Bored to Death - Season 2

Bored to Death's second season was a nice improvement on the first. It took more time to actually be laugh-out-loud funny, without damaging its unique atmosphere and the chemistry between the three main characters. It's still an incredibly twee show that revels in its own cleverness, but if you're someone who can accept that kind of thing, it's really a pretty enjoyable show. The formula is much less obvious this time around, as instead of Jonathan having a case each week that dominates the plot, the guys spend a lot of time together just because they can, and often the cases just lead to a different story idea than expected or don't come up at all. It feels like a more real and fleshed out world when the characters can just have lives and bounce of each other, and amateur private detection is just something Jonathan does rather than what his life revolves around.

The fact is, Jonathan simply doesn't have as much time to run around solving cases because his second novel was rejected and he has to teach a creative writing class to help pay bills. He gets involved with various girls who have issues he has to worry about, but at least he's over his ex-girlfriend from the first season. Ray however isn't, as he's devastated over his girlfriend breaking up with him, the only thing saving him being the sudden success of his comic book. George is probably this season's most interesting character, as Ted Danson clearly has a great time with the role and all of its weird quirks. His magazine has been bought out by a company on the religious right, he's smoking more pot that ever, and he has to face difficult medical news. Seeing the three of them together is usually the highlight of any episode, as their unique yet compatible personalities bounce off each other in fun and unexpected ways. I wasn't that stoked to see the show again when it was coming back on, but my affection for it definitely grew this season, and I was glad to see it was renewed for a third run a couple weeks ago. It's questionable whether the show would have legs without its high profile cast, but either way I like it.