I'm Dying Up Here - The Unbelievable Power of Believing - Review

If there is one thing that is sure at this point of this first season of I'm Dying Up Here, it's that the recipe the show follows seems to be set in stone, unfortunately.

The "The Unbelievable Power of Believing" sees its title being reflected in the storyline surrounding Ron, when Maggie hands him a self-help book praising the power of positive thinking. As usual in the show, Ron and Eddie are the comedic duo, the ones who actually bring funny scenes to I'm Dying Up Here. While Ron gives the power of believing a chance, Eddie is not too sure how to handle the new dynamic between him and Cassie. When he finally works up the courage to talk to her about their shared kissed, she tells him the timing isn't right and that she'd rather remain friends. But the sexual tension between the two messes up with their friendship and, in a very awkward scene, Cassie suggests to Eddie that they have sex in a closet to get rid of that tension. Of course, the situation is too weird and it does not work out.

As Edgar is trying to make it up to Ralph for what happened in the last episode, Sully is getting more in more upset with his salesman life. If making money and providing for his family seems to a first satisfy him, as the episode progresses we realize he is more frustrated than anything else, and his marriage hits a brick wall when Sully finally breaks down and leaves the house during his son's Christening celebration. It's unfortunate that we don't get to spend a lot of time with Sully, because his character's storyline actually brings a level of complexity to the show that deserves to be fleshed out more.

On the other end, there is Goldie, who upsets the network because she offered Cassie to rewrite some of the segments of the "Girls are funny, too" special. But her struggles are not limited to her dealings with the network. Goldie soon finds out that King Theodore's is back in business thanks to Barton Royce (Obba Babatundé), and that they are paying comics. She gives an infuriated speech to her comics telling them that they have to choose between sticking with her and making it to a successful career, or go to Teddy's and make a few bucks. Some of them leave, the others stays, and in the middle of this Adam confronts Goldie to ask her if she has a plan for him. Adam is more and more concerned with the status of his career, and starts leaning towards what Royce has to offer him over Goldie.

The most emotional part of this episode was the storyline around Nick, who has to decide if he wants to get rid of his drug problem or not. He has a meeting with a Hollywood agent, and him and his

girlfriend Tawny (Sarah Hay) are looking forward to it. The problem is, she keeps pushing him in the wrong direction. They do drugs before going to the agent's house, which the guy notices. He tells Nick that he needs to get his act together, and that to do so he has to get rid of his girlfriend. At first, Nick refuses but when he notices Tawny stole a ring from the agent's wife, he realizes he cannot keep going down that path. He breaks up with her in a very sad scene that puts the drama in the dramedy that "I'm Dying Up Here" is supposed to be.

I'm Dying Up Here is almost done with its first season, and it's unclear whether the show is going to get another one. It is still too slow for my taste, and if I will review it until the end of season 1, I will not be back for the potential second season. Sure, there are some characters that I like, but there are too many aspects of the show that prevent it from being truly enjoyable for me to want to stick around for another season.