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WEB THERAPY: Lisa Kudrow remains hilarious

2011 July 13
tags:
by Lucia

Photo Credit: Showtime.

 

Looking for a good comedy to enjoy this summer? Well, then I highly recommend Web Therapy, a new half-hour series that will premiere Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 at 11:00p.m. PT/ ET on Showtime. The series stars Lisa Kudrow as Dr. Fiona Wallice, possibly the worst therapist ever in the history of therapy (and a pretty horrible person too). She is HILARIOUS. I know comedy is subjective, but I had a chance to watch the first two episodes and I am absolutely loving Kudrow in the role. Also, for you Alias fans (or just people with general good taste), Victor Garber plays Fiona’s husband, Kip Wallice. Love. The show boasts a number of other fantastic guest stars as well: Tim Bagley, Jennifer Elise Cox, Dan Bucatinsky (he also executive produces), Rashida Jones, Maulik Pancholy, Lily Tomlin, Bob Balaban, Alan Cumming, and Courteney Cox.

 

Web Therapy is based on a web series of the same name, which was created and executive produced by Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky through their production company, Is Or Isn’t Entertainment. The 3 seasons (48 episodes) of the web series can be viewed online for free here: LStudio.com. The web series has been critically acclaimed and won Webby awards in 2010 and 2011 for “Best Comedy Series” and “Best Individual Performance.” I haven’t had a chance to watch the whole series (though I certainly will), but from what I have seen this is no surprise. Meryl Streep even guest starred recently!

 

If the web series is already online, why should you tune into the Showtime series? First of all, Victor Garber was an addition to the cast for television, so Spy Daddy fans will need to watch the television version to get to know Kip. Also, in press materials for the show, executive producer Don Roos explains some of the differences due to the television format: “We quickly discovered that we couldn’t just string a series of the webisodes together and call it a 30-minute television episode.  We had to create a beginning, middle and end for each 30-minute segment, and we also had to figure out a way to change up the pace. It took a lot of experimentation—but David Codron’s (producer and editor) storytelling skills helped us a lot.” Also in terms of changes from web to television, executive producer Dan Bucatinsky explains: “We were able to fill in some of the context of our story and fill out Fiona’s world with characters like her husband (Victor Garber) and her mother (Lily Tomlin) and Maulik Pancholy as an I.T. guy, as well as a receptionist at Fiona’s old finance firm played by Jennifer Elise Cox—to better explain how she came to do what she does—and how her relationships have shaped her.  These newer scenes helped fill out the new half-hour format which had a very limited test run on a mobile phone platform but are brand new for television.” So, if you’ve seen the web series, the television series will still be worth your time. I will be watching both.

 

Check out the trailer below for a closer look:

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