Entertainment

5 Reasons Jim Jefferies' 'Legit' Should Come Back To TV

by Adam Baratz
FXX

Last spring, FXX canceled Jim Jefferies’ show, "Legit," due to low ratings despite extremely high reviews from the likes of IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.

These days, it seems only shows like "Friends" or "How I Met Your Mother" are getting traction.

Unfortunately, an edgy, raunchy show with strong underlying social commentary, like "Legit," falls by the wayside.

It saddens me that a show that brings so many tough issues to the forefront while still being hilarious can be canceled.

Opening a dialogue for the challenges people face can be a daunting task, and it often results in failure, as seen with the cancellation of "Legit."

If "Legit" were to come back on a platform like Netflix or Amazon Prime, perhaps, it would continue to break barriers and spawn a level of open-mindedness that is sorely needed.

Also, there will be hookers and blow — always a good time.

Here are the top five reasons to bring back "Legit":

1. Watching Jim Fail

Fans of shows like "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Eastbound and Down" or even "The Office," can agree it’s great to watch other people screw up their lives. You think, "Hey, at least my life isn’t as pathetic as that guy's."

Jim can’t hold down a relationship, and he's barely able to keep friends in his life, which leads many to think, "Wow, compared to that guy, I’m doing pretty well."

For instance, he meets a girl after a gig who is on the local news, and they get drunk and sleep together.

No big deal, right? Wrong. She ends up being married to a congressman up for reelection.

When they wake up, the paparazzi are at Jim’s door, waiting for a front-page tabloid scandal shot.

So, with the help of his goofy wack pack, they decide to cram this woman into a suitcase and put her in the trunk of Jim’s car.

The plan was to drive around the block and drop her off. The paparazzi figures out the scam they are running, and long story short, it’s funnier than a penguin trying to fly.

2. Promoting People With Disabilities

There are very few shows where one of the main characters has a debilitating disability. Billy, played by DJ Qualls, has muscular dystrophy and is confined to an electric wheelchair.

For a show to promote understanding of individuals with disabilities and, at the same time, make it funny, is genius.

For instance, the first episode has Jim taking Billy to a brothel so he doesn’t die a virgin.

Then, when they get there, it’s discovered Billy has a monstrous penis and wins the admiration of everyone there.

Rather than tip-toe around the subject of Billy’s MD, they smash the wall down, make it funny and even approachable.

There is no other show out there that comes close to accomplishing this. It's groundbreaking, to say the least.

3. Dealing With Alcoholism

Jim’s best friend, Steve (Dan Bakkedah), is constantly drunk. Sometimes, it’s funny; other times, it's just sad.

Steve develops into an out-of-control alcoholic who goes so far as to lose his marriage, his kid and his job.

It gets so bad Steve’s family decides to have an intervention, but there's only one problem: Jim has a party filled with hookers, blow and dwarfs.

Between Steve’s family telling him their woes with his alcoholism, he keeps going back and forth into the house, doing blow and finally getting head from a hooker as his sendoff into sobriety.

It ends in a climax of Jim getting caught as the screwup he is, and everyone hating him. But, it's basically comedy gold.

However, the recurring theme of facing real problems and interjecting humor is once again seen.

4. It’s Only Getting Better

The show is in its elementary school years, and much like the putrefied shark meat of Viking times, it will only get better with age.

The first season was great, but the second season was even better and a third would have undoubtedly taken it to the next level.

So far, in two seasons, we have already seen tremendous character development.

Will Steve get his life together, possibly save a failed marriage and be an actual father? Will Jim ever quit the hookers and blow and be “Legit?” Will Billy die?

Okay, maybe the last one is a bit dark, but that’s the reality of it, people. He has an expiration date, but he is one-third of the band; hopefully, if the show came back, they wouldn’t kill him off.

There are a lot of unanswered interesting questions that have lots of possibilities.

5. The Show Keeps It Real

Is Jim Jefferies a misogynistic, whoremonger, coke aficionado, who takes advantage of people?

Yes. But, he does everything with the best intentions and, deep down, well, he’s an assh*le, but a lovable one.

"Legit" doesn’t pull any punches or try to hold off on the throttle to make sure the PC crowd is appeased.

Neither does real life: We have problems, addictions, handicaps and bad breakups.

There is no reason why we need to have regurgitated television that sugarcoats the pitfalls of life.

We all have sex, make mistakes and eventually die.

If you need cushy TV, there is plenty to go around.

But, for those of us who accept life isn’t perfect and are okay with it, another season of "Legit" will put a smile on our faces.