Review of The Living Room

The Living Room sketch comedy group consists of Vancouver-based comics Sean Devlin and Kevin Lee, and advertises itself as the “world’s only sitcom taped live for podcast.” The two stars filmed the episodes at various venues around the region, intercutting live on-stage comedy with pre-recorded segments, David Letterman style.   Launched in late 2005, the site’s stars both have the ironic comedian sensibility down well enough to earn them a bit of a following.

The more sketch comedy one watches, the more obvious the influence of the seminal 1990s MTV show, The State, becomes. Think two 20-something roommates, getting into various high jinks – whether it’s while ice skating, Christmas caroling, or just sitting on their ratty living room couch. The clips are black and white, which lends a sophisticated, if random, look to the episodes themselves. And if you’re wondering how live performances translate to the podcast medium, fear not. The sound of the audience laughter is never intrusive, and the stage-acting appears rather pleasant after watching other highly edited and stylized fare.  

The perhaps too long “The Time Sean’s Mom Visited,” with the mom played by a man in drag, makes you think that this was just a hasty casting decision. When the gender of the actor actually becomes a plot point however, the piece reaches its completely self-conscious peak.