Kevin Kline, Laura Linney, and Jon Tenney headline American Classic, an entertaining new MGM+ series about Richard Bean (Kline), a renowned Broadway and film star whose carefully constructed life has just fallen apart.
After a humiliating, very public meltdown, Bean retreats home — tail firmly between his legs. He’s ostensibly there to attend his mother’s funeral, which he immediately reimagines as a fully staged theatrical production. It’s that kind of show.
Bean’s family has owned a disused local theatre for generations, and he convinces himself this is the moment to resurrect it. His plan: stage Thornton Wilder’s Our Town as the first production, honour his mother, generate revenue, and reclaim his reputation as a hometown hero. Small problem — he has no money. Bigger problem — he decides to raise $200,000 anyway and produce Our Town not as the spare, barebones play it was intended to be, but as a lavish Broadway spectacle. Wilder is probably spinning.
The personal complications pile on quickly. His ex-girlfriend is now the mayor — and married to his brother. His niece is an aspiring actress and one of the few genuine sources of joy in his life. And looming over all of it is a developer’s threat to tear the theatre down and replace it with a mall.
Each episode follows Bean as he launches a new production and stumbles through being back home, which is both funnier and more poignant than it sounds. Kline is magnetic, and the ensemble — including Len Cariou, Tony Shalhoub, Jessica Hecht, Aaron Tveit, Jane Alexander, and Nell Verlaque — is exceptional.
Kline hasn’t been this good in years, bringing both the bombast and the vulnerability that a role like this demands. There’s real heart underneath the chaos, and the show earns every emotional beat it reaches for.
