It’s weird to think that there’s a sitcom devoted entirely to a pack of dudes obsessed with fantasy football. It’s even weirder that FX has found a small but devoted audience for “The League,” which kicked off its third season last week. But then again, it kind of makes sense. At their core, fantasy sports provide much of the same function as television: daily distraction, some high points, some low points and some time off each year until you wait for a new season.
The often raunchy jokes on “The League” revolve around testosterone-fueled trades, penis size, football players’ (in)abilities to rack up stats, as well as some good ol’ fashion sexism directed towards the league’s sole female player Jenny (Katie Aselton). Tonight’s episode, in case you’re wondering, hinges heavily on wisecracks about menstruation.
But that’s not necessarily the point. Created by “Seinfeld” veteran Jeff Schafer and his wife Jackie Marcus Schafer, “The League” serves more as a window into male fantasy, so to say, than that other male fantasy show “Entourage” ever did. If Vince, Turtle, E and Drama gave us a glimpse into a Hollywood life we’ll never know, “The League’s” examination of modern male adulthood centers on the suburban everyman who’s wrestling with midlife, balancing a career and pending family, and most of all, avoiding growing up.
It’s the anti-“Entourage” made for the average guy who does average things like work and come home and log on each week to do a few trades — which is the framework for “The League,” a world where sports fandom and leisure time and immaturity all work in tandem to feed each other.
Thus, one wonders how producers could actually pull off a show about a fantasy league. Unlike “Seinfeld” or “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which Schafer has also worked on, “The League” doesn’t play out like a meta-experiment on television. It’s too crass, and too ridiculous to mirror anyone’s real life. In the season opener, league champion Ruxin (Nick Kroll) debuts a YouTube video that re-creates the 1985 Chicago Bears anthem, “The Super Bowl Shuffle.” Current NFL players like Maurice Jones-Drew and Sidney Rice make guest spots in the clip, solidifying this taunting tactic as completely ludicrous and surreal — but also as something that most fantasy players would love to do.
Such is the essential element of “The League” — it takes the cultural cues from real sports, fantasy sports and the fear of living a life as a drone, and escalates them into Apatow-esque realities. Chances are those watching “The League” will never put as much of their lives into backstabbing their friends and spouses for fantasy glory, but then again, there is some odd satisfaction that every fantasy player gets from scorching someone in a game of statistics that hinges mostly upon luck.
That’s why “The League” works — it’s fantasy about fantasy.
“The League” airs on FX on Thursday nights at 10:30.
The often raunchy jokes on “The League” revolve around testosterone-fueled trades, penis size, football players’ (in)abilities to rack up stats, as well as some good ol’ fashion sexism directed towards the league’s sole female player Jenny (Katie Aselton). Tonight’s episode, in case you’re wondering, hinges heavily on wisecracks about menstruation.
But that’s not necessarily the point. Created by “Seinfeld” veteran Jeff Schafer and his wife Jackie Marcus Schafer, “The League” serves more as a window into male fantasy, so to say, than that other male fantasy show “Entourage” ever did. If Vince, Turtle, E and Drama gave us a glimpse into a Hollywood life we’ll never know, “The League’s” examination of modern male adulthood centers on the suburban everyman who’s wrestling with midlife, balancing a career and pending family, and most of all, avoiding growing up.
It’s the anti-“Entourage” made for the average guy who does average things like work and come home and log on each week to do a few trades — which is the framework for “The League,” a world where sports fandom and leisure time and immaturity all work in tandem to feed each other.
Thus, one wonders how producers could actually pull off a show about a fantasy league. Unlike “Seinfeld” or “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which Schafer has also worked on, “The League” doesn’t play out like a meta-experiment on television. It’s too crass, and too ridiculous to mirror anyone’s real life. In the season opener, league champion Ruxin (Nick Kroll) debuts a YouTube video that re-creates the 1985 Chicago Bears anthem, “The Super Bowl Shuffle.” Current NFL players like Maurice Jones-Drew and Sidney Rice make guest spots in the clip, solidifying this taunting tactic as completely ludicrous and surreal — but also as something that most fantasy players would love to do.
Such is the essential element of “The League” — it takes the cultural cues from real sports, fantasy sports and the fear of living a life as a drone, and escalates them into Apatow-esque realities. Chances are those watching “The League” will never put as much of their lives into backstabbing their friends and spouses for fantasy glory, but then again, there is some odd satisfaction that every fantasy player gets from scorching someone in a game of statistics that hinges mostly upon luck.
That’s why “The League” works — it’s fantasy about fantasy.
“The League” airs on FX on Thursday nights at 10:30.
