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Mike OBriens new showA.P.
Coincidentally, like Kaitlin Olson onThe Mick,A.P.
Biocasts Howerton playing a callow jerk playing off a cast of children.
Past that, though, Jack is just any cranky white guy who thinks hes brilliant.
Biois full of red herring details.
Neither does Jacks background in philosophy matter, unfortunately.
This is fine, of course.
Not every NBC sitcom needs to provide an intro-level course in philosophy.
It does, however, speak to the seriess strangely specific choices that are ultimately superficial.
Bioare fairly universally strong.
Mary Sohn, as art teacher Mary, is the real breakout performance.
Mary is almost as self-absorbed as Jack, but much more idiosyncratically so.
Sohn plays her with a hilarious confidence that makes all of her scenes stand out.
The student performances are very good, particularly Aparna Brielle, Tucker Albrizzi, and Allisyn Ashley Arm.
This is the case for Jack as well.
Advanced placement classes in high school are sites of extremelyhigh anxietyandracial, class, and gender stratification.
Its a point of focus with plenty of room to satirize public education and high achievement standards.
Again, it mostly just doesnt.
Biohas lots of potential, but its hard to find something to latch onto.
Perhaps this is a natural outgrowth of a TV schedule full of sitcom revivals A.P.
Biois the exact genre of bland, unoriginal series we all thought wed left behind years ago.
It can be much funnier, but like Jack, doesnt seem to care enough to try.
Harry Waksberg is a writer and lazeabout based in Riverside, CA.
He is the creator and writer of the web seriesDoing Good.
