Some Appreciation for the Underappreciated Andy Daly

Where is Daly’s damn emmy?

Sometimes on the site I like to point out an actor that did a good job in a movie, has had a solid career or someone more people should know about, someone I deem underrated. Today I will again talk about an underrated actor.

The actor I speak of is Andy Daly. For those of you who may not know who he is, I promise you, you know, or at least have seen him on your TV. For those of you that do know him, you’re probably calling me crazy right now. You probably think he is a person that most people know. Well, people in my circle of friends, people who’s movie and TV tastes I trust, have no idea who Daly is. So, I don’t think it’s too far fetched to say he’s underrated.

I first became fully aware of Daly when I started to watch the great, great show, “Eastbound and Down”. He played the principal of the high school that McBride went back to to teach gym. Daly was perfectly cast as the low key, pushover fiancé of McBride’s high school girlfriend. He had this quiet, yet dark comic timing that was tremendous for the show. There is an episode, the one where he does the triathlon, and then tries to knock McBride out with chloroform, were his dark comedic acting is on full display.

After watching him on “Eastbound and Down”, I wanted to find more stuff with Daly. The easiest way to find him, at that time, was on podcasts, mainly, “Comedy Bang! Bang!”. He always played some weird and wild characters on that show. There were some classics if you listen to him on the back catalog. And anytime he and Jason Mantzoukas were paired up, it was a gem.

Through this, I suppose, he started to show up on TV shows here and there. I remember that he was a Ben Franklin impersonator on “The Office”. That was a great episode made even better by his presence. I know he was on the original run of “Mad TV”, and that show was okay when it first came out. He was uproarious in the very under appreciated “Semi Pro”. He was always clutch when he showed up on “Reno 911”. He was perfect for the Jon Glaser show, “Delocated”. His one episode of both, “The Kroll Show” and “Playing House” made those episodes even funnier. The 2 episodes of one of my favorite shows, “The League” were better because of him. He’s just as funny on the “CBB” show as he was on the podcast. Hell, even his smallish role on “Modern Family” made the later years of that show watchable. He is also great on another show I adore, “Trial and Error”.

“Review” is what should have made him a household name. That show is going to go down in history as a one of a kind gem. There is, and maybe never will be, another show as bizarre, disastrous, hilarious and perfect as “Review”. It is, easily, one of the best shows of the 21st century. It is great. It really let Andy Daly shine. It was his vehicle, and he got to drive it with little to no questions or notes. I loved that show so much. I wish it was still on. I need more than just 3 seasons.

From “Review” I gained a whole new level of respect for Daly. I now listen to any podcast he’s on first when his name shows up. I am so thankful that Earwolf put the second season of his own podcast, “The Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project” out for free. That podcast rules. Also, remember at the top when I said you know, or have seen him, even if you think you don’t? He’s the spokesman for Car Max, and I have to say, I like those commercials simply because he’s in them. He makes them funny.

Andy Daly is a comic genius. He deserves to be regarded as such. I cannot wait to see what he does next. Seriously people, go check out his work. You will love it, as long as you go in open minded, especially with a show like “Review”. Andy Daly is awesome. It’s time everyone knows it.

Ty

The Best Television of 2017

On to day 3 of my best of 2017 lists. Today we will look into TV. TV has been pretty good this year. For example, some shows that didn’t make my list include “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Master Of None”, “The Simpson’s”, “Love”, “Ghosted” and “The Punisher”, all of which I really enjoy. I also haven’t seen “The Young Pope”, “Rick and Morty” and countless other shows that have been recommended to me. At least not yet. When I made this list, I have to say, it was the easiest of all 5 that I will, or already have, done. I knew the 5 shows I wanted pretty quickly. Enough preamble, let’s get to it.

At number 5 I have “Search Party”. It is not secret how much I love this show. It is such a great concept. Millennials that have never had a tough time are put into a crazy situation that they created. Season 2 took the ending of season one and went in a crazy dark, yet often hilarious, place. We see these 4 entitled people having to deal with a real life messed up situation. The acting was tremendous this year, especially John Early. His turn this season was so great. He better damn well get Emmy consideration. While Early was the star, Alia Shawkat did a great job as Dory trying to cope with what she had done. And, she had to also deal with the fact that she dragged all her friends into this quagmire. I loved how dark this season turned and watching all the characters reactions. “Search Party” is well worth your time, and here’s to hoping it comes back for a third season.

