May 13, 2019 Staff Report
NBC announced its fall schedule on Sunday and provided viewers with a glimpse of Kal Penn’s sitcom, “Sunnyside.”
The network released a trailer yesterday, although it didn’t feature any prolonged shots of the neighborhood.
The show, which will air at 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays, will put Sunnyside in the limelight. The comedy pilot co-written by and starring Kal Penn centers on a fictional group of Sunnyside residents.
The title of Penn’s show was revealed in a report published by Deadline in March, which said a group of mostly immigrant actors has been cast for the NBC pilot to be set in the neighborhood, noted for its diversity.
“Sunnyside,” according to the report, will focus on former City Council Member Garrett Shah, a fictitious politician played by Penn who finds his calling when he encounters six recent immigrants “in need of his help and in search of the American Dream.”
Five of the seven actors lined up for the pilot are immigrants themselves.
The cast includes Joel Kim Booster, the high profile, South Korean-born comedian; Kiran Deol, the UK-born actor, Poppy Liu, an actress born in China; Tudor Petrut, of Romanian origin; Samba Schutte, a Dutch-Mauritanian actor who grew up in Ethiopia; Diana Maria Riva, a first-generation Dominican; and Moses Storm.
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56 Comments
They just did a live reboot of All in The Family and The Jeffersons. and it got a rave review with ethnic racial slurs and stereotypes galore. !!! This little show will do fine. The rest of the country other than the East Coast will believe it.
Wow looks awful. No one will care about this show. The great thing about Sunnyside is it can’t be put into a box or hipsterized.
And then the show ends after one season because they can’t afford the rent anymore, and gets rebooted as “Galveston.”
This sitcom should go down in history with other classic sitcoms portraying daily life in Queens, such as “13 Queens Boulevard” and “704 Hauser.”
Who will be cast as the juvenile delinquents that crowd Burger King, the wastrels, and the would-be actresses from the Midwest?
Give it a chance…more stories can be added as they go along. I hope they base future episodes on true life Sunnyside Post material: overly enthusiastic “developers”, eccentric supers…it’s all here..
Extremely unfunny and I can guarantee you Penn never lived in Sunnyside and probably never set foot here unless to do “research” for the show. Go back to Montclair bitch.
That trailer is powerfully unfunny.
Thats because Haroldi was far more funny than Kumar. Plus, its public network tv, and there hasnt been anything funny on public networks in a very long time. NBC, aka Notoriously Been Cancelled. i’d give the show half a season the most. Thank god for cable tv and netflix.
I’m from SUNNYSIDE. It is that diverse there. I was born there.
It’s a comedy people lighten up. It’s poking fun at everyone. If we can’t laugh at ourselves then who can we laugh at?
You can always laugh at El Loco
I literally can’t laugh at the trailer because it’s extraordinarily lame.
wait, its a comedy? you sure? looks like a drama show.
My problem is this show will raise the rent. Not good for renters!!!
i liked it is kinda corny but i think it will come together. i was hoping it’d be more like our Sunny side but it looks cute. i’ll be watching. if Brooklyn 99 is still on the air this show has a shot
I’m sure the show will get better as it grows. Episode 2 adds a mystery element and is entitled “How Did Those Thumb Tacks Get There?”
Looks like another collab between NBC and their friends at REBNY. FRIENDS and Seinfeld were calculated culture bombs to make 90’s NYC feel safe for suburban America. These shows significantly contributed to the gentrification of the last 25 years.
What about all the curmudgeon old people sitting at home bitching about absolutely everything? I guess that would sum up Sunnyside.
You are going to grow old and crotchety one day.
Not everyone grows old and crotchety, sometimes people get hit by buses and whatnot.
i cannot wait for the failure of this show!! i am a huge kal penn fan especially with his famous movie white castle, i wonder if they will even mention that there’s one in sunnyside. most likely not because this show was shot in LA and not in Sunnyside, strike one.
No issues about the influx of hipsters coming to the neighborhood and implementing there dumb laws such as there need for dumb bike lanes. Strike 2
The concept, not original, does shed light especially during these recent times we now live in. I do tip my hat to that, but come on Mr. Penn at least do some research into this beautiful community and get a better demographic of immigrant representation from Sunnyside, Queens. Strike Three
It will survive one season but get cancelled half way into season two. 3.2/10
it’s a 2 minute trailer!!! So many issues – Do you need a hug?
Why would you wish for something or someone to fail? It’s a sitcom not a reality show. Lighten up.
that corona park towers, it’s not sunnyside. Maybe the rename the show to Queens. But the clip sucks bad.
Looks predictable and dull. Nothing original. Forced situations with foreseeable outcomes.
How’s that screenplay you’re working on?
No WASPS in Sunnyside?
Only “people of “color” allowed
Vermont?
I thought Sunnyside had the highest concentration of Irish bars in all of NYC? Also has Japanese and Turkish communities that seem to be left out….and the local councilman is gay in real life…why didn’t they just call the show Elmhurst?
It’s Fictional TV series relax people.
the trailer is terrible, like every extreme stereotype rolled into one unfunny show. There was a little of the 7 train dropped in but other than that this show doesnt represent Sunnyside.
and the show takes place in a bar
Well, THAT certainly represents Sunnyside. Best live Irish music in the City. I’m just shocked none of the immigrants is from Ireland.
What live Irish Music?
What? There are no bars in Sunnyside?
I wonder if kal will show all the nasty Romanians that hang out in front of their restaurant on 40th smoking and blocking the sidewalk for residents .
I’m Romanian and this comment made me burst out laughing
Hahaha this is so true.
Although as of 5/16/19 it seems like that restaurant is closed. Good thing because they would leave all their nasty trash all over the sidewalk. Not sure what should be here tho…any suggestions?
I am Romanian — nasty is a bit strong—- aside from that i agree —
I guess it’s not politically incorrect to insult Romanians. I guess if someone wrote a letter making fun of Mexicans this blog would never print it. If they did there would be riots in Sunnyside. The city council would call an emergency meeting to condemn the Sunnyside Post. Only Romanians.
Just like that, you generalize all Romanians with your description that continues to keep negative stereotypes about them alive. Shame on you!
What stereotype? This is the first stereotype I have ever heard about Romanians. I’ve grown up listening to stereotypes about everyone else in the world. The only stereotype I know of about Romanians is gymnastics. And it’s a good stereotype.
You should add a girl from North Carolina too, to make it believable and more realistic. Lol
Why no trans or non-binary?
The show isn’t called Jackson Heights
Don’t worry. People are already complaining on YouTube about the show stereotyping immigrants and racial groups. Once it’s on the air, then NBC will eventually be forced to shut down the show.
Irish need not apply
They’ve been coming here for over 160 years and their accents aren’t cute enough to fit in with these cartoons.
They’re saving the Irish for the spin-off called “Woodside”. ?
Seems stereotypical to associate the Irish community with a pint of beer, si or no?
There are a slew of Irish (and Irish-y) bars in Sunnyside. They’re great.
Sorry, but I’ve never met an Irish person who didn’t drink. And I’ve met a lot.
Thought the concept was pretty good, but the trailer looked pretty silly. However I wouldn’t count out Kal Penn, he’s a talented guy.
Looks corny
Hmm no Irish immigrants, sure we over run the place.
Oh, the immigrant pursuing the American Dream. What an original concept.
Anyone taking bets? I’d be shocked if this show makes it past one season.