Featured image credit: Hulu
Palm Springs is ready for its close-up. Back in June of 2024, Hulu announced the production of a new multi-cam sitcom following the lives of three gay friends living together and navigating life in Palm Springs. On Sunday night, audiences watching the 97th Academy Awards had their first taste of the Mid-Century Modern TV show with a brief trailer. Today, the first full-length trailer dropped. But will this show actually put the spotlight on the city that it deserves? And, more importantly, will it be funny?
Top Tier Talent
Executive produced by Ryan Murphy, it’s no shock that the Mid-Century Modern TV show packs such a star-studded cast and veteran crew of hitmakers. It also marks the final role of sitcom legend Linda Lavin, who passed during production, completing only seven of the 10 episodes.
The principle cast for Mid-Century Modern includes:
- Nathan Lane (The Birdcage, Only Murders in the Building)
- Matt Bomer (Magic Mike, White Collar)
- Nathan Lee Graham (Zoolander, Sweet Home Alabama)
- Linda Lavin (Alice, The Good Wife)
The series was written by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, who previously partnered to create the acclaimed Will & Grace. Mid-Century Modern is directed by James Burrows who most notably helmed episodes of Will & Grace, Frasier, and Cheers.
Lane and Bomer also join Murphy as executive producers.
The Premise for a Palm Springs Sitcom
Mid-Century Modern follows the lives of Bunny Schneiderman (Lane), Jerry Frank (Bomer), and Arthur Broussard (Graham) as they navigate single life in the thriving gay community of Palm Springs. On the heels of an unexpected tragedy, Bunny, the wealthiest of the trio, invites Jerry and Arthur to move in with him and his mother, Sybil (Lavin), in a lavish mid-century home in Palm Springs. Hijinks then ensue, as is mandatory in any sitcom.
Much of the comedy leans into the character dynamics between the leads, with Lane breaking convention to play the straight man (errr, gayly forward man?) to the more over-the-top personalities around him. Lane’s Bunny is a successful career man, bidding goodbye to what he knows as he retires into his golden years in search of ever-elusive romance. Meanwhile, Bromer’s charismatic but dim Jerry is a former Mormon whose family pushed him out of the closet. Striking a dignified contrast to the rest of the cast, Graham’s Arthur exudes a haughty elegance that tends to outpace reality, much to his own frustration. Rounding out the cast is Lavin’s Sybil, a doting but morally ambiguous mother unafraid to share her mind.
Why the Mid-Century Modern TV Show May Seem Familiar
The show is already drawing comparisons to The Golden Girls which could be a blessing or a curse. Largely considered one of the best multi-cam sitcoms of all time, The Golden Girls has some immensely big heels to fill. Even its spin-off, The Golden Palace, couldn’t hold a candle to it. That being said, its influence on the Mid-Century Modern TV show is immediately apparent right down to its tone.
Audiences can expect humor to juxtapose against tender, touching moments as the friends support each other through sincere hardships. That tone is perhaps best summarized in the show’s press release, promising, “As a chosen family, they prove that no matter how hard things get, there’s always someone around to remind you it would be better if you got your neck done.”
Also contributing to the tone is the choice to shoot the Mid-Century Modern TV show as a multi-cam sitcom in front of a live audience. Multi-cam sitcoms seemed to peak in the ‘90s shortly before being overtaken by what many have termed television’s golden age and, aside it, the rise of streaming. Are people genuinely hungering for the return of live audiences signaling us when to laugh? Middle-of-the-road mainstream hits still seem to pull the formula off. In a way, this might be Mid-Century Modern’s most progressive move: creating a safe, mainstream sitcom with broad humor that just so happens to also focus on the lives of gay characters.
The Passing of Linda Lavin
When discussing Mid-Century Modern, it’s impossible not to acknowledge the recent death of television icon Linda Lavin. She succumbed to complications from lung cancer on December 29 at the age of 87. Writers Kohan and Mutchnick and director Burrows issued a joint statement in the wake of Lavin’s passing, proclaiming, “Working with Linda was one of the highlights of our careers. She was a magnificent actress, singer, musician and a heat seeking missile with a joke. But more significantly, she was a beautiful soul. Deep, joyful, generous, and loving. She made our days better. The entire staff and crew will miss her beyond measure. We are better for having known her.”
Since Lavin’s passing, those following Mid-Century Modern’s production have speculated about how the show would handle the loss of its principal actress. In February, Mutchnick confirmed that rather than recast the role, the writers made changes to reflect that the character of Sybil will pass away in an episode entitled “Here’s to You, Mrs. Schneiderman”. This will likely lean harder into those aforementioned tender moments than the creators initially intended but may also offer the most graceful acknowledgment of a real-life loss.
Anticipated Guest Stars
In addition to a stacked principal cast, the Mid-Century Modern TV show promises a revolving door of guests in its first 10 episodes, including:
- Pamela Adlon (Californication, Louie)
- Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live, I Love That For You)
- Kim Coles (Living Single, Days of Our Lives)
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family, Cocaine Bear)
- Judd Hirsch (Taxi, Numb3rs)
- Richard Kind (The Carol Burnett Show, Spin City)
- Stephanie Koenig (English Teacher, The Flight Attendant)
- Billie Lourd (American Horror Story, The Last Showgirl)
- Esther Moon Wu (Partner Track)
- Jaime Moyer (Modern Family, Night Court)
- Cheri Oteri (Saturday Night Live, Scary Movie)
- Rhea Perlman (Cheers, Barbie)
- Zane Phillips (Glamorous, Partner Track)
Was the Mid-Century Modern TV Show Shot in Palm Springs?
Of course, at JohnHart, we’re particularly interested in the Palm Springs setting. But it’s doubtful that the community will feature in any meaningful way, despite the show’s title. The multi-cam format doesn’t often lend to on-location shoots. And a quick scan of IMDB, though not the most credible source because of its user-submitted content, shows a single filming location for the Mid-Century Modern TV show: Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.
Regardless of whether we see any location shots of the resort city we love so much, we’ll be tuning in to see whether the Mid-Century Modern TV show manages to capture the unique essence of Palm Springs. Mid-Century Modern will be available for streaming on Hulu starting Friday, March 28.
