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Aug 07, 2014 Garfunkel and Oates By Tom Fenwick

After paying their dues on the periphery of the mainstream for far too long—with a host of podcast appearances and movie cameos to their name—it’s a relief to see comedy songwriting duo Garfunkel and Oates (aka Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci) finally get the opportunity they deserve. They have finally made the long overdue leap to television with a new eight part series from IFC. The show sees the pair playing heightened versions of themselves who are trying to make it big in Hollywood—running the traditional gauntlet of auditions and gigs—while juggling the ups and downs of their personal lives. The humour of their daily grind is interspersed with a mixture of unpredictable cameos (including a memorable audition/kiss in the opening episode—which to say any more would spoil the surprise), the imaginative use of puppets (keep an eye out for their manager), and of course the trademark humor of their songs (“The Fadeaway”).

Now, if this all sounds a little familiar that’s because of the obvious debt the show owes to Flight of the Conchords and their self-titled show for HBO. However, Micucci and Lindhome manage to distance themselves from lazy comparisons by extrapolating the warmth and wit of their songs—which hold a refreshing mix of self-depreciation and confident sexuality—into real world situations. And while the pilot sets the series off to a rather slow start, once you warm to the unique pace and rhythms of their comic delivery, Garfunkel and Oates makes for an endearing half hour experience. (www.ifc.com/shows/garfunkel-and-oates)

Author rating: 7/10