Why hold the premiere of TV Land’s new sitcom HOT in Cleveland in Cleveland? None of the stars were planning to be there: Betty White, following up her recent triumphant Saturday Night Live appearance? No. Valerie Bertinelli, known as much for her longtime marriage to Eddie Van Halen as for her 9 years on One Day At A Time? Sorry. Maybe Jane Leeves, the British co-star of Frasier? Not Really. Possibly Wendy Malick of Just Shoot Me! Not a chance.
The real reason? Neil Mohney, Executive Coordinator for Forest City Enterprises, who went to Hollywood, met with Betty White and Valerie Bertinelli [Mohney is on right in both photos], and said, “We really should do something in Cleveland!” Hence, the premiere and watch party, and, being Clevelanders, we actually watched the pilot episode in the special screening room, complete with Best Buy DVD player that hiccuped through several scenes. No matter. We Clevelanders are serious about our PR, and we were going to sit through this special premiere screening no matter how many mini-crab cakes we had to digest along the way. Plus, we don’t have cable, so this was our only shot.
What did we think? Well, not being sitcom connoisseurs, although we do take a liking to shows set in Ohio (Glee, Ed, Fernwood 2 Night), and while there were plenty of references to Cleveland in the script, we were quite disappointed to see not a single establishing shot, not a single cutaway, not a single frame of B-roll featuring our fair city. It was almost as if they tried to shoot the entire show inside a TV studio in L.A., which they obviously did. But come on, send someone out with an HD camera and grab a few frames of the skyline, for crying out loud. Some of the best parts of The Drew Carey Show were the shots of Cleveland. We heard HOT In Cleveland were planning to send out a crew to shoot cutaways, but they’ve already shot the first four shows, and they only have the greenlight for 10 episodes.
But, yes, the show is funny, judging by the response in the screening room at the premiere. After, of course, everyone had a complimentary Cosmopolitan or two. But the script is smart. Which is no surprise, with writing by Emmy Award winner Suzanne Martin (Frazier, Ellen), capturing a sophisticated, sympathetic take on tricky issues: older women 40-88 years of age; getting hit on by guys; the cultural and sexual differences between places like L.A. and places like Cleveland; the hackneyed yearning for a simpler life in the Midwest. Precarious territory well trod. And the laughs keep coming. Probably for as long as the Cosmos hold out.
Representative Louis Stokes and Big Fun impresario Steve Presser share good times at the HOT In Cleveland premiere watch party. [Presser is on right in photo].HOT in Cleveland airs on Wednesdays at 10PM on the TV Land channel, premiering Wed 6/16. http://www.HotInCleveland.tv, http://www.TVLand.com
Review and bottom photo by Thomas Mulready
One Response to “Review: HOT in Cleveland premiere at Tower City 6/15/10”
Sydney Polkinghorn
Betty White is Fantastic I definitely hope she decides to do extra than 10 episodes. I can’t wait until the calendar comes out in Sept it will probably be awesome.