TMC
08-14-2022, 03:04 AM
https://jacksonupperco.com/2022/08/10/the-ten-best-evening-shade-episodes-of-season-one/
Evening Shade. It’s the only Bloodworth-Thomas series co-produced by MTM, a company known for its character-rich sitcoms — and a symbol of counterbalancing qualities that this creator’s efforts desperately need. After years in development, the show ended up as a vehicle for movie star Burt Reynolds, casting him as a former Steelers quarterback who’s now a high school football coach for a terrible team in the small town of Evening Shade (https://web.archive.org/web/20061031125154/http://www.jumptheshark.com/e/eveningshade.htm), Arkansas, a community of southern eccentrics where he lives with his wife — a bigwig prosecuting attorney — and their three (soon four) kids. Just from this setup, you can see some of that aesthetic liminality that we recently discussed in reference to Empty Nest, for Evening Shade comes with its creator’s own thematic sensibilities, but in a package that looks more like an MTM classic, with a work/home structure where character is pushed to the fore. And indeed, beyond the work and the home, Evening Shade boasts a hangout, or, “community” aspect to its premise as well, with a Mayberry-esque capacity for hilarious and wonderfully drawn recurring and peripheral players. In fact, if Empty Nest felt limited because it had such a small ensemble and seldom evolved them, Evening Shade ensures that there are plenty of narrative opportunities with its leads, for there simply are so many leads, and Bloodworth-Thomason, with her idea-first instincts, also puts them in arcs and plots that enable gradual changes to their “situation” (like new jobs, babies, relationships). So, there’s always a chance to explore characters in story somewhere around Reynolds’ Wood Newton — at home, at work, or in this lovable, one-of-a-kind town.
Evening Shade. It’s the only Bloodworth-Thomas series co-produced by MTM, a company known for its character-rich sitcoms — and a symbol of counterbalancing qualities that this creator’s efforts desperately need. After years in development, the show ended up as a vehicle for movie star Burt Reynolds, casting him as a former Steelers quarterback who’s now a high school football coach for a terrible team in the small town of Evening Shade (https://web.archive.org/web/20061031125154/http://www.jumptheshark.com/e/eveningshade.htm), Arkansas, a community of southern eccentrics where he lives with his wife — a bigwig prosecuting attorney — and their three (soon four) kids. Just from this setup, you can see some of that aesthetic liminality that we recently discussed in reference to Empty Nest, for Evening Shade comes with its creator’s own thematic sensibilities, but in a package that looks more like an MTM classic, with a work/home structure where character is pushed to the fore. And indeed, beyond the work and the home, Evening Shade boasts a hangout, or, “community” aspect to its premise as well, with a Mayberry-esque capacity for hilarious and wonderfully drawn recurring and peripheral players. In fact, if Empty Nest felt limited because it had such a small ensemble and seldom evolved them, Evening Shade ensures that there are plenty of narrative opportunities with its leads, for there simply are so many leads, and Bloodworth-Thomason, with her idea-first instincts, also puts them in arcs and plots that enable gradual changes to their “situation” (like new jobs, babies, relationships). So, there’s always a chance to explore characters in story somewhere around Reynolds’ Wood Newton — at home, at work, or in this lovable, one-of-a-kind town.