Forgotten 2000’s Sitcom Is Marvel Star’s First Leading Role
The multi-camera sitcom was once a staple of television, from I Love Lucy to Seinfeld, and while it’s fallen out of fashion recently, there’s still a few interesting shows that tried to do something a little different. The Class, which aired on CBS in 2006, followed a reunited third-grade class as adults and went through the ways their lives had changed as they started to reconnect. Perhaps as a response to friends, the show included severely flawed characters, and not everyone’s life was going great, but more importantly, it was the first leading role for Jon Bernthal, known today for The Walking Dead and as Marvel’s latest Punisher.
Jon Bernthal With Hair
Jon Bernthal plays Duncan, a handyman who lives with his mother. Thanks to the surprise party, Duncan lands a job renovating the townhouse of his ex-girlfriend, Nicole (Andrea Anders). Duncan’s attempt to fix the biggest mistake of his life is only one of the many plots running through The Class, which adds a layer of serialization to the standard sitcom format.
A Sticom With Serialized Storytelling
In addition to Duncan and Nicole, The Class also follows Ethan (Jason Ritter), the man who brought them all back together after his fiancee, another of their classmates, dumps him. Through some ups and downs, he starts to pursue Kat (Lizzy Caplan).
Another relationship that plays out over the course of the single-season features another famous face, behind Jon Bernthal and Caplan, with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Mitch from Modern Family, as Richie, who leaves his wife and their dead marriage for Lina (Heather Goldenhersh).
Be warned; he’s not wearing a beard, and though Modern Family started only two years after The Class ended, it’s amazing how young he looks without it.
Tried To Break The Mold
The Class is chock full of characters to keep track of, which is the trade-off for abandoning the concept of a central location for all of them to hang out each episode. There’s no Central Perk, no diner, and few shared apartments. Jon Bernthal’s Duncan is shown living with his mom, something none of the characters on Friends ever had to do, adding one more layer to how this might be an anti-sitcom.
An Award-Winner
Amazingly, The Class won best new sitcom at the People’s Choice Awards over 30 Rock, even though it struggled to find an audience during its run. Canceled on a cliffhanger of a finale, the series was tossed aside as another failed series, while the leads would almost all go on to bigger and better things. Jon Bernthal soon joined The Walking Dead, Lizzy Caplan appeared in Cloverfield, Jesse Tyler Ferguson had Modern Family, and even Jason Ritter ended up on Parenthood and a little animated show called Gravity Falls.
Not Streaming Anywhere
REVIEW SCORE
The Class isn’t the best sitcom of all time that would be Cheers, but it did help launch the career of Jon Bernthal, and as a different take on the classic genre, it’s a nice breath of fresh air. At the time, sitcoms were everywhere, so it was easy to get lost in the shuffle, but I think, of all the one-season wonders, /this is one of the few that could hold up today. Sadly, it’s only available through Video On Demand via Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, AppleTV, and Vudu.
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