The Comedians (2015) User Reviews

Excellent, awkward Mockumentary

[moriah1 · 8/10 · 8 May 2015]

The legendary Billy Crystal and the always funny Josh Gad come together in this fine new FX Comedy about fictionalized versions of themselves in a Faux-Documentary style - ala Parks and Recreation or The Office.

It's a bit like Curb Your Enthusiasm in terms of style and delivery, but the Mockumentary outfit gives them lots to play with and despite the fact that the story is about these two actors forced to work with each other on a Sketch-Comedy show, who clearly hate each other in the beginning, it's not hard to see that they have a nice chemistry and overall dynamic.

Billy plays himself in a grounded, but arrogant kind of way, which beautifully plays off of Josh Gad's overly friendly, but very awkward character. The dialog is well written and the delivery by Crystal and Gad is pretty flawless, it definitely suits the material.

The Comedians is by no means a masterpiece and certainly not for everyone, but it's funny and interesting enough to keep your attention if you give it an honest chance. I watched all episodes so far and I really enjoy it, I highly recommend the show to all fans of the Mockumentary genre and/or the actors!

Great stuff

[erolsabadosh · 8/10 · 22 June 2015]

Love this show; it reminds me a lot of Curb Your Enthusiasm (no doubt due to Larry Charles' involvement in both) and while it's not quite as good it's still up there with the best comedies currently on television in my opinion. If you like awkward humour and mockumentaries then you should like this. Crystal and Gadd are brilliant together and Stephnie Weir is absolutely hilarious!

I hope this show gets renewed and I hope it gets more recognition as I think it's seriously underrated at the moment. I look forward to seeing where they take it and how it develops but so far I've enjoyed every single episode.

This Comedy Starts Out Strong

[atlasmb · 8/10 · 20 April 2015]

If you like Billy Crystal, you will probably like this show. A couple of reviewers suggested that the humor might be over some viewer's heads. I thought that was silly, but other negative reviews and the score of "6" make me wonder if they were on to something.

The shows is a docucomedy about the making of the Billy & Josh show, starring Billy Crystal as a character named Billy Crystal, who has a lot in common with the actor, and Josh Gad as a character...well, you get the idea.

The comedy runs the gamut, from physical shtick, to witty understatement, to bits about awkwardness. Much of it revolves around the difference in age between the two stars. Gad has trouble understanding what "classic" means when it pertains to comedy, because he has never been exposed to the classics. Billy doesn't get where Gad is coming from, in part because Gad is a pseudo-liberal poser who understands only the forms of diversity and inclusion, not the actual belief systems.

Inside jokes abound and both stars are willing to poke fun at themselves. They are backed by a fun cast and some great guest stars. The series has started off strong, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.

Update 5/11/15: After five shows, I am really enjoying this show. Watching Billy Crystal and Josh Gad in these roles reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza, but like they did not go to school together and they are meeting for the first time and they don't really like each other that much and Jerry is thirty years older. And maybe they're both Jewish...or they are just pretending to be Jewish for the jokes.

Great Show, Very Underrated

[rodneypeterson · 10/10 · 20 May 2015]

I heard about this show from Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast because he describes it as the closest thing to reality, showing what its like for comedians to try and get a show on the air. Its only appropriate that this shows is paired with Louie on FX as they both stretch the bounds between funny and uncomfortable. Although it isn't on par with the brilliance that Louie brings, it carries its own very well and has made me long for new episodes as badly as Louie, It's Always Sunny, and Archer. It is still in it's initial stages and obviously hasn't found it's audience judging by the low rating it has accumulated so far. Let me say this though, I have never felt the need to sign up for an online account due to unjust reviews until now. Billy Crystal is in his finest form in years, and although Josh Gadd plays an understandably irritating character, the shows writers have done a fantastic job building the character into someone that you can feel empathy for. Great Show!

Interesting, yet intriguing...

[florian-80347 · 7/10 · 3 May 2015]

I might not know Billy Cristal's early work, but I'm a fan for sure. Yet, somehow, this show is intriguing for me. It has a fresh approach as a documedy, yet something is missing. I love old school comedians, yet this show is missing something. It has well written lines, it pays attention to details (foe example, in the first episode, on the door of the production team, the label says "B&J Show", if you know what I mean :-) So, everything is very carefully thought of, this type of comedy is not for everybody, they intend to have a developed product, yet... something is missing... But still, I will follow the show. This is the intriguing part :-)

The Comedians - Please Stick Around

[docorock-2 · 9/10 · 28 June 2015]

"The Comedians" is a comedy that dances on the edge of dancing on the edge. As someone who appreciates any viewing that makes me Laugh Out Loud, this show delivers. The chemistry between 'Billy & Josh' was intentionally disconnected in the pilot. They seemed to try to continue that state in the next couple episodes, but there's been a seemingly unavoidable development between these two that can't be denied - they're connecting on screen, intentional or not.

