- Title: Clipped – Pilot
- IMDb: link
TBS’ new summer comedy centers around a small barbershop in Charlestown, Massachusetts staffed by locales (many of whom grew up and went to school together). As is usually the case, the “Pilot” episode is a little rough in spots while spending time introducing audiences to the ensemble cast of characters: the lovely Danni (Ashley Tisdale), the failed baseball player A.J. (Mike Castle), the somewhat oblivious Joy (Lauren Lapkus), the spunky Charmaine (Diona Reasonover), the gruff Buzzy (George Wendt), and their diminutive boss Ben (Ryan Pinkston) who, in the first episode, attempts to get one of his friends to quit in order to pay for the rising insurance premiums.
Despite an occasional swear word and Buzzy’s relationship with his significant other (Reginald VelJohnson), Clipped is a pretty straightforward sitcom complete with laugh track and a predictable arc (the show wasn’t really going to fire one of the regulars in the first episode). Tisdale is the strength of the show and has a knack for selling jokes that might not deserve the chuckle with a wink and a smile. It’s not a bad show, but unless you’re already a fan of Tisdale the “Pilot” doesn’t do much to sell you to come back week after week. The Danni/A.J. relationship is obviously going to be a large part of the show’s framework but I could use a bit less of Mo’s creepy fascination with Joy and the not-so-clever one-liners that Charmaine both espouses and is the butt of (which seems to be her sole purpose on the show so far).