Matt’s Rating: 
There’s not a lot that’s modern about Hulu’s broad and campy sitcom Mid-Century Modern. A fusion of Will & Grace and The Golden Girls from the W&G creators, it’s a classic multi-cam comedy (directed by legendary sitcom pro James Burrows), juiced up with hysterical audience laughter that erupts every time its characters talk in punchlines, Neil Simon by way of Harvey Fierstein.
The setting replaces Miami with Palm Springs, a place so gay “even the trees are named Joshua” (some of the jokes are actual groaners). And Ketel One martinis have replaced cheesecake as the go-to nightcap for the three gay men of a certain age who decide to live together after a member of their close circle of friends suddenly passes away.
The great comic actor Nathan Lane leads the cast as neurotic mama’s boy Bunny, who, like The Golden Girls‘ Dorothy (Bea Arthur), has a tart quip for every occasion. (About his gruff sister Mindy, played by Better Things’ Pamela Adlon in a recurring role, “She was the first Girl Scout in history to get a ‘please stay at home’ badge.”) Matt Bomer reveals an adorable facility for more benign humor as Jerry, the Rose Nyland (Betty White) equivalent, a sweet airhead of a flight attendant, an ageless head-turner, and the group’s token young’un (Bomer’s in his late 40s) who’s also a lapsed Mormon. Bringing the flamboyant sass, a la Blanche (Rue McClanahan), is Nathan Lee Graham as Arthur, a fashionista who, when forced to fly economy, snaps, “Good God, it’s like a sea of Old Navy!”
Completing the ensemble, and the best reason to watch, is the late Linda Lavin (whom we’ve adored since Alice) as Bunny’s tart-tongued mother, Sybil, who lives with them and is as unfiltered in her blunt and hilarious retorts as Sophia (Estelle Getty) once was. Lavin passed away late last year during production, which adds poignancy to wisecracks like Bunny’s declaration, “The woman could probably make it another 20 years just on cottage cheese and spite!”
Lavin makes the most of her final role and gets a swell sendoff in the ninth of 10 episodes (all available for binge-watching). In her final appearance, she reconnects with a longtime friend and new widower (played by fellow sitcom stalwart Judd Hirsch), admitting, “Not easy growing old, is it?” then observing, “If you ask me, where we are right now is a nice place to be.” Earlier, while noshing with her best friend Judy (Cheers alum Rhea Perlman), she notes, “We see the herd thinning, and we’re wondering who’s going to be next.” Rest in peace, Linda.
Modern is at its best in touching moments like these and when it quiets down to explore these lifelong friendships, as these aging men reflect on what it meant and what it means to be gay in this society, even when living in the safe bubble of Palm Springs in Bunny’s expansive abode. (“It’s not home, but it’s much.”) TV has come a long way from when Will & Grace was considered groundbreaking for its frank and funny depiction of gays on TV, and even Sean Hayes’ “Just Jack” might blush at some of Modern‘s more NSFW jokes. But even when the corny situations are clearly beneath them, as when they vie for the attention of a hunky housekeeper (“We’re dangerously close to the plot of a porno”), the show balances its uproarious off-color saltiness with a squishy sentimentality that’s so old-school it’s almost refreshing.
And when all else fails? Just dance around the room, lip-syncing or recreating an iconic Broadway number like Chicago‘s “Cell Block Tango.” As one does. While Mindy isn’t wrong when she announces, “If I want to listen to a bunch of old ladies bickering nonstop, I’ll turn on Bravo,” there are worse fates than spending a few hours with these larger-than-life and ultimately lovable queens.
Mid-Century Modern, Series Premiere (10 episodes), Friday, March 30, Hulu