It's great to see Mr Crystal in action again. Josh Gad was the absolute perfect choice to team with. And I adore that this show reintroduces the brilliance of Stephanie Weir to the entertainment world.

"The Comedians" is just plain damn-funny. Every episode somehow proves better than the previous.

Please stick around!

Billy shines in a decent show

[tuggerwaugh · 7/10 · 9 July 2019]

It's actually pretty good and would work better as a standard show instead of a mockumentary. Talking to the camera doesn't add anything and they don't play up to it anyway, aside from being more generous than usual to a homeless man.

The other reason it probably doesn't cut through the broader audience is because there are two leads.

It should be about Billy trying to stay relevant in the age of Kardashians while many of his fans fade away. Gad would work much better playing off him anyway because he doesn't really have any dream or goals throughout the show aside from getting a movie role.

The premise is old but done well in terms of writing and production. There are solid one-liners and punchlines.

It could have easily been done in 6 episodes. A few episodes seem like fillers and are wasted a bit. In saying that one of the best episodes would be Billy's birthday when he talks about his loneliness and longing to spend more time with his late parents. It's a touching moment. The show needed more of that.

Billy is brilliant as usual. His timing is impeccable. Josh is OK and the running gag about him being Jonah Hill is pretty funny.

It's definitely worth watching. It's not very deep and the characters don't develop that much because they are playing "themselves" but it's pleasurable and has some funny moments.

Cringe worthy comedy with a bit of vulnerability

[venividivictoria · 10/10 · 10 October 2018]

The Comedians is not your typical comedy because I think it brings quite a bit more to the table. It is funny, I laughed out loud many many times, but this show also delivers some vulnerability without losing it's humor.

Billy Crystal and Josh Gad are obviously very talented performers; but the documentary aspect of the show is extremely convincing because they each give a very honest performance. And Stephanie Wier is perfection! Every moment she is on screen she is magnificent. She really thinks about the details and the result is flawless. I wish she were in more. Give the woman an Emmy.

I think the reason this show flopped, is because FX has a very brief window for anyone to watch their stuff on demand and binging tv is the preferred method of consumption now. It was a new show and if you didn't see it within the first two weeks of airing, you just didn't see it. I loved this show when it originally aired and I just watched it a second time. My favorite scene still holds up and had me doubled over in laughter.

The Comedians - A show that could have grown with adequate support.

[torrid_oblivion · 7/10 · 22 September 2015]

This show can be fairly formulaic at times, it does seem to skate a thin line between "we're just filming ourselves talking" and "It just looks like that due to skill and subtlety". I don't believe this show should be viewed too negatively, It doesn't always have me in stitches, but it's at least a wonderful standard in its type of Television program. The Comedians COULD have been edgier, less apologetic and sharply exploratory of more serious or obscure issues and themes, but so early on I don't think that would really suit the format.

I imagine the interesting blending of different perspectives, comedic styles, would have confused much or some of the general television watching population, a confusing blur between parody/satire and "earnest" human interaction.

It really could have grow into something very beautiful, I personally believe clear enough audience feedback and articulation was an issue contributing to its demise.

weak writing ... the cast is Fine, they tried to make it look a bit better,. but still not enough.

[Aktham_Tashtush · 4/10 · 10 April 2015]

well the pilot went barely okay .. The idea of following camera reality-like comedy shows is not new .. I'v seen this kinda of shows before like Episodes with Matt LeBlanc and real husbands of Hollywood with Kevin Hart and in both it looked way better than this-.

The comedy is still slow , there were only a couple of funny lines but not leaving that mark that you'll be wanting more. the writing was weak, even the "cock" jokes by Josh which used to appear funny,here it did not appeared so..

The cast ,, well let's be honest, usually Josh Gad and Billy Crystal are hilarious, there are absolutely no doubts in that but the combination was a bit weak and not tempting or attractive to the expected level.

so overall,, not gonna keep watching it.

