comedy writers nowadays go for edgy and assume that the automatic result will be funny. But they wind up failing on both counts. Jonathan Ames, the creator and writer of “Blunt Talk,” is no exception.
Here’s what this show considers funny: a joke about testicles, an old man listening to rap-rock, the same old man being caught (by the police) with “a lady of the night” who’s more than she seems, a police foot chase gone wrong, flagellation, and so on. Laughing yet? The funniest part of the first episode is the appearance of Brent Spiner (one of Stewart’s co-stars in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) as a piano player in a bar. That’s a bad sign.
Funny or not, “Blunt Talk” is flat. It has a sluggish approach to humor. Everything’s a bit too settled, but that’s not its intention. It’s not funny; it’s lazy. As a result, the very capable cast is in an untenable position. These actors should run for the exits.
“Blunt Talk” swings and misses. It’s weak, instead of blunt. It’s hazy, instead of sharp. It attempts to make fun of news culture, instead of actually doing it. It wastes Stewart’s talent and our time.
Verdict: Bad
About: (Source: blunttalk)
“Blunt Talk,” a 10-episode half-hour series, set in Los Angeles, follows Walter Blunt, played by Patrick Stewart, a British import intent on conquering the world of American cable news. Through the platform of his nightly news show, Blunt is on a mission to impart his wisdom and guidance on how Americans should live, think and behave.
Besieged by network bosses, a dysfunctional news staff, numerous ex-wives, children of all ages, and his own well-intentioned, but sometimes misguided decisions, Blunt’s only support is in the form of the heavy-drinking, devoted manservant he transplanted from the U.K.
The cast is led by Patrick Stewart in the role of Walter Blunt, Jacki Weaver as Rosalie, Blunt’s tough and motherly producer-manager and Adrian Scarborough as Harry, Blunt’s manservant. Dolly Wells who plays Celia, Blunt’s senior producer and head writer and Timm Sharp who plays Jim, Blunt’s head writer, round out the cast.
The series from MRC is executive produced by Seth MacFarlane, Jonathan Ames (Creator and Showrunner), Stephanie Davis and Tristram Shapeero.
