The League | TV Review

Story by Mitch McCann 

| Published Dec 7, 2010

The pastimes of shopping, gorging oneself on food and laying around are true staples of the American holiday season, but I can think of few things more American than fantasy football. It’s competitive, it’s dirty, you don’t need to be any sort of athlete or particularly smart, you can do it from the comfort of your La-Z-Boy, and now, at long last, it’s funny.

Before you pass any judgment, FX’s “The League” isn’t just NFL-name dropping with a few laughs, and perhaps more importantly it isn’t the same “dry-comedy” drivel we’ve grown so accustomed to with a football twist. “The League” runs in the same comedic vein as it’s time-slot predecessors “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia,” with a rapid-fire, roundtable banter unlike anything else on television. This “Curb Your Enthusiasm”-style ensemble kick in the teeth will soon be contending for ‘best television addiction’.

For you skeptics, the fantasy aspect of the show takes on a role similar to that of Dunder Mifflin in “The Office.” It’s always there, but it is hardly the center of attention. “The League” takes the most hilarious moments you’ve ever had with your buddies, hands them to slightly better looking people and slaps them up on the small screen.

As a testament to the professionalism and talent of the cast, show creators Jeff and Jackie Schaeffer made the show unprecedentedly loosely-scripted and essentially just come up with story outlines. Opposed to other shows who boast the”‘improvisation” moniker, such as “Always Sunny,” which boasts around 10 to 25 percent improvisation, “The League” settles anywhere between 40 to 70 percent on-the-spot brilliance, entirely woven by the actors.

Even amongst all the immature pranks and constant ribbing, “The League” is able to impart an important lesson to its audience. That even as an adult, when one might be expected to “act like a grown-up,” or for those of us concerned that life may not be the same a few years down the road, that childish fervor is never lost, and the laughs will never stop coming so long as you have the right friends to share them with.

You can catch “The League” Thursdays on FX at 9:30 p.m. after “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”