Supremely funny and original show

[franhaber · 10/10 · 18 April 2015]

One of the funniest shows ever. Original; clever; surprising. In an interview, Billy C. quoted his late dear friend Robin Williams as asking if he would bring out the Dark Billy. He has. The sketch parody of "Orange is the New Black" was genius. There are so many throw away laughs that would be belabored in a network comedy. It's as if there is such an abundance of good writing that the show can afford to toss out lines that the audience may or may not catch. All kinds of allusions across the pop culture landscape: the premise of old/young gives the script leeway to go anywhere. Please leave in minority jokes, in both senses. When Billy tells his wife he has the Clippers schedule tattoo on h. is arm and that's why he can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery, only a small group of viewers will get that. Bravo for leaving it in. The conceit of rotating directors will let a new character appear smoothly. Steve Weir looked like he was having fun playing the former hunk, now a transvestite. Lots of minor great motifs.

This Comedy Starts Weak, Continues Weak, Ends Weak, Josh Gad Stinks

[jennaspivac · 1/10 · 1 January 2017]

When this show first came on the air I remember looking forward to seeing it. There was a great late night show interview with Billy Crystal and I saw clips of the show that actually made it look pretty good.

Boy was I wrong!

When I tuned in to actually watch it, the show was really just terrible. And then the next episode was worse, and the one after that, and so on.

Billy Crystal and the guest stars (and they had some pretty impressive star names and funny comedians as guest stars including Mel Brooks, Steven Weber, etc) were just wasted and coasting. Judging by this show and the last several Oscars etc I've seen him host I think maybe it is time for Billy Crystal to hang them up and get out of comedy, because if he thinks this is actually a funny comedy series to sign on to he obviously has lost his funny bone.

And Josh Gad is just plain awful. Not remotely funny or talented in every way. Everything I've seen him in I found him awful and unfunny and this is about the worst.

Where did this go to?

[juxtaposer-3 · 10/10 · 24 November 2016]

This is/was a fabulous show. Inventive, unusual, and absolutely hilarious. Great writing and great acting. Stephnie Weir was incredibly vulnerable and yet so offbeat - a charm to watch. Josh Gad and Billy Crystal played off each other so well. Both Larry Charles and Steven Weber as the directors was a stroke of great casting. For any one who has worked in any form of entertainment, whether TV, film, video, Equity or community theater, this show rings true to the combination of egos and jerks and brilliant talent found in them all. Not since Chris Thompson's 'Action' starring Jay Mohr, Illeana Douglas, and Buddy Hackett has there been a show that delves so riotously into the imagined backstage of Hollywood. I miss this show and wish it would come back to life. Even my DVR misses recording it. Anybody know any backstory about it's disappearance? Will it return?

Double Thumbs Up

[monkeyboss11 · 10/10 · 2 September 2017]

I love Billy Crystal and Josh Gad. They are both great and funny comedians. Their show was ridiculous and funny, I really enjoyed it and wish there was one more season. It's just a different type of show, it's not your average comedy show. When I first watched it I was wasn't really expecting anything but I knew I would like it.

Great show! Shame it didn't continue

[kalena_wants-talk · 10/10 · 1 September 2019]

Absolutely loved this series. Binged it in two days. It was hilarious from start to finish. Can't fault it, I just wish there was more seasons to watch.

Painfully unfunny

[chrislungo · 1/10 · 10 April 2015]

Josh Gad is better when we hear him and not see him. Frozen was a hit and I must give Josh credit for being the voice of Olaf etc etc but I don't understand why Hollywood keeps trying to make Josh Gad happen as a leading man. The track record would suggests otherwise... 1600 Penn (cough). As for Billy Crystal, I must quote the great audio drop played by Fred Norris on the Howard Stern Show: "It's not funny.. It's not fun". When will The Comedians be cancelled? When will The Comedians be cancelled? When will The Comedians be cancelled? When will The Comedians be cancelled? When will The Comedians be cancelled? When will The Comedians be cancelled?

Way Above Some People's Ability To Understand

[birthdaybeachboy · 10/10 · 4 December 2015]

The correct premise: Billy Crystal has a show on FX, and to his consternation and dismay, FX wants him to add Josh Gad as a sort of partner/co-host/younger demographic ratings booster. As taping for Billy's new season begins, they leave him no choice but to add Gad.

