2 l March
13 - 19, 2022
Northeast Oregon TV Weekly
BY JAY BOBBIN
‘Welcome to Flatch’ introduces
aa new Fox comedy’s setting
The comedy “Welcome to Flatch”
premieres Thursday on Fox.
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If you’re looking for a big taste of small-
town life, “Welcome to Flatch.”
Premiering Thursday, March 17, the
Fox sitcom from veteran producers Jenny
Bicks (“Sex and the City”) and Paul Feig
(“Freaks and Geeks”) is based on the
British series “This Country,” taking a
documentary approach as – appropriately –
a documentary crew showcases the residents
of the Midwestern town of Flatch. It’s a
quirky group, but still with a particular
charm.
Cousins Kelly and “Shrub” (played by
single-named newcomer Holmes and Sam
Straley) provide the crew’s entry point to
Flatch, whose citizens also include: the
local minister (Seann William Scott) and
his newspaper-editor ex-girlfriend (Aya
Cash, formerly of “You’re the Worst”); and
the historical-society chief (Taylor Ortega).
Justin Linville and Krystal Smith also play
“Flatchians,” as Bicks refers to them.
“I think what it allows us to do,” Bicks
says, “and what it did in the original, is to
get inside the characters’ heads. It gets to be
much more on the fly, so everything feels
more immediate. When you have actors – as
we do – who are great on the fly, you can
catch things super-quickly. The comedy
flows much more clearly, and that was really
exciting for me.”
For Feig, “Flatch” is a throwback to his
own upbringing in a Detroit suburb. “I just
knew I had to get out of there,” he reflects,
“not because I didn’t like it, but because I
wanted to do what I’m doing now and try
to represent the Midwest. That’s what I did
with ‘Freaks and Geeks,’ and what I have
been trying to do with everything that I
do about underdogs. I really like to try to
show the places and the people that don’t
normally get shown in movies and TV.
That’s why this show is so exciting to me.”
Those who want a big dose of “Flatch”
early are in luck: The same day the show
makes its linear debut on Fox, the first seven
episodes will be released on the network’s
digital platforms (Fox Now, On Demand,
etc.). Cast member Cash believes the
series’ pace makes it digestible enough to
accommodate such binge viewing of it.
“One thing that may not seem obvious
about the documentary form,” she reasons,
“is simply how quickly it goes. I feel like
there’s a real pitch to be made about how
you can still come up with really quality
content in a really fast amount of time.
It was fun to be on something where you
(were finished in time so you) could have
dinner some nights. I mean, I was alone in
my hotel room, because it was (the time of)
COVID. But it was dinner time.”
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