Ode to a Cancelled Series: Bent (2012-2012)

*We've all been there, we connect with a show, we find it moving or funny or just plain entertaining, and then as soon as it arrives, it's gone. At any rate, I have decided to do write ups about series that have been cancelled too soon, or did not get a fair shot at success.

David Walton and Amanda Peet starred in Bent.

Bent, a single-camera NBC sitcom, was given an initial run that lasted all of six episodes and three weeks (two episodes a week) and one of the vaguest titles ever assigned to a television show (that also functions as a derogatory in other places on the planet). It was also pretty fantastic for the brief amount of time it lasted, featuring intelligent writing, leads with legitimate chemistry, and Jeffrey Tambor (of Arrested Development fame).

The lead characters are Pete (portrayed by David Walton), a laid back contractor, lothario, and former gambling addict, and Alex (portrayed by Amanda Peet), a single mom and lawyer with a husband in prison for white-collar crimes. He is remodeling her kitchen. That is the premise, it isn't much but it works. Other characters include Pete's father Walt, played hilariously by Jeffrey Tambor, who is still trying to make it as an actor after decades of bit parts and non-national commercials. Alex's sister, Screwsie, played Margo Harshman, is essentially a female, slightly younger version of Pete. Alex's daughter, Charlie, is played by Joey King and Pete's contractor crew is made up of J.B. Smoove, Jesse Plemons, and Pasha D. Lychnikoff.

This is Jeffrey Tambor.

David Walton, as Pete Riggins, exudes the sort of breezy charm that should make him a star if he plays his cards right, or ever manages to land a television show that lasts for more than one season. He plays a character often seen on television: a smooth-talking, fun-loving guy who ends up beginning to change his ways for the right girl. Amanda Peet, as Alex Meyers, does good work as the uptight lawyer trying to both stay in control and rebuild her life after she had the rug pulled out from under her by an insider-trading husband.  This show, like all romantic comedies, lives and dies on the romantic chemistry between the male and female leads and, luckily for Bent, there was plenty of chemistry between Walton and Peet.

The show's greatest strength may have been the surprisingly deep and legitimately funny supporting cast. Tambor is riotous as Pete's father, and his efforts to make his mark in Hollywood are consistently funny, and varied enough that they never become stale, at least not in the measly six episodes filmed and broadcast. J.B. Smoove, Jesse Plemons, and Pasha D. Lychnikoff are quite funny as the contractor crew constantly wondering whether or not Pete will sink their gig remodeling Alex's kitchen by getting her into bed (it happened at least once in the past). Smoove is exasperated, Plemons is awkward and soft-spoken, and Lychnikoff is just kind of there providing his weird, yet hilarious presence to make up one of the strangest Greek choruses I have ever seen.

Alex's sister Screwsie (derived from Susie?), as played by Margo Harshman, is flirty and promiscuous, but the show never errs and makes her out to be slutty or sad, just a free spirit (it is set in Venice, California after all). Rounding out the cast is Joey King as Alex's daughter Charlie (or Chuck, as Pete calls her), who manages to be the rare sitcom child who never becomes cloying or merely a plot device, which is quite refreshing. In addition, recurring as Alex's surgeon boyfriend Ben is Matt Letscher.

The shows overall story arc is pretty basic: Pete is fixing Alex's kitchen and himself, Alex is raising Charlie and, in a way, herself, they like each other, stuff happens, they may or may not get together, the end. In a way, the length of only six episodes could very well have saved the show from becoming bad or redundant, for the basic premise does not exactly lend itself to a multi-season run, though that could have been remedied easily in subsequent seasons if need be.

In the end, is Bent a great show? No, but it was definitely good enough to get a fair shot at success on NBC, which lives on quirky comedies (Community, The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, etc.), which it did not get. Though in the end, there are still the six episodes out there that manage to add up to a fairly complete story with a satisfactory enough conclusion.

PS
All six episodes are available on the free version of Hulu, here.