Crystal is masterful as himself, allowing the writing to have him come off as arrogant and full of himself at all the right times, and Gad's desire to be liked by the comedy legend is full-on Emmy worthy, especially in the way he clearly believes he has been brought in to save the show and Crystal's career. David Letterman lasted decades on TV with this same kind of "everyone is in on the joke" comedy, and this show could run forever Mondays at 9 on CBS. If you have only a basic knowledge of sketch comedy history, Frozen, and who Billy Crystal is, and you aren't a "writer" insisting you could do better even though you don't, you will enjoy every little nuance of this show, and the way it doesn't pander to your basic "make me laugh" instincts. The sketches on the show inside the show are sometimes hilarious but always funny. The characters are well written and well acted. The documentary feel itself even becomes the brunt of the humor. Sit back and enjoy.

No Thanks, Crystal is Old and Gad Just Stinks

[Lenni-J · 1/10 · 23 October 2017]

I remember when Billy Crystal used to be funny. He was one of the few good Academy Awards hosts and it seems the only one who was any good that the Academy would bring back year after year... I'm not including his last couple times hosting, particularly the last one, where he was not funny at all. I think that's actually the problem, that he was once very funny (a couple of his movies in the 1980's are among my favourite comedies), but he got old and stopped being funny. Watching him stumble and ham his way through this show The Comedians just hammered that home for me.

Much worse than Billy Crystal (what's he supposed to do say no to doing a series and turning down the money?) is Josh Gad who is young but is still a hundred million times less funny than Billy Crystal... Billy Crystal today that is... and about a hundred billion trillion times less funny than Billy Crystal back when Billy Crystal was funny. Watching him stink his way through sketch after sketch and desperately plead for laughs with his over the top comedy acting actually made me angry. I almost threw things at my television a couple of times.

In short, the show is terrible, Billy Crystal is not good any more, and Josh Gad is walking, talking garbage.

Chappy Watched: The Comedians - The Complete Series

[chappywatched · 1/10 · 26 March 2016]

Billy Crystal and Josh Gad should have equaled comedic brilliance.

Well it should have!

And it didn't!

From the first episode until the last, it's pretty much the same thing; Crystal and Gad don't get along.

It's repetitive, it's awkward and not funny; I didn't laugh once!

Aside from it's two leads, it does have quite a few guest stars including Dana Delany, Denis O'Hare, Steven Weber, Mel Brooks, Sugar Ray Leonard, Rob Reiner, Jimmy Kimmel and Kate Micucci.

That's about all it has going for it.

I can see why it was cancelled.

CHAPPY THINKS that I couldn't wait for The Comedians to ComediEND!

like a hologram of a trainwreck

[FreakNumberOne · 3/10 · 24 June 2015]

This is a truly unique show.

It's a unique show in that it does so many things wrong, and does them wrong in such complex and convoluted ways, that it's interesting to watch just to try and unpack what you're seeing. There are so many meta-levels happening, where the show is being knowingly bad, but simultaneously accidentally bad, that while watching it I sometimes feel like I'm traveling through time.

Structurally, the show is 30 Rock-esque. Crystal and Gad play fictionalized versions of themselves having been cast to play off of one another in a 2 person sketch TV show. The show is them going about their lives, but also staging and executing the sketch show.

The timing is off. the staging is off. Gad, Crystal and the supporting characters aren't just one dimensional, they're unconvincingly one dimensional. No one is likable, but not because they're unlikable, rather, because they're so poorly realized that they may as well be absent.

The Comedians regularly tries to manufacture awkward situations, but those situations are so contrived that the discomfort doesn't come from the situation they're staging, but from your own understanding that you're watching a failed attempt at staging an awkward situation. It's some unintentionally next level stuff.

The show makes jokes that intentionally fall flat, then comments on the fake bad jokes with worse jokes that are supposed to be the real jokes.

The characters are playing fictionalized versions of themselves which are deeply self aware in unintentional ways. Peering through so many levels of characterization like this and, ultimately, hitting the motivations of the real-life actors playing the roles is strangely unnerving.

And let's not leave out the sketch show that everyone is collaborating on that's so... The sketches are intended to be knowingly "wink-wink" bad, but also broadly funny, but they're not, not even a tiny bit. They're bafflingly bad, and that's where, again, this fascinating "meta-muddle" thing comes in.