At number 4 I have “ The Good Place”. The way the writers dealt with the results of the season one finale was perfect. It could have been a disaster, but they nailed it. The show was just as funny, but also poignant as season one. Ted Danson is a national treasure. He’s so good on this show. Kristen Bell seems to have found a perfect role for her as well. Everyone else, from Chidi to Jason, just wonderful. The true standout though is D’arcy Carden as Janet. She is awesome. She is funny. She plays a very crucial role. She is the best. I’m very excited for the show to come back in January, but this first half of season 2 has been wonderful. If you watch one episode from this season, watch the one where Chidi has to make split second decisions on a train. It’s a comedic piece of gold.

My number 3 show of the year is “Review”. Yes, there were only 3 episodes, but those 3 episodes wrapped this show up perfectly. We saw the full destruction of a human being by the end of the final episode. Forrest McNeil, expertly played by Andy Daly, let his job reviewing everyday tasks completely take over his life. He wasn’t a man anymore, he was a puppet. He did whatever people told him to do because he felt it was his job. It wasn’t. He crumbled so much so that his co host took over his job and excelled better then he ever could. I wish we had more “Review”, but the way they wrapped it up was so perfect for a show like this. It was gloriously bizarre from its season premiere all the way to its finale. “Review” is the perfect absurdist comedy show.

At number 2 I have “Legion”. “Legion” is the most unique show I have ever watched. I’ve never seen anything so trippy and visually stunning and attention getting in my life. Once an episode starts you cannot look away. It was quite an achievement to take a property like X-Men and do what Noah Hawley did. To set it in a mental institution was genius. What truly sets this show apart was Aubrey Plaza. She was incredible. The fact that she isn’t getting more award consideration is absurd. She was so great as Lenny, the crazy demon that lives in the main characters head. I used to only look at her as April Ludgate, but “Legion” changed that. She can do it all. I’m so excited for season 2, especially after how they ended season one. I need “Legion” back on the air ASAP.

And number one, “Nathan For You”. Nathan Fielder was back with his outrageous plans to help failing businesses again. He did a whole bunch of crazy stuff this season. He sold chili in a fat suit at a minor league hockey game, he helped people with warts get jobs as massage therapists, he started an asexual computer repair business and he made a smoke detector a musical instrument. All of this was perfect TV, and only something Nathan Fielder could do. What set this show apart from the rest of my list was one single episode, “Finding Frances”. I legit considered putting “Finding Frances” on my best movies if 2017 list. This was the best 2 hours of TV I think I have ever watched. It ranged from funny to sad to scary to depressing all in the course of 2 hours. It was a special achievement. Fielder could walk away from his show right now and it would go down as one of the best ever because of “Finding Frances”. The whole season was great, but “Finding Frances” was Fielder’s masterpiece. It’s truly stunning.

There you have it, my top 5 shows of the year. Come back tomorrow for my top 5 sports moments of the year.

Ty

The SeedSing (half) Year in Pop Culture: The Top Five Television Shows of 2015

Find the nob and change the channel

Day three of my best of 2015 countdown will be my top five shows pf the year. All the shows are in their second, third or fourth season except for one of them. The shows don't have to necessarily be shows that premiered this year. Sometimes the second or third season of a show is the best. Take the US version of "The Office". That show peaked in year four but they went on to make five more seasons. The majority of my countdown is all comedy shows. That's what I prefer. Sure, there's one show that could be considered a dramedy, but I'm a comedy fan. No "Mad Men", which I loathed this final season. I also don't watch any of the superhero one hour shows, be they on Netflix or basic cable. So, don't expect what the majority has put as their best of 2015. Comedy takes a certain taste and most publications writers don't have that taste. On with the countdown.

At number five I have "Better Call Saul", the dramedy of the group. I was very skeptical of this show when I first heard about it. I thought the writers of "Breaking Bad" did an excellent job of tying up the story of Saul Goodman, so why make a prequel type show for him? I began to get on board when I saw that Vince Gilligan and the majority of the "Breaking Bad" writers were hired to write the series. Then I watched and I couldn't look away from the TV. This was a show when it was on, I was focused. No cell phones or computers to look at, "Better Call Saul" needed my undivided attention. The show has many characters but make no mistake, this is Bob Oedenkirk's show, he's the star. And he does a damn fine job as the title character. We meet him as Jimmy McGill, his name before he became a "criminal" lawyer and he's a schlubby, down on his luck kind of guy. He lives in his brothers shadow, played excellently by Michael McKean. His brother has a melt down and won't leave the house, so Jimmy tries to take up the slack. There's a ton of great episodes in the first season. Jimmy becomes a lawyer for the elderly, he gets some skateboarders involved in a hit and run scam and he even helps a family launder thousands of dollars. You can see early on that he is a shady person. The best episode, by far, of the first season was when we get Mike Ehrmantraut(Johnathan Banks) back story. We all remember Mike from "Breaking Bad" and this episode lets us see why he does what he does on both shows. It's an incredibly moving and powerful episode. It's one of the finest 44 minutes TV has had on in quite a while. "Better Call Saul" goes into season two in February and if it's half as good as season one, we will have a mega hit on our hands.

