Enjoy It While Or If You Can

I've been watching Fox's latest animated series Allen Gregory and I must say, good or bad, I'm amazed a show this weird got on a network at all. The title character (voiced by show creator Jonah Hill) is a seven-year-old who acts like a hip, pretentious nitwit in his 30s.  He's stuck in elementary school, where he tries to be popular, but isn't.  He pretends he's close friends with classmate Joel, who wants nothing to do with him.  Meanwhile, he treats his real friend, Patrick, like a lackey.  He's also in love with the principal Judith Gottlieb, who is close to 70, and starts rumors about how their relationship is hot and heavy.  Huh?

We can see where he got this way.  His father, Richard, actually is a hip, pretentious nitwit in his 30s. He treats husband Jeremy--who is actually a heterosexual he stole from his wife--with contempt, keeping him around for sex and perhaps money (since his trust fund seems to be running out).  He also treats poorly his adopted Cambodian daughter Julie.  But Allen Gregory is the apple of his eye.  When he isn't attacking the rest of his family, he's indulging the boy.

The look is retro-future, unlike any other Fox animation.  But it's the subject and comic style that's so odd.  The characters interests are so thin, and the lead so obnoxious, that I can't imagine without significant changes it'll draw an audience. The numbers haven't been great, and have been going down, but who knows how Fox makes these decisions.