TV Review - A Million Little Things

What the hope for DJ Nash's drama on depression and suicide is that we get somewhat of an insightful deconstruction of male friendships. The success of NBC's This Is Us allowed this series to be put on the air, but what this show lacks that This Is Us possesses in spades is a thrust of feminine energy or a female perspective. This Is Us came out the box with two strong, female characters with whom people who really connect to these kind of dramas almost require. This show doesn't have really strong, female characters. It's not devoid of female characters, but this show isn't really any of their stories. Nash instead gambles that this drama doesn't need it, which it doesn't, but what it does need are characters who are compelling, characters to hook us. Unfortunately, the guys here aren't that compelling.

It has four guys. Two of whom are suicidal. One has cancer and the other is a recovering alcoholic with marital problems. The whole thing is an onslaught of depressing things. It's mostly a downer. I get that Nash wants this to be akin to The Big Chill (1983), but that film had highs and lows. This series so far is just lows. It's a quagmire. A shadow or dark cloud hangs over the entire piece.

At once, I'm impressed that Nash has the confidence or courage to explore all these serious issues while under this dark cloud, as he sentimentally marches forward. That can be a good platform or spring-board into delving into the lives and characters here. One delve could be a breakdown of certain displays of masculinity. Yes, masculinity is an oft-explored topic for deconstruction, but Nash opens doors that could seem fresh.

James Roday (Psych) stars as Gary, a man who has breast cancer. Men don't normally get breast cancer, but it is possible. If the show delves into the stigma and the identity issues that something like that can bring, this show can soar from the slumps from which it starts. HBO's Oz was able to do interesting things with male breast cancer. I'll be shocked if this series can do anything better, but that remains to be seen. One way that it comes at the stigma is his recognition of his nephew being gay. Hopefully, this series develops that further.

Romany Malco (Think Like a Man and Weeds) also stars as Rome, a filmmaker who supplements his income with work on ads or commercials. He's depressed, but he hides it from his wife. His character is revealed to be one of the suicidal persons here. He's reluctant to get therapy, which is another stigma that the show could explore, given that Rome is African-American and therapy is a stigma among African-Americans. Questions of identity could be explored regarding his frustrations with his career. Malco is a great actor, so the potential is there.

David Giuntoli (Grimm) co-stars as Eddie, a musician with an Asian son. He's a guitar-player and singer, but he's revealed to be having an affair. Opening the book on him and reading what led up to Eddie's affair should be the road that's followed, but there's also another road. Eddie's having an affair with his friend's wife. It's a soap opera twist that feels like it's going to be milked for as much guilt as possible. Nash probably thought that twist would be a compelling hook, but it simply comes across as bland. Nash could make it even soapier by exposing the affair and pushing forward with it.

Ron Livingston (Band of Brothers and Office Space) plays John, a businessman who is the one who bands all four guys as friends or as a band of brothers. He links them all together when they all get stuck in an elevator by recognizing a common fandom in the Boston Bruins. However, the inciting incident is John's death when he takes his life by jumping off his office balcony, which was in a very tall building. Why John did this and what led up to this feels like an orange to be unpeeled over the course of this series. That too has potential. Hopefully, Nash and his writers do something interesting with it.

Rated TV-14-DLSV.
Running Time: 1 hr.
Wednesdays at 10PM on ABC.