Ground Floor (Season 2)

By: Robert Murphy

Yes, the return of the workplace comedy, Ground Floor, has come and gone once again but hasn't missed a beat since it's big first season send off. For those of you who don't know, the show is a workplace comedy that takes place in the offices of Remington Trust, a giant financial firm that is run by tough as nails Remington Mansfield (John C. McGinley). His right hand man is Brody Moyer (Pitch Perfect's Skylar Astin) and the events of last season led him down a different path when he falls for a ground floor employee by the name of Jenny (Briga Heelan). It's a hilarious story that works somewhat like a Romeo and Juliet type of event where people on the top don't mingle or make friends with the ground floor employees and vice verse but despite being torn between work and a girl he likes, Brody still finds a balance. This is until the end of the first season where he loses his job after deciding to go to Paris with Jenny instead of Hong Kong with Mr.Mansfield. Now he's back and will undoubtedly try to win his way back into the inner circle and get his old job back, anyway he can. 

Things may have changed but the formula for what the first season of Ground Floor had that made things work so well has certainly returned. Brody doesn't have the fancy job and life style he once did anymore and now is starting from the ground floor with Jenny, a great episode all by itself right there as Jenny panics over the thought of working with him 24/7. But, Brody is still doing anything he can to try and gain Mansfield's approval, which he needs now more than ever as he tries to get back his former job and being the right hand again to one of the most powerful men in the world. The antics of the unchanging persona of John C. McGinley continue as well and never fail to inspire laughter out of me. What I mean by this is Mr. Mansfield has proven to be an almost identical character to Scrubs character Dr. Cox and for me it is wonderful to see him all over again on screen. This similarity doesn't come as a surprise though as co-creator to Ground Floor is former creator for Scrubs, Bill Lawrence. 

Other returning characters are also a welcomed delight. Harvard (Rory Scovel) is perhaps one of my favorites among the ground floor level employees, he has had a massive crush on Jenny for years and it burns him to see her with an upper level guy like Brody. It's an endless delight for him to now see Brody be stuck on the ground floor though, trying to work his way back up the corporate ladder. Then there is also Mike "Threepeat" Wen, Brody's best friend and former partner on the upper level, he also takes some choice jabs at his buddy being stuck working jobs like maintenance and watering Mr. Mansfield's plants. New to the show is Lindsay Harris (Emily Heller) who is an off character like Harvard and is hired as Brody's replacement, she is a capable worker just like Brody was but her quirky antics make her a perfect match for someone like Harvard, leaving them to hook up during the show once Harvard finally lets go of Jenny. She makes a wonderful fit to a cast who already has wonderful chemistry with one another.

Outside of Brody being on the ground floor this season though things don't really change up in the formula like I said earlier and that's okay. Brody's efforts to impress Mansfield by changing small things in the low level positions don't prove to change his mind about hiring him back, even though he eventually does. It's then business as usual after that, Mansfield will yell and be strict but prove he has a heart of gold underneath it all. The finale for this season is a two part episode and on the very last episode Mansfield proves my heart of gold theory right then and there. Brody and Jenny also get increasing closer as time goes on through the show too and the story clearly has a lot of heart to it, one amazing moment in particular struck me when Brody tries to get Jenny to see Wicked, the broadway show. She fall asleep both times they go to see it but by the end of the episode she sings a wonderful solo of one of the songs and it touches Brody deeply and myself when I watched it. Bill Lawrence's experience in capturing great moments between characters continues to shine through many times during both seasons of Ground Floor and it certainly gets better here. 

Nothing out of the ordinary or ground breaking takes place for either season of Ground Floor in terms of sitcoms we have seen before but it doesn't have to. The simple formulas still prove to work from time to time and the show proves that. All the characters blend well together and the new antics with Mr. Mansfield and Brody prove to change up the pace of things till he ultimately gets his job back. This second season also leaves off with yet another fantastic cliff hanger which leaves me eagerly awaiting yet another season as I hope it does for you all too.  

Good:

- Skylar Astin, John C. McGinley and Briga Heelan continue to be top notch focus for the show

- Supporting cast members return and prove to be just as great as before

- New additions like Emily Heller are well received

- The same great formula as the first season

Bad:

- Not everyone may like the similar feel it has to existing sitcoms as much as I have

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10