MAN SEEKING WOMAN — Episode 1: “Lizard” (Airs Wednesday, January 14, 10:30 PM e/p). Pictured: Jay Baruchel as Josh. CR: Michael Gibson/FXX
The dating wars aren’t just frustrating, according to a promising new comedy on FXX starring Jay Baruchel. They’re fantastical, absurd and may even lead to hallucinations. premiering Wednesday on FXX, is created by Simon Rich and based on his story collection, “The Last Girlfriend on Earth.”
The premise sounds simple, but you have to see it: when a Josh Greenberg’s (Baruchel) sister Liz (Britt Lower) fixes him up on a date with a troll…turns out she’s really a troll. The ensuing dinner conversation is funny in an off-kilter way. When Josh is feeling sad after the split from his girlfriend, a rain cloud follow him on a sunny day; dead birds fall out of the sky onto him. Things lose their physical attributes and defy gravity in his presence.
The endearing Baruchel, a favorite since the days of “Undeclared” (2001), moves well on camera even when juggling animated props. He has a graceful way of portraying a sprawling, clumsy, lonely mess of a guy who means well. But remember, it’s an absurdist comedy. So when Josh and his pal Mike (Eric Andre) go to a party at Josh’s ex-girlfriend Maggie’s (Maya Erskine) place, it comes as a surprise to Josh that Maggie is now dating. Not just that, but she’s dating Hitler (Bill Hader). Hitler is in a wheelchair, decrepit but all over Maggie. Josh, who is Jewish, notes to people at the party that he finds the situation not just hurtful but offensive. “Don’t make this about you,” he’s told.
The dialog is pitch perfect, the sense of modern relationships and contemporary social conventions beams through. The observations may be parallel to what Lena Dunham observes on “Girls” — something about men/women, Mars/Venus — but they’re conveyed with sweetness here. “Man Seeking Woman” has a big heart.
The Guardian’s book reviewer may have said it best, noting Rich’s short story collection is “brilliant: a kind of modern version of Woody Allen’s Without Feathers for anyone who’s been in love.” I haven’t read Rich’s book, but loved Without Feathers back in the day; the feeling translates from Rich’s TV comedy.
