The Mayor - General Discussion

[tom87]

I liked this one.  It was still Courney learns a valuable  lesson but it was nice how he weighted the two options.  I am really enjoying the banter between the T.K, Jermaine and Val more.

Edited November 15, 2017 by tom87

[teebax]

I like this show, too, and really like the cast. I am nervous when a show I like has very few posts, but I haven't checked the ratings to see how it's actually doing. I think it's charming and thought-provoking, and I like that they are taking on local politics.

[AyeshaTheGreat]

I enjoyed this episode as well. I forgot that Wendy Raquel Robinson was Dina's friend/co-worker. That was funny that she had the picture with the Postmaster General and a story for every day Dina was around. The Governor trying to use Courtney for his re-election was politics as usual.  Also, at first I didn't understand how Courtney made such a song as I thought it was actually worse than it was.  But once his friends were talking about it, it made sense that whomever dug up the song was trying to use it to incite those already scared of the "rapping Mayor".  Since he didn't apologize, I do wonder how the Mayor will truly navigate politics to bring about needed changes in his city.  That resource center that was never coming is truly the mark of a city that has left its residents behind.

[possibilities]

Good! I would like very much for it to be an inaccurate report!

[Akenta]

Once again I'm left sitting on the fence.  Most of the episode I didn't care for, even the mom's scenes weren't doing anything for me.  But I stuck it out to the end and there was something (I'm not sure what) that will keep me watching.

[marymon]

I liked it.    I guess each week someone else will teach Courtney a very special lesson though.   I did like seeing a little maturity from Jermaine and T.K.  I like how they continue to give you little glimpses of Val.   But I have to wonder when Val, TK and Jermaine will get some outside storyline  like Dina does.  

[Higgs]

2 hours ago, marymon said:

I liked it.    I guess each week someone else will teach Courtney a very special lesson though.   I did like seeing a little maturity from Jermaine and T.K.  I like how they continue to give you little glimpses of Val.   But I have to wonder when Val, TK and Jermaine will get some outside storyline  like Dina does.  

So, T.K. can use "facetious" in a sentence and is aware of the progression of diffculty of NYTimes crosswords from Monday to Saturday. If he'd been like that from the very beginning, instead of his idiocy in the "FIRE!!!" scene, I believe the show would have had a much greater chance for success.

Val may possibly be having her own (inside) storyline hiding in plain sight at the ends of the final scenes between just her and Courtney in each of the last two episodes.    

[cleo]

Tv by the numbers (ratings site) is showing it as a toss up, and they are usually a good barometer.

Sorry I can't link on my phone.

[betsyboo]

1 hour ago, Higgs said:

So, T.K. can use "facetious" in a sentence and is aware of the progression of diffculty of NYTimes crosswords from Monday to Saturday. If he'd been like that from the very beginning, instead of his idiocy in the "FIRE!!!" scene, I believe the show would have had a much greater chance for success. 

but i love them both! I love that he can scream "I'M SKITTISH!" and then can comment "Monday's? Amateur."

I still love all of it and will be devastated if it gets cancelled! "that's not syrup, that's my new moisturizer."

[ICantDoThatDave]

On 11/11/2017 at 2:27 PM, possibilities said:

I like the blending of nerdy and cool qualities in the Mayor and his friends. I also like that they are quick learners, open-minded, and actually do want to do a good job for the city, even if they didn't actually plan to win the office.

I feel the same.  I was initially skeptical about this show but am really warming up to it.  The characters aren't automatically great at their job (they fail a lot of the time), but they seem to learn each episode & it really feels like they're trying to do good, just don't know how to.  The "realism", ignoring how improbable the premise is, is what I like about this show.  And the humor, of course.

[Higgs]

2 hours ago, betsyboo said:

but i love them both! I love that he can scream "I'M SKITTISH!" and then can comment "Monday's? Amateur."

I still love all of it and will be devastated if it gets cancelled! "that's not syrup, that's my new moisturizer."

"Moisturizer" and "skittish" are metrosexual and quite funny in defying expectations. OTOH, ignorant abject fear is white writers invoking an ancient racist stereotype (e.g., Stepin Fetchit), and may be why too many Black-ish viewers (~80% are non-black) change channels at the half hour.

[marymon]

3 hours ago, betsyboo said:

but i love them both! I love that he can scream "I'M SKITTISH!" and then can comment "Monday's? Amateur."

I still love all of it and will be devastated if it gets cancelled! "that's not syrup, that's my new moisturizer."

Yeah I highly doubt a few tweaks in TK's characterization would change the outcome of the ratings.

[Higgs]

14 hours ago, marymon said:

Yeah I highly doubt a few tweaks in TK's characterization would change the outcome of the ratings.

