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This brings me to the appeal of Go On. When is the last time a television program moved you on an emotional level? Yes, I am sure this has happened but please be honest regarding the subject. How often do you find yourself caring about characters only moments after their introductions? This is the triumph of the pilot. After only a few seconds, Tyler James Williams stopped being young Chris Rock to me (he portrayed the actor in Everybody Hates Chris) and became a grieving brother far too young to handle a traumatic event. And Julie White was no longer the woman I actively despise from the Transformers movies. She was once more a character actress I have always enjoyed rather than pot brownie gulping Mama Witwicky.

The last time a sitcom actively engaged me so quickly in a pilot was Modern Family. Go On’s pilot is nowhere near as good as the perfect Modern Family pilot nor do I expect the NBC show to prove anywhere near as popular. My point is that the sitcom is a dying art on network television.

A zany cast of characters are forced together by the thinnest of circumstances and viewers are expected to believe that the people become inseparable. Community is particularly aggravating in this regard. Why would an undeniably clever lawyer need to study so hard to pass junior college? It fails the laugh test even though the show includes innumerable great jokes.

Go On’s setting, on the other hand, is instinctively a weekly destination because people do need a long time to accept loss and move (well, go) on. The pilot features two tender moments, a rarity on any modern television program. The end of the episode features a Google images chase down the streets that is goofy and over the top but well intended and warmly received. The middle portion of the episode, however, is the highlight for me.

A musical montage demonstrates the pain that each member of the group is attempting to overcome. The “winner” of March Sadness lovingly attaches her victory prize to a photo of her absent loved ones. Flowers are left at a grave before the frustrated survivor kicks the tombstone. A widower faces the prospect of an empty bed. And the most heartbreaking grief is demonstrated in subtle fashion. Go On’s designated “creepy guy” sits alone in a Lamaze class as the other expectant parents prepare for the births of their children. The sequence requires only five seconds yet once the intent is known, it is a devastating backstory. How many sitcoms can you name that are capable of such depth? Currently, the list is one: Modern Family. If others want to join this list, I will happily champion those as well.

I say with confidence that Go On demonstrated more emotional resonance in its pilot than any other sitcom in the 2000s. I am unsure whether the show is capable of sustaining that engrossing level of character development for an extended period, which will be the focus of my follow-up column around the midpoint of the new season. Until then, I recommend Go On as a project that feels nothing like the cheap exploitation comedy I had anticipated. It is instead a touching examination of the grief period with a fair share of laughs to boot.

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