Review: "Bored to Death" is the Best New Show This Fall!

If you’re a die-hard fan of HBO Sunday nights (like me!), and a fanatic of shows like True Blood, Hung and Entourage, you’re probably thinking that this is as good as HBO Sunday nights can get. You think nothing—no matter how good or funny or dramatic—will impress you more than those shows. Well, you’re wrong! I’ve just seen the first 3 episodes of HBO’s new comedy Bored to Death (which premiers this Sunday Sept. 20), and I am happy to report that it's funnier than Hung and Entourage combined (sorry Ari). It’s a perfect, laugh-out-loud comedy that is sure to have you hooked this fall.

The premise of the show is as follows: Following a breakup with his longtime girlfriend Suzanne (Juno’s Olivia Thirlby), a struggling Brooklyn novelist (and an avid reader of Raymond Chandler detective fiction) named Jonathan Ames (a terrific Jason Schwartzman) becomes so bored (and sad) that he places an ad on craigslist advertising himself as an unlicensed private detective. Just as Dexter Morgan over on Showtime moonlights as a serial killer, Jonathan moonlights as a private eye—taking on missing persons cases and doing tail-jobs in Brooklyn (where he lives) and Manhattan.

The cases provide much of the humor in the show. For instance, in the first episode, Jonathan is hired by a young college student to find her “missing” sister. He tracks down the girl (and her tattooed badass boyfriend Vincent) in a NYC hotel room and discovers that the boyfriend has her tied to a bed with a towel in her mouth because, “She broke up with me. I’m trying to put things back together.” The idea of tying up your girlfriend because she plans to leave you is of course bizarre to the sane Jonathan, and he explains to Vincent that his girlfriend also broke up with him.  “She moved out today and I’m pretty upset." But Vincent—who is obviously more than a little loco —matter-of-factly replies, “And you just let her go?” The scene is hilarious—especially the part where Jonathan convinces Vincent to stop doing Meth because “it’s all chemicals,” and encourages him to smoke pot instead. “It’s natural,” he says. “It’s better for you!”

In episode two of the season, SNL’s Kristen Wiig guest stars as an offbeat, alcoholic woman who hires Jonathan to tail her boyfriend because she suspects he may be cheating on her. Jonathan assures Jennifer that her boyfriend isn’t cheating on her—he’s attending Alanon meetings (for relatives and friends of alcoholics) to help Jennifer with her addiction. But Jonathan’s able to relate to Jennifer since his girlfriend left him because of his affinity for drinking and smoking pot. After he assures her that her boyfriend does care about her, he says, “I really hope things work out with you and your boyfriend. But if they don’t, you can always call me, because I don’t mind a woman who drinks.”  Wiig is just one of several fantastic guest stars that include indie film director Jim Jarmusch, who plays a twisted version of himself, someone who likes to ride a little girl’s bike around his vacant New York City loft. A guest appearance is also made by the brilliant character actor Denis O’Hare (who, by the way, has just been cast as the King of the Mississippi vampires for True Blood’s third season!) as a humorless therapist who fancies himself the Carl Jung of Brooklyn, and who is incapable of bullsh**. His sensational performance (which is Emmy worthy) is a riot!

The guest stars are all terrific, but the person who stands out on the show is newcomer Zach Galifianakis, a comic genius who plays the immensely likeable (albeit grumpy) cartoonist Ray Hueston (who also happens to be Jonathan’s confidant and best friend in the world). Ray is in a relationship with a woman named Leah (Heather Burns), who controls every aspect of his life and often withholds sex from him. Their relationship is hilarious, especially when Ray is bitching about Leah to Jonathan. Jonathan's relationship with his ex-girlfriend Suzanne is likewise entertaining. After their breakup, they meet to talk, and Jonathan tells her how much he misses her (sort of): “I need you. I’m living like an animal. I have no food, no toiler paper. I miss you.” She replies, “So you miss me shopping for you? That’s great Jonathan.” Women will appreciate this show because they will be reminded of the men in their lives who act like little boys and just can't seem to grow up, while men will fancy it because they will be able to relate to 30-something-year-old men who only want to read comic books, hang out and be mothered by the women in their lives. In one hilarious scene, Ray actually tells Jonathan that he "wants to be the only child in a woman's life." With dialogue like that, who can resist this show?

The best part is that you don’t have to wait until September 20th to check out the first episode. You can watch it on iTunes before it premiers this Sunday.