My Take On…CHAMPIONS on NBC
CHAMPIONS (NBC, Thurs 9:30/8:30c), from the minds of Charlie Grandy and Mindy Kaling, follows the story of Vince (Anders Holm), a washed up baseball player who owns a failing gym (called Champions), his brother Matthew (Andy Favreau), the sweet and naive side of the sibling coin, and what happens to their lives when Vince’s 15 year old son Michael (JJ Totah) unexpectedly arrives on the scene.
Michael was always destined for bigger and better things than a life of best friendship with his mother Priya (Kaling) in Ohio. When he gets accepted into a prestigious art school and needs somewhere in New York to crash, Priya decides it might be time to let Vince do the parenting she’s had to do all alone.
As the new family slowly learns to adjust to each other, a sharp, heartwarming comedy shines through.
Holm has mastered the art of the sarcastic every-man who is put-upon but also too confident for his own good. As Vince, he gets to play a man torn between wanting to run when things get difficult and wanting to be there for the son he doesn’t know. Andy Favreau stands out among a really strong cast; his naivete, his instant love for his nephew, his blind faith in his brother – it all makes for a well-rounded funny character that takes up the mantle of uncle-dom immediately. And JJ Totah has been a standout since GLEE and the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it BACK IN THE GAME; he’s funny and endearing here as he learns to live with his new family.
The show uses the supporting cast smartly and sparingly – I’m a sucker for Fortune Feimster’s usually-clueless character work, and as Ruby here (Vince and Matthew’s oldest friend), she’s hilarious. Yassir Lester (as Shabaz, the spin instructor at Champions who wants to be an actor), Mouzam Makkar (as Britney, Vince’s sort-of girlfriend, and yoga instructor), Ginger Gonzaga (as Dana, their accountant), and Robert Costanzo (as the boys’ Uncle Bud) round out the cast and they all have great moments to shine throughout the handful of episodes provided for review.
Worth watching, and one of my favorite new shows of the Spring – give CHAMPIONS a look and let us know what you think!