LOS ANGELES — “Hit the Road,” the new AT&T Audience Network series from Jason Alexander, is a blend of the offbeat craziness of “Seinfeld” with the musical beat of “The Partridge Family.” The Swallows — the greatest band you’ve never heard of – are a chaotically dysfunctional family of would-be pop stars traveling the country in search of their big break. They may just get that opportunity if they can survive living in a cramped tour bus where dignity is just a word in the dictionary.
It’s obvious from the bird-like name of the family that “The Partridge Family” was a big part of the conversation when Alexander was trying to get the show on the road. But he was also influenced by real-life family bands such as the Cowsills, Jacksons and Osmonds.
“They’re just great fodder for comedy,” Alexander says. “You have real-life people experiencing real-life challenges and traumas and joys, and trying to grow, and, at the same time, every time they get an opportunity, it’s all smiles, and this has to be perfect. And God forbid, we don’t look wholesome and decent in Americana, the whole thing could crash and burn.
“It’s that tenuous balance that is really the centerpiece of the comedy of the show.”
Alexander could use a centerpiece that’s funny enough to keep his new comedy going. Since “Seinfeld” ended, Alexander has struggled to find a successful project with his “Bob Patterson” and “Listen Up” dying quick ratings deaths. He’s kept busy in the post-“Seinfeld” world doing guest appearances.
“Hit the Road” needs to draw enough viewers to keep the bus rolling, but the question is who will be watching. The show has plenty of family elements but the very adult nature of the humor will make it difficult for multiple generations to watch the show together.
Alexander’s not certain who the audience will be for “Hit the Road.”
“There is so much comedy on television that lives in this arena of pushing the envelope of behavior, of language, of political incorrectness, of social sensitivities, and they’re all getting a lovely audience. I think that’s our audience, too.” Alexander says. “It is our job and the Audience Network’s job of just letting the audience not get blindsided.
“I would hate for a parent to sit down with their 10-year-old kid thinking, ‘Oh, this is the guy from ‘Dunston Checks In’ and ‘Cinderella.’ He’s got a family show.’ Oops. So, we don’t want anybody blindsided. But that’s why the tag line on our show that I’ve seen is ‘Family band; not a family show.'” And with that proviso out there, then anyone who wants to come aboard, I think, should have a very good time.”
It’s been almost 20 years since “Seinfeld” ended and at that time the NBC comedy was considered to be very adult in content. You couldn’t have an episode about someone’s name rhyming with a part of the body back then and not get surprised looks.
That’s all changed with the explosion in streaming services where the guidelines are far less strict. In the first two episodes of “Hit the Road” there’s profanity, drug use, erections, explosive bowel movements, death by intercourse and very visual sexual acts in the bathroom. Along with this content freedom comes an escape from the strict parameters of commercial television.
Alexander says the advent of cable and pay TV, where there are no advertising breaks, opens up a new way to tell stories.
“You break that five act structure that we all had to adhere to. Your 30-minute show is actually 30 minutes, as opposed to 20 minutes. So, you can sit with characters in moments in a more realistic way,” Alexander says. “You can explore things deeper. Twenty-five years ago, you could not do this show.”
