In Mr. Mayor, Neil Bremer (played by Ted Danson), a rich retiree with no political experience, becomes the mayor of Los Angeles after a special election.
This is a pretty funny show. It was created by Tina Fey and Richard Carlock, the ones responsible for 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and were executive producers on the similarly toned Great News. Mr. Mayor has the same combo of smart and silly that made those other shows work. Think of this as 30 Rock but instead of mocking the television industry and New York, it's politics and Los Angeles. The satire is really strong here.
Admittedly, the show does suffer a little from Fey/Carlock-style fatigue. They have a very similar comic feel in each of their shows. If you've seen a few of them, expect to see joke types recycled. (There's a social media savvy modern gal in this just like in 30 Rock and Great News.) Heck, I think the spinning of the wheels may've factored into Great News season 2's cancellation because people'd grown tired.
The show can also go a little too broad and goofy at moments. The episode Brentwood Trash is the biggest culprit of this.
Great cast here. Danson does seem to steal a little of the energy he had with his character in The Good Place, but it's not necessarily a bad thing as such comic flair. The most surprising casting is Oscar winner Holly Hunter as Bremer's gung-ho liberal vice-mayor Arpi Meskimen. She lends a unique tone that helps the show. The one with the best material is SNL's Bobby Moynihan as Jayden Kwapis, the communications director and goofy, sad-sack manchild of the the group. I'm glad to see the actor bounce back after his last failed sitcom. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Vella Lovell, is Mikaela Shaw, Bremer's chief of staff and the aforementioned social media person. Having previously made a name for herself playing a deadpan character, it was nice to see she's got range. I particularly recommend the episode Respect in the Workplace, which is a bottle episode. The main cast are mostly in the same room together and get the opportunity to just go nuts and work off each other wonderfully.
Visually this show looks nice. Good lighting and location choices.
Overall, I recommend this. Yeah, it's not Fey/Carlock's freshest show, but it's still one of the funniest shows out right now.
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