I'm Falling For Roadies, 1 Episode at a Time

It's Summer, which is great for your tan and all, but it's bad for filling your pop culture tank. Network comedies wrapped up months ago for the season, Game of Thrones tucked itself in for another year last month, and Orange Is the New Black's latest season flashed in and out of our lives like a Summer storm. Those are all factors that should make you go outside and play Pokémon Go or whatever, but if you're like me, it just propels you toward trying to find new TV shows to be obsessed with. There are scores of vintage shows you could binge, of course, but there are a handful of intriguing new series for the Summer. There's one in particular that's growing on me, slowly and sweetly: Roadies.

It's not like the instant chemistry I felt from The Night Of, which inspires conspiracy theories and paranoia from the first viewing; instead, iconic director Cameron Crowe's Sunday night Showtime series builds like the kind of song its characters would love. It's a comedy-drama, straddling the line of both — it's not outright hilarious, but it doesn't take itself too seriously either. Instead, it's a loving depiction of the people who make the business of a concert happen, the titular roadies, whose behind-the-scenes presence and lack of need for credit is beautiful in itself. Here are a few of the reasons it's been slowly winning me over.

It's been a while since we've seen Luke Wilson in an endearing role like this, but spend an hour with tour manager Bill and you'll remember why you've had that decades-long crush on him. He's the classic man-boy that you kind of want to grow up, but he's so charming that you forgive it. There's a feeling that we're supposed to be rooting for him and his work wife, Shelli (Carla Gugino), but it's not really happening; instead, it's just nice to see their supportive interactions.

You knew a show about roadies on tour and created by Cameron Crowe had to have awesome music, right? Roadies doesn't disappoint, and it finds creative ways of showcasing varieties of music per episode, not just the obligatory great soundtrack. We never get to hear the songs of the band the crew's supporting (the fictional Staton-House Band), but you won't mind. There's a "song of the day" in each episode, and as a running joke, the tour keeps losing their opening band, necessitating a new act each episode. Unlike the show's band, the opener is always a real life band, whose music we do get to hear. Musicians so far have included The Head and the Heart and Lindsey Buckingham (who performs twice in the third episode and is absolutely mind-blowing each time).

Through the ensemble of the crew, we not only get to see the on-the-road touring lifestyle, but their dynamic as well. So far, the band's individual problems are minor; the adorable Kelly Ann (Imogen Poots) wishes she was funnier, Shelli tries to sneak in phone sex with her husband, and the new British suit gets made fun of while trying to make budget cuts. Even the band's resident stalker is played for laughs (even when she is pulling off some disturbing acts). It's all very light, fun, and harmless.

Bill has a total Lloyd Dobler moment in the third episode, when he texts a swoon-worthy goodbye to his on-off lover (you know, if Lloyd Dobler ever texted). It's classic Cameron Crowe, but that's not necessarily why I call this show romantic. It's, in the broader sense, in the way the characters rhapsodically talk about their passion for the music. Anyone who has ever worshipped a band or played a certain album over and over can relate. It even makes the profession of being a roadie seem — gasp — pretty wonderful.