It's never too late.
It's never too late to go for your dreams, to fall in love, to be impulsive and to find joy and laughter. And as cheesy and elementary-school-motivational-poster as that all sounds, it's the delightful tone and theme of NBC's new sitcom "Newlyweds" (Fridays, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT, ★★★ out of four).
Starring married-in-real-life couple Téa Leoni and Tim Dalyas 60-somethings who decide to get hitched after only six weeks together, the old-fashioned multi-camera comedyis both as silly and as charming as it sounds. Why not just do something crazy and see what happens? Is that not the entire point of TV sitcoms in the first place?
Produced by Jamie Lee Curtis (who also has a recurring role as Daly's characters ex-wife), "Newlyweds" is kind
of corny, but in a winning way, not a tiresome one. That's in part thanks to Leoni and Daly, who play Jeanie and James, the titular newlyweds who are set up by a mutual friend (Al Madrigal) and hit it off so fast they just decide to go for it, skipping off to Las Vegas to be wed by no less than two Elvis impersonators.
They're actually married, and thankfully that chemistry transfers to the screen (the pair met while co-starring in CBS's "Madam Secretary," a much different kind of show).
He's a nerdy philosophy professor, set in his ways and buttoned up with his emotions. She's a free-spirited but also nerdy middle school teacher who wears clashing prints and lives with her needy adult children. Maybe they're an opposites attract couple, maybe their collective nerdiness matches or maybe they're just really compatible in bed (there are many references). For whatever reason, their harebrained fast marriage works out, and delivers some cute laughs along the way.
"Newlyweds" never tries to be something it's not. The jokes are big and bold and sometimes deeper than you expect. Jeanie's kids Poppy (Emma Meisel) and Lolo (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio) check a lot of Gen Z stereotypes and jokes, but not too many. Curtis shows up as Claudia, James' black-widow-esque ex-wife in power suits and without boundaries, just enough not to outwear her welcome (that her role is recurring not regular is the best choice for the character).
The only unfortunate link is Bill O'Neill as Arvid, aka "Milky," a Norwegian teaching assistant for James who tests the limits of good taste with his accent and cultural jokes. His character could be toned down 90% and the show would be much better for it.
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What "Newlyweds" does best is find enough plot to sustain it beyond its first episode. It's funny that Jeanie and James get married so fast, sure, but the show wouldn't work if they couldn't find the funny in their new everyday life. There is conflict and plenty of hijinks without it ever feeling too artificial (it's a little contrived, every sitcom world is).
It is a reminder that not every TV romance has to die a comedic and plot death after the couple commits (we're looking at you, "Nobody Wants This" on Netflix). Marriage is fun and funny and hard and unexpected, and Leoni and Daly have created a fake one that feels as authentic as their real one. And for the sake of the show's longevity, we should be glad that they're happy in fiction and reality.
Gentle, laugh-track filled sitcoms are few and far between on modern TV, so the ones that really click are all the more special for keeping the genre alive and well. If these crazy kids can stay together, we can all enjoy the marital bliss.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Please allow NBC's 'Newlyweds' to charm the heck out of you
