TBS spoofs CSI and Law & Order in new crime show parody.
Note: TBS is marathoning all 10 episodes of Angie Tribeca this Sunday at 9pm through Monday at 10pm ET/PT, as well as through the network’s VOD, digital and mobile platforms. This is our spoiler-free review of the entire first season.
In order to enjoy TBS’s new cop comedy Angie Tribeca, you absolutely must have an appreciation for bad puns and cheesy sight gags, because that’s pretty much all the show is. Characters and story take a backseat to celebrity cameos and deadpan wordplay, but if double entendres are your thing, then you’ve hit the jackpot. Highbrow humor fans need not apply.
From the mind of Steve and Nancy Carell, Angie Tribeca is a spoof of crime shows like CSI and Law & Order — though it’s less satirical and more just a platform for one-liners. Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation) stars as the title character, a lone-wolf detective who plays by her own rules. Right off the bat, we get the gist of her character — and the series’ farcical tone — as Tribeca whales on a punching bag, then a lamp and chair, then her refrigerator… then pretty much every other piece of furniture in her apartment.
In the pilot episode, Tribeca meets her new partner J. Geils (the first of many musician/performer puns), played by Perfect Couples’ Hayes MacArthur. Naturally, Tribeca is hesitant to take on a new colleague — especially since she’s had 236 partners already — but her loudmouthed boss, Lieutenant Atkins (Justified’s Jere Burns), insists she and Geils give it a go.
In true crime procedural form, each episode offers a case of the week, all with the exact same story beats and detective work. Viewers who watch multiple episodes will start to pick up on some of the recurring gags: a rookie cop who vomits at every crime scene, multiple backstories for the two main characters, and a new physical disability for lab specialist Dr. Edelweiss each week. Edelweiss, by the way, is played to perfection by Alfred Molina, who gets a laugh every single time he’s onscreen.
Hayes MacArthur, Rashida Jones and Alfred Molina in Angie Tribeca
Speaking of, Angie Tribeca is packed with special guest appearances, though some are better than others. Standouts include Keegan-Michael Key as an underground ferret dealer (yes, there’s an entire episode about illegal ferret ownership in California) and John Michael Higgins as twin-brother art curators. The latter in particular gets some of the biggest laughs out of the first 10 episodes. There are other cameos as well, but they’re better left as surprises.
Of course, the main draw — or deterrent — of Angie Tribeca is its quippy sense of humor, which ranges from Airplane! to Scary Movie 5. The show has no shortage of cracks and props, but the split between laughs and groaners is pretty even. That said, you can’t deny the sheer number of rapid-fire jokes per episode, which are seemingly endless.
Keegan-Michael Key in Angie Tribeca
Ultimately, Angie Tribeca is a very niche program and might not play well with modern audiences. It also takes a few episodes for it to find its groove. (Personally, I didn’t really start to appreciate it until five or six episodes in, which might be why TBS decided to air them all back to back.) However, fans of the classic Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker style of comedy will likely get a kick out of the show’s nonsensical humor — even more so if they’re familiar with crime shows.
Angie Tribeca isn’t particularly scathing when it comes to subverting crime procedural tropes, but to be fair that’s not what it’s going for. Rather, it’s trying to mimic the absurd stylings of parodies like Airplane!, Monty Python and Wet Hot American Summer. Alas, Angie Tribeca never quite reaches the genius heights of those films, but it’s still fun in short bursts.
