Weird Loners
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Weird Loners
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Weird Loners is a sitcom about a group of emotionally stunted 20-somethings who become neighbors in Manhattan. Jokes are often mature, with references to unusual sexual practices, group sex, body parts, and other ticklish topics. Characters frequently drink in bars and act silly; there are jokes about and visual references to drugs, as when one character passes another something that looks to be a joint. Consequence-free casual sex and infidelity is played for laughs; there are jokes about "banging" offscreen characters.
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What's the Story?
Thrown together in neighboring brownstones in the fictional NYC neighborhood of Qookland, four WEIRD LONERS find comfort in each other's company. Nervous dental hygienist Caryn (Becki Newton) has just thrown over both her fiancé and her roommate; she's still looking for love but offers the empty room to free-spirited artist Zara (Meera Rohit Kumbhani), whom she met by chance. Meanwhile, in the next brownstone over, stunted man-boy Eric (Nate Torrence) is grieving the recent death of his father and asks his womanizing, recently fired cousin Stosh (Zachary Knighton) to move in. The four have little in common -- except the fact that they're each single, lonely, and quirky. But at least they have each other.
Is It Any Good?
Neither awful nor wonderful, Weird Loners occupies that sitcom middle ground of not being great enough to purposely switch on but tolerable to watch if it happens to come on and you can't reach the remote. Some of the gags are positively painful. Stosh, clearly pitched as the louche Charlie Sheen-ish of the cast, is dismissed from his job in the pilot for "banging" his boss's fiancé after loosening her up with a hit of ecstasy. On the other hand, his cousin Eric, who's chubby, so obviously he's the more major loser, stages sock-puppet shows on his stairs. Sigh. You laughing yet? Or do you see these "quirks" for what they are: lazy characterization?
And yet, some of the jokes do land. An unrealistically complicated setup lands all four of the main characters on a park bench, pretending to lip-read the vows of a couple getting married. Eric lip-synchs with the minister, explaining that he's marrying them in the name of "our Lord and savior Jimmy Carter! Or Johnny Cash. It's a J.C. name, those are hard to get." Zing! Winning lines like this occur every now and again, and the cast has the charm to pull 'em off when they do. It's just that "not awful" is not really enough to anchor a TV show these days; weird and quirky characters also need to be grounded with some heart.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Weird Loners is said to be set in a fictional NYC neighborhood, Qookland. Why would a TV show make up a setting instead of using a real place?
TV shows often concern sets of neighbors. Why do you think that is?
TV Details
- Premiere date: March 31, 2015
- Cast: Zachary Knighton, Nate Torrence, Becky Newton
- Network: Fox
- Genre: Comedy
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: February 26, 2022
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