Perfect Harmony Review: Pilot (Season 1 Episode 1)

NBC’s Thursday night comedy block has never quite returned to the heights it reached during peak Must-See TV back in the late nineties and early aughts.

However, its current line up including The Good Place, Superstore, and Will & Grace (returning midseason) is deeply funny and with two of those shows wrapping up this season, it’s clear that NBC is looking for its next great additions.

Is Perfect Harmony up to the challenge?

Perfect Harmony Season 1 Episode 1 “Pilot” has its moments but over the course of its initial episode, the Bradley Whitford helmed comedy never quite soars.

There are components of what could be a great show, but it’s not there yet…quite far from it, in fact.

Bradley Whitford’s Arthur Cochran plays to almost all of Whitford’s strengths. “A crusty, unpleasant man,” he’s pompous, snarky, and abrasive but beneath the cantankerous and destructive shell is a wounded, full heart.

It’s a role we’ve seen Whitford play before and one he does well, but the show relies on this too much. We spend a lot of time watching Arthur mourn, spiral, and fight his attachment to the ragtag group of choristers but not a lot of time getting to know the singers themselves.

I can’t say much about what distinguishes each character beyond a broad stroke description and therein lies a wealth of missed opportunities because this cast is deeply talented.

What little we learn has potential to be funny: first, there’s Anna Camp as Ginny, doing her best aw-shucks single mom routine.

Camp is one of the most compelling working actresses today but she’s often cast as characters who are wound extremely tight, so this role presents a unique opportunity for her to play someone more grounded and laid back.

She gets the most to do besides Whitford and I’m hopeful that we’ll learn to understand her a bit more on future episodes.

Tymberlee Hill is completely underutilized. For those unfamiliar with Hill, she’s had some great turns on Drunk History and the Hotwives franchise; the woman can sell almost any line, but here’s she’s severely relegated to the sidelines.

Her funniest bit is a brief moment where she resists being classified as an alto (as someone who sang in a choir for years, alto stigma is real, so the show does get some points for this moment). Beyond that, she barely registers and it’s an utter waste of her comedic abilities.

Rizwan Manji, who many may fondly recall from his stint as Ray on Schitt’s Creek is Reverend Jax.

Jax is utterly one dimensional thus far, but his one-liners about films (he summarizes the plot of Mary Poppins as “Unmarried Women Cause Trouble”) are the kind of wry, unexpected jokes that this show should subsist on in the future.

Lastly, there’s Geno Segers who plays awkward, gentle giant Dwayne, and whose voice is like “if Darth Vader ate Mufasa.”

We don’t learn much about Dwayne other than the fact that he’s harboring feelings for Ginny and that he struggles with confidence.

That a man who has such a significant physical presence struggles to walk confidently in this world is an interesting idea, but Perfect Harmony mistakenly fast forwards through what could be a season long journey of him finding his literal and metaphorical voice.

By the end of the pilot, he’s already comfortably singing with a deep, loud baritone, and he has also asked Ginny out on a date.

Therein are some of the largest problems of Perfect Harmony, and hopefully ones it can fix quickly.

From the outset, we know grumpy Arthur is going to become attached to the quirky choir-that-could. It’s a tried and true recipe: in helping them finesse their performance and improve themselves, he’s going to heal as well, and find a new family in the process.

It’s one thing to be predictable, which Perfect Harmony absolutely is. It’s another to speed through the necessary beats.

By the time the credits roll, Arthur has already gotten to the bottom of Ginny’s son’s behavioral problems. Dwayne is confidently signing “Wrecking Ball” after only a few minutes of coaching from Arthur.

The choir has already radically improved their sound, competing head-to-head with their chief rivals with a brand new set (including a mashup that has emotional resonance for Arthur).

All of these things could — or should — have taken episodes to unspool. The show is simply too crowded, and by trying to do so many things at once, it’s robbing us of fully appreciating moments of triumph and growth. 

Overall, Perfect Harmony has a lot to offer but it has some work to do in finding its voice.

Pilots can sometimes feel stuffed in an attempt to get audiences invested and give them a taste of what’s to come. I’m hoping that’s the case here and that the show can reorient on future episodes.

If it adjusts its pacing and spends more time diving into its characters’ relationships to one another — and to music — it could strike a more meaningful chord with audiences.

What did you think of the kick off of Perfect Harmony? Will you be tuning in again? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Perfect Harmony airs Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c on NBC.

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