Two things distinguished the news about the new Hulu sitcom Mid-Century Modern: That it was going to be a gay male version of The Golden Girls, and that one of its stars, Linda Lavin, passed away before the first season was completed. Then, a look at the roster of people in front and behind the camera — the show’s creators were the pair responsible for Will & Grace — made us look forward to seeing it. So how in the world did the show end up being such a disappointment?
MID-CENTURY MODERN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: A group of people stand around an open casket at a funeral.
The Gist: Bunny Schneiderman (Nathan Lane) and Arthur Broussard (Nathan Lee Graham) is at the funeral of their close friend Charlie, who was a vital member of their friend group. They’re both sad that the group is forever changed; it won’t be the four of them ever again.
The fourth member of the group, Jerry Frank (Matt Bomer), a flight attendant, comes in late, toting a rolling bag behind him. Jerry is somewhat younger than Arthur and Bunny; Charlie introduced the Mormon, barely-out-of-the-closet Jerry to Bunny and Arthur when the two were dating back in the day, and he just stuck around after he and Charlie broke up.
Back at Bunny’s lavish Palm Springs house — he made his money in the bra business — Bunny is lamenting the idea that, as they all get older, the idea of being alone is becoming more real. In actuality, Bunny isn’t alone; he lives with his mother Sybil (the late Linda Lavin). That relationship is loving but fraught due to Sybil’s innate ability to make Bunny feel bad about himself. Bunny, though, thinks it’s a great time for Arthur — who recently got laid off from his job as a fashion director at Vogue — and Jerry to move in with him.
At first the notion seems silly to Jerry and Arthur, but the two of them start coming around to it. But then Bunny meets and sleeps with a younger man he met on an app date, and starts to change his mind. Of course, Arthur knows that the guy Bunny slept with is likely a hustler.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? We wouldn’t be the first people to call Mid-Century Modern a gay male version of The Golden Girls. Also, given that the show is created by David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, the show has the same vibes as the pair’s biggest hit, Will & Grace.
Our Take: Given all the talent in front and behind the camera — sitcom king James Burrows directs all ten episodes — it’s surprising how painful the first episode of Mid-Century Modern was to watch. Kohan and Mutchnick loaded the episode with one-liners that seemed more appropriate during the first days of W&G than in 2025, where depictions of LGBTQ characters tend to have much more subtlety and nuance.
But if the first episode were just unfunny, that wouldn’t be a death knell, mainly because plenty of sitcoms had largely unfunny pilots — and even first seasons! — as the writers tried to figure out who their characters were and where to mine comedy from them. But it also felt that Kohan, Mutchnick and their writing staff weren’t even taking advantage of what they already knew about Lane and Bomer.
Lane has proved in shows like Only Murders In The Building that he doesn’t have to lean on his usually-bombastic acting style to be effective. But, boy, does that style help when the material he’s working with is less than great. In the first episode, even Lane can’t save some of the lamer dialogue, even when he leans into it with the full power of his Nathan Lane-ness.
Bomer’s character Jerry is supposed to still be as naive as he was when he was first coming out of the closet 20 or so years ago — he’s clearly positioned to be the Rose Nylund of the group. But “dumb/simple” simply isn’t in Bomer’s wheelhouse; seeing him go through the first episode so wide-eyed and saying much of his dialogue with a sing-songy voice just hit wrong for us.
The second episode is a bit better because we start diving into the trio’s characters a bit more. Arthur takes a job as a salesman and is told by his boss (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to push customers towards more expensive dresses, even if they look terrible in them. Jerry and Bunny go to a casino where tickets for Jerry’s favorite singer, Donny Osmond (natch!) are going on sale; to get his money back after a blackjack snafu, Bunny agrees to pull a Indecent Exposure for a pit boss (Bruno Amato) who has the hots for Jerry. There are still a ton of lame gags, but Bomer plays Jerry as much less naive, and we see the function of Lavin’s character beyond just being Bunny’s hectoring mother.
In fact, Lavin was the best thing in both of the episodes we saw, which just made us depressed; she made seven episodes before her unexpected death in late December, and we really wonder if the show will be able to fill her wise and snarky presence once it’s gone.
Sex and Skin: Lots of talk, and we see Bunny and his date in bed together, but that’s it.
Parting Shot: As they did when Charlie was still alive, the trio dance and lip sync to Salt-N-Peppa’s “Whatta Man.” Then Sybil comes in to lip sync the rap part, like Charlie used to do.
Sleeper Star: Watching Lavin do her thing just makes us miss her all the more.
Most Pilot-y Line: Jerry and Arthur end up decamping to a cheesy gay-friendly motel called the “Chauvette Inn” that becomes a cheap joke that may or may not have made it past the censors if this series were on a broadcast network.
Our Call: SKIP IT. Mid-Century Modern feels old-fashioned, even for a four-camera sitcom, mainly because it can’t seem to portray its characters in a way that’s more appropriate for 2025 than 1995.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Mid-Century Modern’ On Hulu, A Sitcom About Three Middle-Aged Gay Men Sharing A House In Palm Springs appeared first on Decider.
