CBS renews 18 shows

[Mr. Vixen]

Nope. But then, I never thought it was in the first place. Never saw all the hoopla. But in today's age of over-sensitive feelings and a need for EVERYTHING to be PC, I don't pay much attention to what the media labels as "racist". They'll find a problem with anything.

[wingwalker]

I agree. While I don't think the supporting characters are all that well written most of the time, I don't find the show racist.

[DRW50]

The media loves racism. That's why I was surprised this show got a reaction. When the best the show's creator can do to respond is try to say oh, we're all stereotypes, and to make a weird Irish insult at a reporter, then it must be more than just the typical "PC" stuff.

[DRW50]

Here's an article on the show.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/41440/yo-is-this-racist-2-broke-girls-and-the-new-long-duk-dong-we-never-asked-for

[wingwalker]

Personally, I think this "racism" the media alleges with this show stems from the fact they never liked the show to begin with and critics don't like it when comedies they hate become popular (especially multi-camera ones on CBS), so to justify their hatred they call the show racist. I think this is largely a made up controversy, most tv sites I visit the comments (which are mostly supportive of the show) don't line up with the media (which mostly blast it).

[DRW50]

That is sometimes true, but I never saw that type of criticism, at least not to such a public level, of Two and a Half Men, which is a very offensive show and always has been. This felt different to me.

[EricMontreal22]

Wing, I actually don't fully agree there. The major media largely really liked the show--at least the aspect focusing on, well, the 2 Broke Girls. It got largely good reviews (better than most new sitcoms this year) and was picked as a fave by many magazines, including by the guy who spoke to King and complained about the racism. While it may be exagerated, and I think there is some truth to the fact that it's all based on stereotypes, I also found the supporting "ethnic" cast not funny and way too cliched/caricatured with much of the humour based solely on their racial ticks. I haven't seen too many recent episodes, so can't comment if that aspect has been improved or not, but I think the argument is at least valid for someone to bring up and I do think King handled it very poorly. Whether it's racist or not, it's undeniable that those characters are built almost entirely around racial humour.

*edit* Oh Carl's link isn't the one I meant--that guy admits he barely watches the show. I think the link is in the 2 Broke Girls thread--Ent Weekly also mentioned King's weird reaction on their site, and they've long been largely positive about the show, they just want to see it, well, better and not be embarassed by 1/3rd of it.

[EricMontreal22]

Well he's an incredibly nice guy (at least from all I've heard and when he signed my playbill) so I am glad he has a steady job even if it keeps him away from the stage for a bit. BTW if you want to see a lot more of him than just his chest, watch Little Children...

[Soapsuds]

That's cool that you got to meet him and get his autograph. Thanks for the tip and I'll check out LC.

[wingwalker]

Well racist or not, it's one of the best performing freshman sitcoms in quite a while and plenty seem to like the show just how it is, so I don't see the show making any dramatic changes as long as the ratings stay strong.

[EricMontreal22]

Sorry I made you defensive, I was trying to be balanced and look at it from both angles, but obviously my tone came off wrong. I'm not implying people who like it are racists, etc. I do sometimes think the view people say when someone calls out something as racist (or misogynistic or whatever) that people are just being overly sensitive or it's popular so obviously it isn't is a faulty argument, however. At any rate King DID say, while on the defensive, that he did hope he would flesh out the supporting casts so they weren't one dimensional, and someone else involved in the show admitted many people involved with the show were uncomfortable with their portrayal and changes were slowly being made.

[Mr. Vixen]

This.

[DRW50]

But from what Eric said, the press actually liked and praised the show, from the start.

The media has no problem supporting racism or prejudice - they make a living off of it.

[EricMontreal22]

Yes, I stand by my comment Looking at the initial reviews, it did, for a 3 camera sitcom, *very* well http://www.metacritic.com/tv/2-broke-girls/season-1 Even the lowest review there is more a praise than not. Even then a number of the critics mentioned how over the top caricatured the menagerie of races in the secondary characters were presented (and many mentioned how this stood out all the more because, despite crude humour or fitting into types, the two lead girls were actually much more richly written and developped than you would expect--ie not the rich bitch, the street wise slut, etc, etc). And I personally agree with that. As that one critic said to King, the writing of the show for the other characters deserves better just because the potential and quality (if you can handle some crude humour which they all found funny) is there in other aspects. And i think that's a fair critique and has nothing to do with the argument that critics are picking on it, the way (while I hate the show myself) they have with some other popular hits like 2 and a 1/2 Men. So I don't find that defense valid--again I know this is all personal opinion.

[Cat]

Yes! The Good Wife! *fist pump*