Fox is pairing Kevin Biegel's single-camera comedy Enlisted with returning comedy Raising Hope on Friday nights, this fall. The series stars Geoff Stults as Sergeant Pete Hill, the oldest of three brothers and the man in charge of a ragtag platoon in Fort McGee, a base on Florida. Among the soldiers serving on the Rear Detachment (or "Rear D") unit are Hill's brothers, Derrick (Chris Lowell) and Randy (Parker Young).
From the description, the Rear D unit's consists of soldiers who aren't capable enough to be shipped overseas, but not quite so terrible that they're kicked out of the Army. These are the military workers whose job it is to mow the lawns at the base, deal with the mail, wash the tanks and most importantly, take care of the families of the deployed soldiers. That last part includes having the unfortunate but necessary responsibility of informing family members when something's happened to their loved one overseas. "It’s a job that shifts each moment from the thrilling to the mundane to the emotional and back again."
The trailer sells us on the humor in the series, added to the family element as Stults' character is tasked with being in charge of his brothers, in addition to the other soldiers in the unit. But the job description adds a bit of potential for some emotional depth in the series, beyond what there might be for a great underdog story. Plus, I adore Geoff Stults, and I've been waiting for him to have a series that sticks since October Road. Things didn't work out so well for The Finder or Ben and Kate, and its Friday night timeslot won't exactly give Enlisted a running start, but hopefully the series manages to find an audience on Fox nonetheless.