My number four show is "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp". This show was perfect in every sense. I love that all the original actors from the cult hit "Wet Hot American Summer" recreate their roles. They've all aged the 10 or so years since the movie, but they're actually playing younger versions in this series. The fact that it was on Netflix was awesome because I watched the whole thing in one day. I loved this show. I also like that they brought in new actors like Kristin Wiig, Chris Pine, Jordan Peele and Jason Schwatzman. They were all great. Jon Benjamin as the camp counselor that becomes the can of talking vegetables was hilarious. This show was great in every possible way. Paul Rudd shines once again and Michael Showalter was just as hilarious. My favorite episode was when Elizabeth Banks, who's a reporter at a magazine, poses as a teenager to get a story on how real teenagers act. All she has to do to look like a teenager you ask, pull her hair into a side ponytail. Hilarious. I hope they do more episodes because this show was just what the fans of the movie needed.

My number three show is "Last Man on Earth". When we left the first season, Phil(Will Forte) and Carol(Kristin Schaal) were on the move from Tucson. We picked up this season with them trying to find a new place to live. Nothing was as good as Tucson so they went back to find it completely abandoned. We come to find out that every else moved to Malibu. When Phil and Carol end up in Malibu, that's when all the hilarity starts. First of all, we get a cameo from Will Ferrell. He doesn't say one word and is spooked to death by Carol, literally. Everything else that ensues is great. Phil, who is now going by his original name, Tandy, is put in stocks and has an electric dog collar on until they find it fit for him to live with everyone again. Carol is her usual upbeat self, even when the worst things are going on around them. Todd(Mel Rodriguez) and Melissa(January Jones) break up. The other Phil(Boris Kodjoe) professes his undying love for Carol, but finds out he's impregnated Erica(Cleopatra Coleman). And Gail(Mary Steenburgen) is deeply distraught by the fact that her lover, Ferrell, was scared to death. There's a lot going on this season and the season finale was very heavy, but this show was pretty damn funny all season long.

My number two show is "Review". This show is the weirdest, most innovative thing I've seen on TV ever. Andy Daly plays Forrest McNeil, a guy that reviews everyday life. Not movies or TV or music, just life situations much to his and the people he loves demise. This season saw him start a cult and lose the cult to his girlfriend. The girlfriend he got in an earlier episode was from a review that was to sleep with a teacher. He gets his first girlfriend locked up for stealing pills from a hospital on the first episode of the season. He now lives with his dad and he got both his dad's home and summer home destroyed this season. He also tries to get the perfect body, but becomes addicted to steroids. Everything is so hilariously messy and the best episode was when he had to review, "killing someone". He doesn't want to, obviously, but he accidentally kills a man that he was in a fight with earlier in the episode. This leads to him going to jail and reviewing life experiences from jail. He says that the producers of the show are not who he thinks they are and that they want him to struggle and lose everyone he loves. He even has a chance to get back together with his ex wife, but that blows up in his face as well. "Review" is an excellent show and I love that Andy Daly finally has a project that suits his comedy to perfection.

Coming in at number one is "Nathan For You". What else is there to say about this show that I haven't already said. He's made man caves in women's clothing shops, he's walked a tight rope to make someone else famous, he made a play that was literally just people sitting at a bar smoking cigarettes and talking about absolutely nothing. He did so many crazy things this season. The best for me was the outerwear that supported Holocaust history and the fitness craze, The Movement, that he started. The Holocaust thing was absurd, upsetting and hilarious. The setup he had, with a rabbi's blessing, in that store was downright appalling, but he found a way to make it funny. He's also earned over 300,000 dollars for Holocaust awareness due to his new line of jackets and hats. The fitness craze episode was just bizarre. He convinced a body builder type guy to be the spokes person for losing weight and gaining muscle by only lifting and moving boxes. The episode as a whole is one of the most cringe worthy, yet laugh out loud funny things on TV all year. I'm currently reading the book that a ghost writer wrote, who Nathan Fielder hired off of Craigslist, wrote in two days. "Nathan For You" is by far the best show on TV and I cannot wait to see how he tops himself in season four.