There's a phenomena that happens when you watch Billy Crystal pretending to be high, improvising a Sammy Davis Jr. Impression that would have been tired 30 years ago, being played for big laughs. Or seeing Gad knowingly make tasteless statements that are then treated like unintentional tasteless statements and, by extension, played as fraudulent commentary on his generation of comedians... It's incredibly surreal. Crystal's improvising. If he drops a couple bombs, it's not on him. He's putting himself out there, trying things out and trying to get a laugh. It's on the directors, editors and producers for keeping it in.

I apologize for using the words intentional and unintentional so often here, but that's what's so fascinating. Much of what we see are intentional layers of irony, but unintentionally, they're all disastrously executed. There's no question that the cast is incredibly talented, so where does the blame lie? I believe it's in the writing, directing and editing. Directors aren't giving performers the feedback they need to make the correct adjustments. Writers aren't work-shopping their jokes enough to see that they won't land, and editors don't have the guts to cut what's not working. Frankly... everyone's probably afraid of pissing off Billy Crystal.

I don't know what more I can say. If you love comedy, watch this show. It's a study on how to do literally everything wrong while maintaining excellent production values. I've never laughed once but I can't stop watching it.

May god have mercy on our souls.

Wasted my time, but kept watching it, hoping that it would get better

[aiaich · 1/10 · 18 June 2015]

Yes, I continued watching it despite reluctance, hoping that it would get better. But, no more now, no more! You can say that 5 % of the show was actually funny. The rest of the content was useless, unnecessary and weak. The actors seem to be the same characters we find in a trillion other American shows to an extent that they became too predictable and too boring. It also seemed like it was trying too hard. The context of these jokes have been used and they are done and over. Its on the same typical lines of According to Jim, 8 Simple Rules, etc. If you still like shows like those, then this is the show for you, otherwise, take my advise and don't waste your time.

I smell a flop.And it really stinks.Don't go anywhere near this.

[janoffpeter · 1/10 · 15 May 2015]

Yes folks,it's that time again. What time is that you're probably wondering? Time to change channels because this show will probably nauseate you unless it puts you to sleep instead.As much as I adore Billy Crystal, I am so convinced this will flop that I won't shed a tear,not even for him.OK so it's a hipster meets old school production, we get it, no, even worse a Swedish production.Don't get delusional and let the Swedes into your entertainment lives.They are the most self-righteous stuck up and unfunny people on earth.Swedes are the one eyed men in the kingdom of the blind when it comes to comedy.The epitome of unfunny.Of course unless you happen to be Swedish.They just aren't funny and Swedish modern day "pilsner" slapstick is proof of that.Or do you need more? "Welcome To Sweden" is much of the same bang your head against a brick wall kind of idiotic slapstick I think we can all do without.How this ever happened i'll never understand nor forgive FX for.Touch that dial!

2 great comics 1 uninspired show

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 23 July 2015]

Billy Crystal is a veteran comedian trying to get a sketch comedy show on the FX network. To his dismay, he is forced to take on edgier young comic Josh Gad. It's Josh's dream come true but not for Billy. Kristen Laybourne (Stephnie Weir) is the struggling producer. Mitch Reed (Matt Oberg) is the overlooked head writer. Esme (Megan Ferguson) is the disinterested P.A.

These are two great comedic talents. The material is uninspired. The limited comedy isn't all that funny but Billy and Josh do a commendable job. The show within the show is not funny. Other than the top two, the comedy drops off. The writing is simply not sharp enough.

High production values, but ...

[otankgirl · 2/10 · 31 July 2015]

Yes, this series looks like a slick made-for-HBO comedy, even though it's made-for-some-other-network ... (which-is-not-one-of-the-major-networks), however, the writing is LAME. If you want to see comedy situations that originated in the 1950's, this is the show for you. If you want to see comedy that borrows HEAVILY from every other sitcom you've ever seen, you may like this one. It's written by people recalling the comedies they've seen themselves. Even the considerable talents of Billy Crystal fail to lift the hackneyed source material. It's so sad to watch him deliver the obvious next line. And Josh Gad continuously acts like the annoying character you love to hate. Not a good character for a comedy. Josh should leave this show, and seek work as a villain in another show. He just ain't funny. And his unfunnyness is magnified by his proximity to Billy.

Had Promise But...

[jasonsmith-44007 · 4/10 · 20 May 2022]

I expected more with a show featuring these two. Billy had been missing for awhile but still stole every scene with overrated Josh Gad. It was a show you wanted to like but just never got you there and was always lacking.