Ground Floor - Season 1

When I wrote reviews in the past about comedy series, I already addressed this issue: I’m not that big of a comedy fan. I like the genre, but I’m very specific when it comes to humour. Not many situations will make me laugh. However, I thought ‘Ground Floor’ deserved a chance, so I was curious to see what this series would bring me. With ten episodes the first season of the show has already come to an end. But did the cast and creators of ‘Ground Floor’ make a comedy that I would recommend to others?

When Brody Moyer (Skylar Astin, ‘Pitch Perfect’) meets the charming Jenny Miller (Briga Heelan) in a bar they immediately hit it off. Not soon after they end up in bed together. What started out as a one-night stand turns out to be more than that when they realize they work in the same office building and just can’t stay away from each other. While the series progresses we see the relationship of Brody and Jenny evolve, as they face all sorts of obstacles down the road. Brody is a well-educated business guy while Jenny works on the ground floor at the personnel department trying to live a fun and carefree lifestyle. Can their relationship survive their differences, and how will their friends and co-workers feel about this new-found romance?

Remington Stewart Mansfield (John C. McGinley, ‘Scrubs’) is chief of the bank ’Remington Trust’, the bank Brody works for. He is a strict, arrogant and strange man who sees Brody as his son. I honestly didn’t know what to think when I heard this actor was cast for this part. Since I’ve never been that big of a ‘Scrubs’ fan, I didn’t know whether or not I would like his humour this time around. But he did an amazing job, he was great and really nailed the character. Jenny’s co-worker Mark "Harvard" Shrake (Rory Scovel) deserves a pat on the back as well. He has a crush on Jenny which makes him hate Brody instantly, this creates some very funny situations between the two of them. His humour is spot on, really great as well. Other important co-workers of Jenny are Tori (Alexis Knapp, ‘Pitch Perfect’) and Derrick Dupree (James Earl, ‘Glee’). Brody’s most important co-worker and friend (and at some points also rival) is Mike “Threepeat” Wen (Rene Gube).

One thing the music lover in me loved, was the karaoke aspect of the series. We see Brody perform a song during the first episode, and during the seventh episode the group visits a karaoke café twice. This episodes also brings us to a little ‘Pitch Perfect’ reunion. With a guest appearance of Anna Camp as Brody’s ex-girlfriend Heather (she is Skylar's girlfriend in real life, by the way), and of course ‘Pitch Perfect’ cast members Skylar and Alexis who have a place in the series already, it’s bound to be a nice performance. A highlight for the ‘Pitch Perfect’ fans, if you ask me.

But, what is my overall opinion about ‘Ground Floor’? Honestly… I loved it! I haven’t seen a new comedy series this great in a while. The humour, storylines, characters, acting, chemistry between the cast members, it’s just all as it should be. Okay the first episodes weren’t as good as the final ones, and not every episode will make you laugh out loud all the time. But it’s the right mix of humour and drama, and the pace in which the series is developing is also very nice to keep you entertained. I consider myself a ‘Ground Floor’ fan after watching this first season, and am very glad that they’ve announced to air a second series later this year. I can only hope this series will have a long run and they keep up this high level of entertainment. Although I think in this case, with a cast like these and creator Bill Lawrence, that probably isn’t going to be too hard.