So there you have my top five TV shows of the year. Come back tomorrow for the best podcast episodes, in my opinion, for 2015.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He is building muscle mass by moving Christmas presents from one house to another. Learn all about his secret by following Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Sunday Night TV on Fox is Mostly All Right

Stop hanging out with Mother Nature. Good TV is back on.

Sunday night TV is back people.

I've been waiting all summer, now we are in fall technically, for good TV shows. In the summer, we are subjected to reality show after reality show. These shows are cheap to make and viewers flock to them for reasons I'll never understand. My wife loves reality TV. She watches all the iterations of "Teen Mom", she likes all the reality cooking shows, anything except the Kardashian crap that's on TV basically. I inevitably end up watching some of these shows with her because I enjoy spending time with her. But, these are really awful shows. They're all the same and they tend to be very boring because reality is pretty boring.

There was some good summer TV though. I loved "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll", season two of "Married" has been great, and "Review" is the best show on TV right now in my personal opinion. But, most of these are just about done with their seasons as summer comes to an end. Well, last night Fox returned to its Sunday night programming with four of the best, most enjoyable shows on TV right now. There's technically five shows on their Sunday night lineup, but I don't care for "Family Guy", so I don't watch it. But, we got season premieres from "Bob's Burgers", "The Simpsons", "Brooklyn 99" and "Last Man on Earth". I absolutely adore all four of these shows. Everyone who reads my writings knows that I'm a HUGE "Simpsons" fan and if you listened to the most recent podcast, you all know how I feel about "Last Man on Earth". "Bob's Burgers" and "Brooklyn 99" are just as good.

The night started off with "Bob's Burgers". In the season premiere, we got three different stories, one from Gene, one from Tina and one from Louise, each talking about what would've happened had Bob and Linda never got married. This topic is brought up because Bob is losing his mustache, which is his most attractive quality to Linda. Tina believes that, no matter what, fate brought her parents together and, mustache or no mustache, they still would have found and married each other. The kids stories are all hilarious, Gene's being my favorite, and the episode is great. "Bob's Burgers" is the type of show that just gets better and stronger as each season goes on. I was very pleased with the premiere.

Next, we got the biggest story of the summer, in sitcom news, that Homer and Marge were going to split up on the season premiere of "The Simpsons". The episode started with the two of them in therapy, due to Homer's new found narcolepsy, and Marge is fed up with Homer's excuses. Homer isn't listening, classic Homer, and he falls asleep. Here we get the Simpsons version of the movie "Inception". Did Homer and Marge really split up, or was it just a dream from Homer? Marge was asleep at one point, so was it a dream from Marge? I'll leave that up to your own interpretation. Lena Dunham was excellent as Homer's new girlfriend. Another solid season premiere from "The Simpsons". I love that a show that's been on the air for almost thirty years can still come up with fresh and funny ideas.

"Brooklyn 99" started right where the last season left off. Jake and Amy kissed and their relationship is the thru line for the whole episode, but they get a new captain and we get to see where Holt and Gina are now. The precinct's new captain was played hilariously by Bill Hader. He was a total hard ass, but had an aortic problem and would have involuntary heart attacks. Hader was really, really good. Amy and Jake decide to date for real and the whole precinct eventually finds out, even with the two of them trying their best to keep it secret. Holt is now working for Wunch in a terrible circumstance. They hate each other and she's his superior and she's giving him tedious, menial tasks. The shouting match between the two of them is very funny. Gina is his secretary and she is still very full of herself and really great. Chelsea Peretti is perfect for this role. Back at the 99, Hader has a for real heart attack and dies, so they get yet another captain. The new captain is "the vulture", those of you who watch the show know exactly who I'm taking about, and everyone is extremely upset.

The final show of the night was "Last Man on Earth". When we left last season, Phil had been kicked out of Tucson and was told not to come back. To everyone's surprise, Carol came to his aid and they drove away. We opened this season by seeing a stealth plane on the streets of DC and Phil and Carol are driving to the store to get tequila. There's great moments in the White House with the two of them laying together in the margarita pool, they play with busts of the presidents, Carol tries on a lot of the former First Ladies clothes and they ride dune buggies around the house. We learn that they haven't found a place to stay yet and it's clear that Carol wants to go back to Tucson. This starts a fight between the two of them and Carol retreats to the back of the RV to sleep. Phil stops at a gas station to siphon gas and Carol goes into the store, unbeknownst to Phil, to get some clothes. Phil finishes with the gas and starts the RV and drives away, loudly listening to music. Carol gets stranded, and it's not until hours later that Phil realizes Carol isn't there and he turns around to try and find her. He ends up back in Tucson, but it's a ghost town and there looks to have been a fire. Carol isn't there and Phil doesn't know what to do next. All the while this is going on, there's another story involving Phil's brother who's in outer space. He's looking for any sign of life, but no luck so far. As the episode ends, Phil, Carol and Phil's brother are all alone. It was sad, but such a great ending to the season premiere.

