Loosely Exactly Nicole is a new MTV comedy premiering on Monday, September 5th at 10.30/9.30c. Focusing on the struggles and missteps of an aspiring actress, the show is branded a "hilarious half-hour comedy" by the channel. The first episode however was far from hilarious, providing a couple of laughs at best.
Nicole Byers stars as herself, playing the lead in this MTV original series. Byers may be familiar to some for her role on the show Girl Code, where people candidly discuss sisterhood, but for the most part she's relatively unknown. It's difficult to tell if the audience are actually supposed to like Nicole in the show, as the character has a tendency to be a little annoying at times. The lead's two best pals are played by Jacob Wysocki and Jen D'Angelo. Wysocki provides a few short laughs as Nicole's gay best friend, Devin, whilst D'Angelo takes on the more serious role of Veronica. Like Nicole, Devin is an over-the-top character and a little irritating at times, so for me, Veronica was the most likeable of the trio. Unfortunately she seems to be the Michelle Williams of the gang though and takes more of a back-seat role, appearance wise.
Set in Los Angeles, the show follows Nicole as she struggles to book acting gigs and navigate through her twenties. She's a single, overly confident, little bit whiny but very bubbly gal who is interesting enough as a lead. The show definitely felt like it had potential. The set-up seems great on paper; watching a charismatic and somewhat sassy young woman who just can't seem to get her big break. It's the type of set-up that should make audiences want Nicole to succeed. We should hope she gets to become a huge star, but yet I didn't really want to see her do well. I didn't feel like she deserved to. The execution just wasn't great. The cast were alright and for the most part had me engaged, but ultimately the script seemed to let them down. It often felt like it was on the verge of funny, and then the joke would never come. The only joke I recall actually finding funny enough to remember was said during the first minute or so. Nicole explains that she named her faulty AC unit after the morning talk show, The View, because "it used to be cool and informative, now it's just unintelligible". There were a few funny moments, but personally I think MTV is exaggerating by calling it "hilarious".
Ultimately the show isn't terrible. It's the type of show I wouldn't religiously watch every week, but could quite easily throw on when I'm wanting some light viewing or have twenty minutes to spare. It fulfils the comedy formula of not requiring much thought, but perhaps a little too much so. Maybe Nicole is the type of character who's likeability will grow throughout the series, with the help of some backstory and a few bad experiences, or maybe not. Only time will tell. Don't just take my word for it though, check out Loosely Exactly Nicole for yourself this coming Monday on MTV at 10.30/9.30c. Plus, let me know if you're excited for the show in the comments section below.
