Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Television Tuesday: "Back in the Groove," Is Fun but Unsure if it Wants to be Cringey or Heartwarming

I watched the first two episodes of, "Back in the Groove," yesterday. Two more will have dropped today. Then, on Wednesday and Thursday, two more will be released for a total of eight episodes. The show features three women in their 40s dating men who range from their early 20s to just barely 30. Taye Diggs of, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," hosts, resulting in an obvious number of jokes regarding the show's name and his breakout role. Having seen the two debut episodes of, "Back in the Groove," I like it, but feel it is tonally unsure exactly what it wants to be.

Is this a show that wants to be cringey and trashy as a bunch of young men act a fool over these women--with the twist that one man is actually a son of a lady there being an especially WTF moment? Is this a show about empowering females of any age to find love with some of the guys who seem genuinely nice and level-headed? The program is unsure. There will be a nice trashy moment of a guy who clearly thinks too much of himself talking smack about another one and causing trouble...then there will be serious conversations about love, loss, and growth. I will say I like Lee--he is just loveable and adorably weird.

The tone is a bit wonky, clearly, but the overall format works (it is a well-honed format). This show is not officially affiliated with, the, "Bachelor/Bachelorette," franchise as a spin-off, but showrunner Elan Gale worked on that series and there is some DNA of that show in this. Dates occur during the day and come nighttime we don't have a cocktail party, but we do have mixers. There aren't rose ceremonies, but men do, "Check-out," of the hotel should things fizzle between them and the women. There is even a wacky concierge named Pedro who reminds me of Wells from, "Bachelor in Paradise," or Martin from the recent, "Joe Millionaire," season. The format is tried-and-true, clearly.

"Back in the Groove," is entertaining even if the tone is often all over the place. I had a good time with the first two episodes and plan to watch the rest as they roll out during the week. Hopefully, we get some more Taye Diggs too as he literally was in the first 10 minutes of the premiere and then disappeared completely.

4 out of 5 stars for the first two episodes.

3 comments:

  1. No comments on the next 6 episodes?

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    1. Ask and ye shall receive some more scattered thoughts as I did indeed watch the entire season:

      *I was pleased Taye Diggs returned in the last episode to at least say hello and remind us he was supposedly the host.

      *Steph was right to leave single, Leroy was not ready for a relationship with her.

      *Brooke and Cru made a good couple, I wish them the best.

      *Steven and Sparkle were a nice couple as well, and it was interesting how he is Steph's son but things still worked out.

      *I liked the women were never really in competition for the same man, that was tedious when it happened on, "The Bachelorette," and the men couldn't decide which woman they wanted to date.

      *Overall I'd say the show was a solid 4 out of 5 stars, when I take into account the entire season. I'd watch a new season.

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  2. Thank you for your kind review! Pedro

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