In the age of Empire and even Nashville, the music is a different problem altogether, in that it’s as a whole frustratingly banal, not at all the type of ‘rock and roll’ classic material it masquerades as. Asking audiences to buy Leary as an aging rock star is one thing, but trying to pass off bland, unoriginal tunes as sonic masterpieces that had the critics raving and the crowds screaming is one area in which Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll essentially smashes a guitar over its own head. Only Gillies’ genuinely appealing pipes salvage some of the tracks, but they’re far from the transcendent, redeeming anthems that the show seems to want us to see them as.
Over the past few years, FX has delivered some stellar comedies, from the insightful Louie to the raucous You’re the Worst, but even its slighter half-hours, like Married and Wilfred hold together because, at their cores, they’re comprised of pleasantly relatable people you actually want to see navigate life’s hardships and heartbreaks. Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, on the other hand, is disagreeably but resolutely cynical, pitching its characters as obnoxious, egocentric and very little else. There’s no reason to want to keep tabs on people so in love with their own self-destruction that they surrender any and all other traits outside of that.
The show also feels perennially one step away from a laugh track, with slight pauses in between cringe-inducing one-liners and characters who seem hard-pressed not to break into giggles at the thought of their own naughty behavior. That behavior includes casual misogyny, mostly directed at Gigi, whose body is openly ogled by the camera in seemingly every episode. Given that she’s the main character’s estranged daughter, relentlessly pushing her sex appeal seems a little icky, to be honest. No matter – rock ‘n’ roll is still a man’s world, the series seems to claim, and the only for a girl to make it is to pitch herself as a sex kitten with unusual pipes.
Five episodes of Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll gave the series over 100 minutes to make a case for itself, but nothing contained in them is particularly funny, edgy, compelling or even enjoyable to watch. The show just lies there on the screen, seemingly satisfied to do the bare minimum required of a TV comedy. Its blunt title is a cop-out, suggesting a wild energy and playfulness that never made it past the idea stage.