I believe TK's characterization was merely symptomatic of a general failure to understand the mood of the (mainly liberal) target audience with respect to politics. They wanted resistance, not respite; red meat, not pablum. Comedy is fine and appropriate, but lack of underlying seriousness is not. Compare it to Black-ish (which I watched just recently for the first time ever), whose lead-in audience was being counted on to stay tuned in large number. That's also a sitcom, but there's no infallible Magical Negro, the two kids(!!) are smarter and funnier than TK and Jermaine were in the pilot, and important issues are discussed at greater length and depth than The Mayor has ever done. Ratings for the pilot were disappointing and the falloff was almost complete after just two episodes. One doesn't get a second chance to make a first impression, and the fate of the show was almost completely set in stone with the first preview. Yes, most reviews were great, but terms such as "warm" and "heart" were common and the failure (to date) was because of, not despite, those descriptions turning out to be too all-encompassing.  

Edited November 17, 2017 by Higgs

[marymon]

oh may.

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

After Courtney and his crew discover the historic music venue in Fort Grey, Tito’s Ballroom, is closing down for good due to increased rent costs, he attempts to save the club by sponsoring a music festival and enlists Bay Area rap legend E-40 to headline the event. However, Ed Gunt opposes keeping Tito’s open which leads Courtney to an unexpected way of winning him over. Meanwhile, Dina agrees to become choir director and realizes her teaching style might be preventing her group from singing in perfect harmony.

[marymon]

no one? 

As usual cute but nothing more  I still think the mom is not integrated into the show well.

The show has a lot of good lines  by each character but the plots are just to similar each week.

[marymon]

Val:  "Cocktail, Water, Cocktail, Water, Jumping Jacks, Ibuprofen, Sleep. Never had a hangover in my life"

VaLL"Okay... But you cant cure tsunamis "

TK: "Not with that attitude you can't "

Jermaine: Nobody care about height anymore!! It’s about sensuality! -

Jermaine: "Like a junior Martin Luther King...junior"

Val: “he’s a bastard but a savvy bastard”

Val:  "I don't know everything about white people."

Courtney: "Real leadership is empathizing with people who don't agree with you."

[betsyboo]

23 hours ago, marymon said:

VaLL"Okay... But you cant cure tsunamis "

TK: "Not with that attitude you can't "

 

YES!!

TK: "AIDS, world hunger, tsunamis. All cured with a music festival."

Jermaine: <<major sideeye>>

Val: "Um, ok, but you can't cure a tsunami."

TK: "Not with that attitude you can't." <"grrrrlll" unspoken, but implied.>

 

LOVE. THIS. SHOW.

[betsyboo]

I love this show so very much. I love the lesson in each ep, as old school TGIF as that is. I love all of the actors, and most of the characters. I *did* laugh out loud at Gunt and his Danish translucent skin. HA! Man, can YNB talk fast. I totally believe that she would bully everyone to get her own way in the choir.

I like that there may be a thaw now between Courtney and Gunt - a little common ground.

[betsyboo]

Gunt: "We are a very pale people. We die off quickly."

...

...

Gunt: "I do have to put on 80 sunblock <sob> just to get the morning paper."

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

After visiting a homeless shelter on Christmas Eve, Courtney realizes things for the needy could be improved and pledges to make it a joyous Christmas that every family deserves. But when he learns he doesn’t have the budget to deliver on his promise, Courtney loses hope and his holiday spirit which leads to a magical “It’s A Wonderful Life” moment that makes him realize he has the gift needed to pull off a Christmas miracle.

[betsyboo]

I don’t care how corny it is but this show brings me great joy. It’s just nice to watch something that is light and fun and a message to boot. I’m a pushover for sure but I own it! ?

”ooooh hallelujah, we be going to Atlantis!”

TK remains my favorite. 

[marymon]

Its corny and totally unoriginal plots but I like it for some reason too.  I mean really a take on the its a wonderful life?

Edited December 13, 2017 by marymon

[marymon]

Val:  sings

Tk: Sweet baby Jesus.

[possibilities]

It did strike me as a bit disturbing how radically different Val was. So she just bonds to whoever she works for, and mimics their way of being?

[marymon]

10 minutes ago, possibilities said:

It did strike me as a bit disturbing how radically different Val was. So she just bonds to whoever she works for, and mimics their way of being?

It was a dream exaggerated to prove a point.

[possibilities]

Yes, but everyone else was recognizable and you could imagine things turning out that way, whereas with Val, it felt like an extremely harsh view of her, which might reflect how Courtney views her, but it's still pretty upsetting.

[AngelKitty]

I love Courtney's face when he gets an idea. He is a cutie.

