One of my biggest issues with musical tv shows is offen the random busting in to songs and the songs seem forced but no such issue with this one season show.
Wedding Band was a 2012 show by TBS, starring Brian Austin Green (Beverly Hills, 90210, Anger Management), Harold Perrineau (Lost, Constantine), Peter Cambor (NCIS: Los Angeles, Pushing Daisies), Derek Miller (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), Kathryn Fiore, Jenny Wade (The Good Guys) and Melora Hardin (The Office).
The show follows a wedding band that signs on with a big events company and plays at all. The band ends up playing everything from weddings and bachelor parties to an adult prom, a corporate event, a charity auction, Oktoberfest, a Sweet 16 and even a divorce party.
One of the best things about the show is the exciting cover songs. Often the covers fit the event themes, with different styles, strange covers and techno mixes. The episodes ran for around 40 minutes, which was perfect. It felt like a longer sitcom, with fast jokes, very silly moments and fun music.
Brian Austin Green plays Tommy, a lead singer who is a womaniser and lives fast. As a teen heartthrob in Beverly Hills, 90210, he brings some of the charisma from that role to this one. Seeing him at all these events and getting into constant trouble is always entertaining.
Special shoutout to Harold Perrineau as Stevie, a pro bass player who brings the cool to the band and keeps them grounded in their wilder ideas. As Harold is often in dramatic roles, it was great to see his comedic skills, even if he was playing the straight man. There is a great running gag that Stevie has dated so many famous musicians and inspired so many songs, including Stacy’s Mum, and the rest of the band is always shocked by this. The cast is perfect together.
I can’t write about the show without highlighting Tommy’s best friends, Eddie and Barry who are the OG band members. An ongoing plot line of Eddie avoiding the family is not the best parenting move and a bad dad move, but great for the plot, and often sees Eddie caught in funny situations such as him throwing a party for teens so they can ask out their crushes.
The show is also worth watching for the fantastic guest stars. The guests are off the charts, including Megan Fox (Transformers, Jennifer’s Body), Donald Faison (Scrubs, Clueless), Gary Cole (Office Space, The Brady Bunch Movie), Molly Sims (Las Vegas, Yes Man) and Kurtwood Smith (That ’70s Show, RoboCop).
The Gary Cole episode is very funny, he plays Tommy’s womanising dad who is like a less wise Tommy. Seeing him come in and drive Tommy crazy was nice when Tommy is normally the one causing all the trouble. The guest stars are cast well in this series as not only do they get good guest stars, they play well suited characters, like Kurtwood Smith as the tough on the outside boss of Eddie who on the inside is a loving music fan.
One of the best characters is not even in the band, Roxie Rutherford, played by Melora Hardin, who is a powerful, successful wedding and event planner who the band works for. She is over the top, being demanding and not taking any shit from Tommy and the band, making sure they behave themselves. She is slightly scary at times as she knows she controls Seattle’s wedding business, almost like a mob boss, even picking a fight with her rival in one episode.
Her assistant is Rachel, played by Jenny Wade, who is dragged into funny situations and often ordered to babysit the band but finds herself involved in their schemes if it benefits the couple.
Roxie could have been a cold-hearted boss character, but Melora portrayed her as almost a mother figure to the band who does care about them but does not always know how to show it. She steps up when needed and does care about throwing the best events for the people who hire her.
Had the show gone on, I could see Roxie supporting the band more, as the show ended on a high of her maybe finally accepting they do what they do to help people.
The show is worth watching for some laughs and you might even sing along to a song or two.
Wedding Band is unfortunately difficult to stream in Australia where i am based, but the series may be available to purchase digitally through Apple TV depending on your region or you might be able to buy a dvd of the show.
Leave a Reply