The TV Set

R

Released Apr 6, 2007

1 hr. 28 min.

Comedy

List

64%

76 Reviews

Tomatometer

58%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Mike Klein (David Duchovny), the creator of a TV pilot called "The Wexler Chronicles," learns the hard way about how televisions shows evolve from concept to reality. Though Mike's concept involves serious subject matter, a network executive (Sigourney Weaver) and her cohorts have other plans to lighten up and dumb-down the show to appeal to a broader audience.

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Critics Consensus

Offering both broad and insider jokes, The TV Set is a sharp satire that will please both the average moviegoers and pop culture aficionados.

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Mike J

Sonic and king evil king lord evil king of

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/28/22

Full Review

Audience Member

The TV Set seems like it was written by someone who literally went through the exact experience that David Duchovny's character struggles with in the film. Every step of the way it feels so authentic and real (by showing how artificial and fake television executives can be.) Sigourney Weaver was perfect at playing the manipulative force that smiles to your face while stabbing you in the back. I love how clearly the movie shows that a brilliant concept for a TV show can be destroyed as it is adapted from script to screen. It's a comedy, but unless you work in the TV industry, I doubt it will have you laughing out loud. Instead it will get you to chuckle, in a dark way, because you see how systematically every aspect of a man's dream is ruined. Most of it made a lot of sense and perfectly served the story, but there were a few elements that were strange detours and probably should have been removed from the film. The most glaring of these was the strange relationship between the two "stars" of the show played by Lindsay Sloane and Fran Kranz. I couldn't see a purpose to their whole on-and-off attraction because it didn't impact the show they were making at all. But in most ways The TV Set is a very effective movie, and if the premise interests you I can recommend it. However, for me it started to fall into a genre of film I despise: Movies where everything terrible happens to a very likable main character. The redeeming factor in this movie, and what made it slightly less painful from other films with the lovable loser plot, is that Duchovny isn't all that charming or charismatic so I wasn't crushed when his dream died. I know it seems odd to appreciate a bland actor, but in this case it worked for me. Your mileage may vary.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

The TV Set is a clever and sharp satire anchored by solid performances.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

Vastly underrated comedy tearing into the TV industry. Hilarious oscar-worthy performance by Sigourney Weaver. No buzz. No box office. But you won't regret renting or streaming this hidden gem.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Funny, realistic and well cast film

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of my favorite movies about have a TV was made

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

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Jake Kasdan

Director

David Duchovny

Mike

Sigourney Weaver

Lenny

Ioan Gruffudd

Richard McAllister

Judy Greer

Alice

Fran Kranz

Zach Harper

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Dana Stevens

Slate

The TV Set is a little wonder of a movie, as smart and sad and true as any comedy I've seen this year.

Aug 18, 2007

Full Review

Connie Ogle

Miami Herald

Honestly, isn't it a little late to be bemoaning sleazy reality TV?

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 13, 2007

Full Review

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

The appalling sausage factory that produces what we see on network TV is nicely skewered in The TV Set, an engaging if not exactly edgy comedy that exists to restate the obvious.

Rated: 4/5

May 10, 2007

Full Review

Bullz-Eye.com

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 7, 2012

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an intriguing, occasionally horrifying look at the behind-the-scenes shenanigans within the network-television world.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 10, 2008

Full Review

Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

Sad, slow and rather boring story about how writers get dumped on and smart television shows get dumbed down.

Rated: C

Jan 23, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

Mike Klein (David Duchovny), the creator of a TV pilot called "The Wexler Chronicles," learns the hard way about how televisions shows evolve from concept to reality. Though Mike's concept involves serious subject matter, a network executive (Sigourney Weaver) and her cohorts have other plans to lighten up and dumb-down the show to appeal to a broader audience.

Director: Jake Kasdan
Executive Producer: Judd Apatow
Screenwriter: Jake Kasdan
Distributor: ThinkFilm
Production Co: The TV Set Holding Company
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 6, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 11, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $265.6K

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