Fall TV Preview: Will Ken Jeong’s ‘Dr. Ken’ be a success?
We love Ken Jeong. We’ve said that many times over, given that we find Chang to be one of “Community’s” greatest assets these days.
With that being said, is Jeong ready to anchor a TV show, and is “Dr. Ken” the right show? That is what we are going to be finding out Friday nights on ABC. There are some things that are very cool about this show right away, starting with the fact that this is Ken getting to actually play a part of his history in a way, given that he was a doctor long before becoming an actor. Also, it’s a rare family sitcom in an era where there really are not many. However, there are also some challenges that this show is going to need to overcome, with the biggest one being a timeslot that has already doomed shows like “Malibu Country” and “Cristela,” another diverse family comedy featuring a quality talent.
We don’t have too much to go on with “Dr. Ken” other than the trailer below, so for now let’s analyze based off of that.
What works – It feels almost like a show straight out of #TGIF; there is some silly physical comedy in here, and it feels already like the show knows where its primary audience is going to be: Families. Also, you have a nice structure here between Ken’s scenes at work, and then also some of his scenes at home. The good thing about him being a doctor is that it opens up the field for a variety of different recurring characters.
What doesn’t – The laugh track in the first-look promo is a little heavy, and we’d say for the most part that some of situations are fairly predictable: A young son struggling to fit in, and a teenage daughter trying to rebel. What “Dr. Ken” does with these situations is going to be what makes it stand out, since there are so few stories that have not already been done on some other family sitcom.
Our verdict – It’s probably not going to be as edgy as “Community,” but “Dr. Ken” could carve out a nice audience for itself on Fridays. Sitcoms are traditionally just really hard to judge, since most of the time they need a few episodes before they start to really find themselves. Just look at the first season of “Seinfeld” or the first handful of “Mom” for some examples of that. What really matters is that you have a good basic premise to build on and a strong lead, and “Dr. Ken” has already figured that out.
Are you excited for “Dr. Ken” to come on the air? Share below, and head over here to see some other entries in our Fall TV Preview series! Also, sign up now to get some other TV updates on all we cover, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTqGbbzxI-I