Work in Progress

Work in Progress Season Finale Recap: The Countdown Ends

In the first season finale of Showtime’s Work in Progress, Abby’s countdown comes to an end, just as she’s heading toward a devastating break-up.  Throughout the first season, we’ve seen Abby tick off the days, dropping almond after almond into the trash. Naturally, she got to these final almonds during the season finale. The episode begins with Abby still dealing with the fallout of admitting to Chris that she saw his deadname (and how she k... more Comments

'Work in Progress': How Abby McEnany Made the Most Radical Queer Show on TV

Abby McEnany knows there are not a lot of people who look like her on TV. She knew it 30 years ago, when the character of Pat, a chubby nerd whose inscrutable gender was the scene’s only punchline, appeared on “Saturday Night Live.” Here, finally, was someone who did look like Abby on TV. There was just one problem: Pat’s sole reason for making it to screen was so that people could laugh at their appearance. Nearly three decades after Pat’s “SNL&rd... more Comments

Work in Progress Review: Showtime's Freshman Dramedy Is Tackling Queerness With Heart and Humor

In the first episode of Showtime’s Work in Progress, Abby (played by Abby McEnany) tells her therapist “if things don’t get better” within 180 days, she’s going to end her life. “I’m surrounded by people who are like, full selves,” she monologues, “and I’m like, this building that has been delayed,” an eyesore that’s hard on the other buildings and people that surround it. When there is no response, Abby ... more Comments

'Work in Progress' Review: The Queerest Show on TV Is About a Suicidal Butch With Ocd

Following the premiere of “The L Word: Generation Q,” queer audiences who lined up outside viewing parties for the nostalgia-TV event of the year would be wise to leave the TV on for another half-hour. If they do, they will be delightfully surprised by “Work in Progress,” the most radical queer show to ever make its way to television. Showtime’s new half-hour comedy stars co-writer Abby McEnany, a Chicago improv mainstay who created the show with director Tim Mason... more Comments

TV Review: Showtime's 'Work in Progress'

There’s never a second that Abby (co-creator Abby McEnany) is unaware of all the things that make her different from the characters we’re used to seeing on TV, let alone those that typically get to anchor their own shows. She’s a butch “queer fat dyke” (her words) with OCD whose deep insecurity about all the above manifest in often debilitating suicidal tendencies. She knows all this about herself, and she accepts it. (As does “Work in Progress”; one... more Comments

'Work in Progress's' Abby McEnany on Representation Through Comedy, Mental Health and Almonds

As a first-time full-time series star, writer and creator, Abby McEnany and her real-life story have threads reminiscent of “Alice in Wonderland.” Or perhaps even “Cinderella.” But as the belle of Showtime’s ball who is digging deep down the rabbit hole of TV production for the very first time with “Work in Progress,” she also brings to mind “The Princess and the Pea.” If... more Comments

'Work in Progress': It's Time You Get to Know Abby McEnany, So Let Her Introduce Herself — Watch

Being a first-timer at anything can be overwhelming. You’re so concerned about fitting in and doing things right that all your personality drains out of you, leaving nothing but a wannabe perfectionist who reads like a nervous mess. Despite introducing herself as a walking mess in the video below, it sure looks like Abby McEnany left all of those overwhelming vibes outside her first full-time job as the lead actor, writer, and creator on a comedy series. “... more Comments

TV News Roundup: Quibi Orders 'The Now' With Farrelly Brothers Set to Direct

[YouTube=ai8TD3aFn8M] GREENLIGHTS Quibi has commissioned “The Now,” a new comedy that will be directed by Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly and star Dave Franco. The show will examine what makes life worth living, following Franco’s character, Ed Poole, who receives some clarity after a secret from his past has seemingly destroyed his future. He... more Comments