Quite a few TV shows had their premieres last week, including a few new shows from the Fall 2013 lineup. Two of the new sitcoms that aired this week were The Crazy Ones and The Michael J. Fox Show. The first stars actor Robin Williams and the second stars, well, Michael J. Fox. With two actors of that caliber going up against each other, a lot of people are wanting to know which one came out on top. The winner–Robin Williams, by a landslide.
Robin Williams, along with Sarah Michelle Geller and guest Kelly Clarkson, managed to bring in 15.6 million viewers with The Crazy Ones. Unfortunately for Fox, The Michael J. Fox Show brought in less than half as many viewers with 7.2 million viewers.
It’s worth noting that part of Williams’ success with The Crazy Ones is, perhaps, due in part to following The Big Bang Theory season premiere, which had 18.3 million viewers. After all, it’s hard to think about flipping the channel after watching Amy Farrah Fowler remark, “It’d be nice to be with a man who wants to know what’s underneath my cardigan. FYI, it’s another cardigan.”
The Michael J. Fox Show, on the other hand, followed the season premiere of Parks and Recreation. While Parks and Rec is hilarious, and is very helpful for those of us having The Office withdrawals, it doesn’t have nearly the following of The Big Bang Theory, so there isn’t as much carryover as far as viewers are concerned.
The Crazy Ones
The Crazy Ones is about a father and daughter, Simon and Sydney Roberts (Williams and Geller), who work in a Chicago ad agency. Williams plays the dad who has a tendency to take things just a little too far at times, such as when he and his partner get Kelly Clarkson to bump and grind while singing a song for a McDonald’s ad. Geller’s character is appalled and exclaims, “Oh, my God! I’m about to watch America’s sweetheart orgasm in front of my father!”
The Michael J. Fox Show
In addition to Fox, the show stars Breaking Bad’s Betsy Brandt and the show focuses on Fox and his family after he received his Parkinson’s diagnosis. You know those inappropriate Michael J. Fox/Parkinson’s jokes people sometimes make after having a little too much to drink? A few of those were made during the show. Uncomfortable (or hilarious, depending on your sense of humor) jokes aside, the show takes place a few years after Fox’s diagnosis and shows him coping with the struggles of everyday life, but in a funny way.
