Survivor’s Remorse: “Grown-Ass Man”

Earlier this month, at the Television Critics’ Association press tour, there was a limp noodle of a kerfuffle between highly compensated cable television executives about their networks’ respective pro sports-themed comedies. It’s not a terribly long story, but to shorten it further, HBO’s Michael Lombardo made some derisive statements about Survivor’s Remorse in response to a press release touting the show as a sharper alternative to HBO’s recently launched Ballers. Chris Albrecht of Starz shot down the notion of a rivalry when he spoke to reporters on the following day, but of course he would say that. The person yelling “You guys, it’s not a competition,” is invariably the one winning the competition.
Such facile comparisons aren’t terribly helpful, but they are irresistable all the same. And the fact is, weak ratings be damned, Survivor’s Remorse is a superior show to Ballers by a wide margin. Albrecht called the Starz publicist who made the comparison overzealous, but who can blame the person? It’s natural to crave a little equity in this world, some faint indication that just maybe The Fat Jew, who has cruised to infamy and fortune on the strength of his cropping abilities, is an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise meritocratic world. If there was justice, Survivor’s Remorse would be the show with millions of viewers. But success isn’t just about skill or craft. It’s a combination of incredibly hard work and incredibly good luck.
That’s also the central theme of Survivor’s Remorse, a theme important enough for creator Mike O’Malley to encapsulate it in the unwieldy title that is undoubtedly a factor in the show’s emaciated audience. In “Grown-Ass Man,” a premiere that suggests a season two that could deliver on the first season’s promise, Reggie summarizes the idea for anyone who missed it in season one:
You’re the guy who, once we signed this big contract, you compared us to survivors of a shipwreck, obligated to help everybody we know to pay back the universe for all of our hard-earned blessings, you remember that? Now I’m trying to reconcile that guy with this guy.