Every few years, TV blesses us with a magnificent friend group comedy.
Since the dawn of Living Single to the adorkable heyday of New Girl to the golden hour of Insecure and everything in between, we must never be without a TV show about 20- or 30-something friends, who are figuring out life and love while enjoying the heck out of each other’s company. NBC’s Grand Crew hits all the right (tasting) notes in its first season, and now is the perfect time to binge it while demanding more.
Created by Phil Augusta Jackson, Grand Crew is indeed a pun, as the friends regularly hang out at a wine bar called Cru (“grand cru” is also French for “great growth” which is amazing). There’s hopeless romantic Noah (Echo Kellum), his spirited sister Nicky (Nicole Byer), vegan accountant Anthony (Aaron Jennings), happily married Wyatt (Justin Cunningham), loose cannon Sherm (Carl Tart), and Fay (Grasie Mercedes), divorced and new to the group.
Similar to Insecure's episodic title structure, Grand Crew pairs each ep with "Wine &...", as in "Wine & Art" or "Wine and Wages." And like Insecure, setting the show in L.A. only strengthens it. This is not fake New York where no one knows the first thing about life in the city, or a version of Detroit where people visit smoothie stands outside during winter. This is Los Angeles proper, inhabited by characters who know their way around, even if they stick to their favorite haunts.
Grand Crew makes some key adjustments to the classic squad ensemble that work strongly in its favor. Most of the friends are single, but Wyatt's wife Kristen (Maya Lynne Robinson) doesn't hang out with the group. A lot of married couples have separate social circles, and this never weakens their bond; on the contrary, Wyatt regularly tells his friends how grateful he is to not be single, and they don't even resent it because Kristen rules and fits easily into the dynamic when she's around.
The other difference is that, at least in the beginning, there's no romantic tension. Fay joins the crew by way of what appears to be a series of meet-cutes with Noah, which actually turn out to be friendly meet-cutes with Nicky. When a crush does emerge later in the season, it's unexpected and well-developed, a slow burn that catches you off guard with how much you immediately care for it.
Every combination of any of these characters is engaging and hilarious, a feat that takes most shows years to pull off. Though there are a handful of secondary characters and different locations, where Grand Crew truly knocks it out of the park is with constantly changing, laugh-out-loud comedic bits. For a taste: there's a fight that comes presented via autotune and a tense family face-off interrupted by periodic pie-throwing.
And the comedy stays strong even when things get serious. Grand Crew spends time on the merits of therapy as well as the everyday trauma of Blackness in America without ever compromising on laughs. The storylines remain true to their characters while speaking authentically to how anxiety and trauma coexist with levity, especially now.
Grand Crew is a sharp, riotous sitcom that quickly invites you to grab a glass and join the crew. It could be the beginning of an amazing journey, a fine wine that ages just right.
Grand Crew is now streaming on Hulu.
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