I'm so excited for all four of these shows to be back. Sunday's are now complete and will be during these shows runs. So, make sure you all stop watching reality TV now that Sunday nights on Fox are providing you some excellent, original material.

As Homer would say, "woo hoo!"

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He thinks HBO Sunday night is for suckers who still hide their 20 sided die. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.

Comedy is thriving with podcasts. Get the best with the new app Howl.

Where do I turn the dial to hear this great comedy?

As all of you know, I'm a big, big fan of podcasts. 

I listen to podcast ranging from sports to comedy. Comedic podcasts are where my bread is buttered. I love listening to funny people being funny. There's something great about podcasting that allows these comedians and comedy writers to be funny in a free flowing environment. There's no real structure. Sure, you have an intro and an outro, but what happens in the middle is the best part. You get to hear these people use improv. That's so cool, because a lot of these people are great improvisors. People like Doug Benson, Scott Aukerman, Mike Mitchell, Nick Wiger, The Sklar Brothers, Paul F Tompkins and Matt Gourley are all great comics and actors, but on podcasts, they shine. Podcasting gives them the ability to do whatever they want. No notes from network executives, or people telling them to wrap something up. They have free rein. 

Podcasts have also introduced me to very funny up and coming actors and comedians like Lauren Lapkus, Jon Gabrus, Hayes Davenport, Sean Clements and even an old timer like Brendon Walsh. Ben Schwartz is so hilarious whenever he and Scott Aukerman do their "solo bolos" on Comedy Bang! Bang!. Actor Adam Scott is very, very funny during his appearances on multiple podcasts. Nick Kroll is a comedy powerhouse, especially with his many different characters on Comedy Bang! Bang!.  How Did This Get Made introduced me to Paul Scheer, June Diane Rapheal and the extremely funny, Jason Mantzoukas. I had barely ever seen or heard from Andy Daly until he started to pop up on different podcasts and now he has one of the best shows on TV, "Review". I could go on and on and on.

The main reason I'm writing today is to tell you about the great new podcast app called Howl. Howl gives you unlimited access to every single Earwolf, Wolfpop and WTF With Marc Maron that's ever been recorded. That means every episode of Comedy Bang! Bang!, How Did This Get Made, U Talkin U2 To Me, Analyze Phish, what I'm trying to say is, you get every single episode of every single Earwolf show. On most podcast apps, you get the last six months. On Howl, you get every episode ever, and the old ones are remastered with no commercial interruption. Same thing goes for the fairly new sister network of Earwolf, Wolfpop. You get Maltin on Movies with Baron Vaughn, I Was There Too, The Canon and so on and so forth. Every episode ever and the old ones are commercial free.

That would be enough for me, but they also give you every single WTF with Marc Maron. On his free app, he only gives the last sixty episodes for free. Howl gives you every episode ever. That's right, you can go back and listen to the two part Louis CK episode, voted best podcast ever, commercial free as many times as you want. You can hear Marc Maron interview Robin Williams. You can hear him from his start, interviewing his comedy buddies all the way to his high point of interviewing President Barack Obama.

Now, this app does cost money, but it's only 5 dollars a month. That's not much at all considering what you're getting. There is also shows that are only part of the premium Howl app. New shows from the Sklar Brothers, Lauren Lapkus and Jermaine Clement just to name a few will be on the premium app soon. There's also a TON of comedy albums available. You can hear albums from comics like Jen Kirkman, Doug Benson, Jim Gaffigan, Nick Kroll, Aziz Ansari and many, many more. I know, this sounds like an add, but it's not, I really just love this app and I think comedy podcast listeners will too. This is the holy grail for comedy podcasts. All these hours upon hours of uninterrupted shows is, in a word, phenomenal. It's a nice way to give back to these people that give us all this free content. Five dollars a month is nothing, and it's totally worth it. I love the Howl app and I'm really happy to have it. This is the first movement in the future of podcasting and I couldn't be happier about having all this content. Keep up the great work people of Earwolf, Wolfpop and WTF.

You guys have a fan for life.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and co-host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He did not get paid by any advertisers for writing this, . Follow Ty on twitter .