[marymon]

On 12/14/2017 at 2:07 AM, possibilities said:

Yes, but everyone else was recognizable and you could imagine things turning out that way, whereas with Val, it felt like an extremely harsh view of her, which might reflect how Courtney views her, but it's still pretty upsetting.

 Really then he thought of himself as a person who would abandon TK and Jermaine too.

[Trini]

This is from a few months ago, though:

http://www.emmys.com/news/features/faces-fall-0

'Faces of Fall'

Quote

THE NATURAL

BRANDON MICHEAL HALL

The series: The Mayor, ABC.
Role: Courtney Rose, a struggling rapper who runs for mayor to promote his mixtape — then wins and really has to face the music.
Hometown: Anderson, South Carolina.

First break: He played a rookie cop on A&E’s Unforgettable (2016) and a delivery guy on Comedy Central’s Broad City (2016). “But before both of those, in my final year at Juilliard, I booked a series regular [role] playing a smart but erratic E.R. resident on the CBS pilot LFE opposite Melissa Leo that unfortunately never made it to air.”

Best known for: Played Julian, a self-absorbed journalist, on the TBS series Search Party (2016).

Fun fact: The Mayor was co-created by Tony-winning Hamilton star Daveed Diggs.

What he loves most about Courtney: “Courtney throws his energy behind everything he does — even if it’s just for a moment — and never forgets where he came from. He’s got a genuine spirit. Even if he’s in a bit over his head on something, he sees each commitment through till the end… with a little bit of help from his mother!”

[betsyboo]

I trust TVLine above all others on this stuff, and they still have it as 50/50. I would be devastated if it was cancelled. 

https://tvline.com/2017/10/10/renewed-tv-shows-2018-renewal-scorecard-cancelled-series/

[betsyboo]

well clearly I should have continued reading at TV Line and would have turned this up:

Midseason Ratings Report: What Are ABC's Best & Worst Shows?

By Matt Webb Mitovich / December 26 2017, 12:30 PM PST

Now that the broadcasters have completed their run of fresh episodes for the fall, let’s see how each network’s shows are stacking up thus far for the 2017-18 TV season, starting with ABC.

Listed below is the average Live+Same Day demo RATING for each ABC series. Beside that is the percent CHANGE versus each program’s previous full-season average (or its time slot predecessor’s performance, if noted to the right). The NOTES section also reminds of any time slot changes to keep in mind when eyeballing up/down movements. Each program's RANK refers to perhaps the most critical measure — how it is faring compared to other shows on ABC, since come springtime heads must roll to make room for shiny-and-newish pilots.

 

(Is devastating to me.)

[possibilities]

So... everything is down, except Kevin (probably) which is no change from it's predecessor, and Good Doctor, which is a smash hit.

I agree it looks bad,  but The Mayor is down less than most of the other shows, fwiw.

[Trini]

I watch this delayed, and I probably won't be commenting here much, but this episode was just great holiday fluff! Overall, I'm enjoying the show, I like all the characters, they've got some great one-liners and exchanges. I hope this gets renewed.

[betsyboo]

On 1/3/2018 at 0:51 AM, Trini said:

I watch this delayed, and I probably won't be commenting here much, but this episode was just great holiday fluff! Overall, I'm enjoying the show, I like all the characters, they've got some great one-liners and exchanges. I hope this gets renewed.

YES YES YES YES YES to all of this.

[Lady Calypso]

The Mayor about to be impeached. The show has been pulled off the air effectively immediately.

[Trini]

D-:

[Lady Calypso]

And a quick update: the show has officially been cancelled, but will be shopped elsewhere.

[mtlchick]

I'm actually bummed.  I adore YNB and I think Brandon has a bright future ahead. 

[betsyboo]

This is killing me. I love this show and it brings me joy. Insta post from Marcel: 

 

[marymon]

It had it flaws but I do have to wonder what would have happened if it had a better time slot.

[Guest]

Boo :(

[AngelKitty]

Oh, no . I really got a kick out of this show. 

[marymon]

The last 4 unaired episodes were posted to ABC.com and Hulu.

Edited January 28, 2018 by marymon

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

A mysterious package turns up at City Hall.

Note: These last four episodes have been released online.

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, marymon said:

The last 4 unaired episodes were posted to ABC.com and Hulu.

Thanks, marymon. The last four episode threads have now been posted. 

[AngelKitty]

I just checked and they are also available on demand if you have Comcast Xfinity.

[betsyboo]

I'm just so sad this is gone forever. The dynamic of these three guys still crack me up. This episode in particular. I look forward to seeing each of them in their new endeavors.

TK: "Yeah, so um, now that I'm in it ...? This is requiring a level of courage I do not yet possess."

HA!

[Trini]

Trailer for Brandon Micheal Hall's new show, God Friended Me:

[Trini]

Trailer for Brandon Micheal Hall's new show, God Friended Me: