Angie Tribeca: Splendidly Silly

Back in January, I recorded every episode of the Angie Tribeca marathon on TBS. I then proceeded to mainline the series in a few days, days that were filled with me groaning and giggling over the silliest show I have seen on television in ages. Created by Steve Carell and Nancy Walls Carell, Angie Tribeca is exactly what the world needs after drowning in self-serious prestige television.

Rashida Jones stars as Angie Tribeca, a tough LA cop who likes to think of herself as a lone wolf and has begrudgingly been assigned to a brand new partner, Jay Geils (Hayes MacArthur). Her last partner was her fiance, and there's a tragic backstory there (well, comically tragic), which eventually comes to light and allows for plenty of silly flashbacks and consternation over the course of ten episodes. The show is a police procedural, so every episode begins with a crime that needs solving and you have a solution by the end. It's generally obvious who the criminal is (if you read the title of some of the episodes, you would have the answer before you even hit Play), because that is not remotely the point of the show. The point is the utterly inane twenty minutes of joke-packed hilarity that guarantees at least one loud guffaw and a series of helpless giggles.

The supporting cast includes Jere Burns as Angie's boss, Lieutenant Atkins, Andree Vermeulen as the medical examiner, Dr. Scholls (get it?) and Deon Cole as fellow detective, DJ Tanner (get it?!), whose partner is a dog named Officer David Hoffman. And when I say "partner," I mean partner. This is not some drug-sniffing canine he uses to help on raids. This is a dog that everyone treats like a human, oblivious to the fact that he walks on four legs. Did I mention this show is goofy? Also, the list of guest stars is a who's who of comedy royalty, including Bill Murray, Lisa Kudrow, Adam Scott, Amy Smart, Gary Cole, and many more, who serve to liven up the already lively proceedings.

Everything is a joke on Angie Tribeca. The dialogue is rapid fire and each scene feels like an absurd Monty Python sketch designed to test the limits of human ingenuity when it comes to creating comedy. I could happily re-watch this show a dozen times, confident that I will hit upon a new sight gag or joke I missed the first (or eleventh) time around. This show is a masterpiece of silliness and wit, and while the cast is truly remarkable, I give full credit to the writers who have dreamed up every bonkers script. TBS has already picked up the show for a second season, but till then, I'll be re-watching the first ten episodes on a loop.