I think this might be strictly a millennials and older trope but, by show of hands, how many people reading this article grew up with an emotionally distant parent in the military? You love ‘em, but boy do you wish that their generation believed in therapy or even a basic crumb of human emotion. It’s a stereotype, sure! But sometimes stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason, those tropes work out perfectly in the sitcom world, and I have found your next mindless watch if you related to a single word of the above (or if you’re looking for a passable distraction featuring Denis Leary).
Enter Going Dutch, Fox’s most recent “odd-couple” type sitcom centering on Denis Leary’s Colonel Patrick Quinn, Taylor Misiak as Captain Maggie Quinn, and Danny Pudi as Major Abraham Shaw. The shared last name of the first two protagonists isn’t a coincidence as Colonel and Captain Quinn are estranged father and daughter. If, of course, you can be estranged without realizing that your daughter hasn’t spoken to you in two years.
Colonel Quinn — a no-nonsense combat man who embodies all of the tough-guy anti-progressive military stereotypes you can think of — finds himself ousted from his command post after he’s caught insulting a respected General on body-cam footage. The Colonel finds himself essentially banished to a non-combat base in rural Holland (hence the name), one that just so happens to be run by his daughter.
I did not stumble upon this show intentionally. I have a strict “no work shows or movies” rule during lunch and dinner, so I begrudgingly let my roommate pick the silliest-looking sitcom we could find from the “New on Hulu” section. It ended up being Going Dutch, and here I am breaking my rule despite the show not being anything remarkable. Why, you ask? Because sometimes we just need something dumb and relatable.
I love my dad, but boy does he sure share a whole lot of Colonel Quinn’s quirks. (You can’t use that word, Dad, that’s not how we do things anymore, Dad, please talk to someone, Dad.) Watching the Colonel and Major Quinn try to navigate the frustrations of their relationship as two people from incredibly different generations is good for a laugh or three, and Pudi’s Major Shaw rounds out the ensemble nicely with the sly charm that has become his brand since graduating from Community. As Colonel Quinn’s right-hand man, Shaw shares many of the same frustrations as Molly, but knows how to navigate her father’s charming qualities and save the old man from himself more often than not.
Molly’s relationship with her father offers a certain level of catharsis to any daughter who has good-naturedly (but with complete sincerity) yelled at her dad to go to therapy too. It’s particularly funny for those of us who grew up in military households and/or followed in our fathers’ footsteps, but you don’t have to be an Army brat to get a good laugh out of the generational divide. (But yeah, it does make Going Dutch a little funnier.)
“Dumb and relatable” might not sound like a glowing recommendation, but the silly show — which has been running since early January, so you’ve got plenty of episodes if you prefer a binge — is exactly what the doctor ordered right now. It requires no brain power. Just sit back and watch Leary and Pudi do what they do. Meanwhile, Misiak (who you likely remember from Dave) gets to play more than usual here, balancing out Leary and Pudi’s dry wit with just the right amount of earnestness.
