TV / JEN CHANEY - Novice in Office

An aging businessman enters politics on a whim. Heard that one before?

- JEN CHANEY

IN THE NEW NBC comedy Mr. Mayor, a retired business man named Neil Bremer begins his term as mayor of Los Angeles with only a vague sense of what the job entails. That’s sort of what it feels like to review Mr. Mayor, which debuted on January 7, having seen only the first few episodes. One thing that is certain: Unveiling a new political comedy the day after an insurrection at the nation’s Capitol is a unique challenge, particularly since this political comedy is, while amusing, not exactly dialed in to the current climate.

Co-created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, the duo responsible for 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Mr. Mayor has a strong cast, including Ted Danson in the role of the clueless but winning Neil, Holly Hunter as ambitious deputy mayor Arpi Meskimen, Bobby Moynihan as semi-bumbling communications director Jayden Kwapis, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend standout Vella Lovell as Mikaela Shaw, the mayor’s chief of staff, who isn’t entirely sure she wants to be the mayor’s chief of staff. This is pretty close to a sitcom dream team.