Bored to Death

Cafe Society
1

I’ve recently taken to watching this new HBO Series and find it a nice little comedy. It’s played mostly low key, even though Zach Galifianakis is one of the central characters. It’s a sort of buddy comedy based around Jason Schwartzman’s character, who moonlights as a private eye but fancies himself a writer - he’s also trying to get a tenured gig as a professor. Ted Danson plays a naive magazine editor and lady’s man, a sort of older, wealthier Sam Malone. John Hodgman is fun as Schwartzman’s nemesis.

Anyway, it’s on HBO, so not everyone will see it, but they can do more mature stuff (nudity/language/pot) than otherwise possible. Fortunately I get free HBO when I’m on the road.

2

I’ve been watching from the beginning and I like it.

I’d flip your description, though, and say more that he’s a writer who fancies himself a private eye. He writes occasional pieces for Danson’s magazine and has had a novel published. But, in the pilot, money gets tight, and – inspired by a pulp novel he’s reading – he places an ad on Craigslist as an “unlicensed private detective.” Much of the humor comes from the fact that he really has no idea how to be a detective and gets into situations way over his head.

Once in a while there’s a big laugh-out-loud moment, but mostly it’s quirky character-based comedy. Very well-done.