David Duchovny, Fran Kranz, Frank Kranz

A hair-raising comedy of art and compromise, "The TV Set" follows an idealistic writer as he tries to navigate his TV pilot down the mine-laden path from script through production to the madness of pr...( read more  read more... )ime-time scheduling--all while trying to stay true to his vision. Along the way, he has to juggle the agendas of a headstrong network president, volatile young stars, a pregnant wife and an ever-optimistic personal manager.

Flixster Users

57% liked it

5,578 ratings

Critics

64% liked it

73 critics

R, 1 hr. 27 min.

Directed by: Jake Kasdan

Release Date: April 6, 2007

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DVD Release Date: September 25, 2007

Stats: 782 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (782)


  • August 22, 2008
    I great idea, great cast, just not very well executed.

    To those of us who feel like network TV is (for the most part) SHIT...this will seem like a very tame (sometimes ammusing) attempt to point out why network TV is so bad. It could have been done in a much more effective a...( read more)nd "biting" sort of manner.

    To those who enjoy their reality TV and mundane, cookie-cutter sit-coms, it will mean nothing.

    I was left feeling that perhaps this film was a victim of the very subject matter they were meant to be parodying.
  • April 7, 2008
    It has the kind of humor that you might find in the Arrested Development show. Which is my cup of tea. The cast is what really made this film most enjoyable for me, though.
  • December 31, 2007
    One bright star each for Ioan Gruffudd and Judy Greer. In an otherwise plodding look at the compromising of principles in the battle for TV network success, these two actors stand a cut above a very mediocre attempt at telling us something we all already know.
  • March 23, 2007
    Amusing satire of television industry simmers instead of stings.
  • June 19, 2009
    Equal parts funny and alarming, Jake Kasdan's The TV Set hits all the right bases with its one-two punch of merciless writing and across-the-board terrific acting. It's actually much more than just a sharp satire of the dynamics of a television network-- it's a story about the ev...( read more)erlasting tug o' war between art and commerce, and it speaks about the poor ones lost in-between that try to keep their integrity intact but still have to put food on their tables.

    At only 87 minutes, Kasdan is still able to develop surprisingly well a good number of his characters while moving things forward at a good pace. His stage direction feels spontaneous but is nevertheless full of well-executed crowd scenes (his finale is a definite winner), and he is able to obtain the most exquisite reaction shots possible. It's notable that the cast he has to work with is extremely gifted (the Duchovny-Weaver-Gruffud central triangle is simply perfect, and the supporting performers do them justice), but it's been quite a while since I saw a director framing his players with the right amount of confidence and communicated apprehension. Plus, the dialogue is just so damn great, and it feels so true coming out of these actor's mouths.

    Not that The TV Set is gifted with a particularly articulate cinematic language, nor that it avoids all shortcuts a subject like this one might present. But it's full of jokes that range from ha-ha funny to WOW ARE YOU SERIOUS, and it's short enough that you actually feel you might have taken thirty more minutes once it's done. It's a shame this Judd Apatow-produced picture got overlooked during its theatrical release (maybe it was positioned as some potential Oscar grabber and didn't land properly?), but I'll take this very, very good project over most of the boring awards bait films around any day.
  • October 27, 2009
    A funny look at the making of a T.V. pilot...
  • August 4, 2009
    A comedy and a drama about a writer trying to get his vision and story on television. But he of course encounters problems from the producers to the actors. The film is full of funny moments and also full of serious scenes. David Duchovny is excellent as the writer trying to get ...( read more)his vision of the show for television. Sigourney Weaver is excellent as the producer who does not seem to be in touch with the real world. Ioan Gruffud, Frank Kranz, Lindsay Sloane and Judy Greer also are quite good in their roles. The film is a fun watch and worth checking out.
  • August 3, 2009
    solid entertainment. but I'm kinda tired of these "movie biz" pics (for your consideration, the nines, etc.)
  • June 18, 2009
    A mild little comedy/drama about a man trying to get a television show off the ground. Makes some very good points about the state of television and entertainment today, although it's not a deep probing look at it by any means. Sigourney Weaver and Judy Greer are both extremely f...( read more)unny in their roles as they both try to make their terrible suggestions sound like they could actually make sense. This movie feels very honest and open and yet somehow hopeful about the entertainment business. I'm not sure I'll remember it for a long time, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
  • April 19, 2009
    a premissa é muito boa, mas falha na execução...

Critic Reviews


April 27, 2007
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Bland and compromised, it feels as if it's been fine-tuned and focus-grouped within an inch of its life. full review

April 20, 2007
Kurt Loder, MTV

Kasdan stages scenes with a loose, cheerful spirit that suggests how much better TV itself might more often be if it weren't so in thrall to idiot focus groups and nervous, turf-protecting executives. full review

April 13, 2007
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Call me crazy, but there's a lot more going on in The TV Set than first meets the eye. You'll have major fun at this movie. But what makes it something special is the way [director] Kasdan laces the l... full review

April 12, 2007
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

The TV Set isn't in the same league with Network or The Player, but it's very good, and its cast is accomplished. full review

April 9, 2007
Claudia Puig, USA Today

The TV Set skewers the television industry in a manner that occasionally feels familiar and at other times is humorously incisive. full review

April 9, 2007
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

The jokes are things people shooting a pilot might actually say; the telling episodes of vanity or stupidity are entirely believable. full review

April 6, 2007
Pete Hammond, Maxim

It gets high ratings for razor sharp writing and direction as well as a wonderful ensemble cast delivering terrific performances. full review

April 6, 2007
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

[Except for Sigourney Weaver] everyone else looks so damn solemn, it's as if neither they nor their director understood this was meant to be a parody. full review

April 2, 2007
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

It's deftly calibrated and acted with relish: [writer-director] Kasdan is really good! full review

View more The TV Set reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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