'Happyish' is OK-ish, sometimes funny-ish.

• Author: Wiegand, David
• Position: Living

Byline: David Wiegand

Tragedy and comedy are duking it out in Showtime's new sitcom, "Happyish,'' and tragedy is getting in most of the licks.

The series, created by Shalom Auslander and premiering Sunday, takes middle-age crisis to a very very dark place. The performances are good, the writing is often brainy, sharp and even funny, but is there is a surfeit of "ish'' and not enough "happy'' to keep viewers coming back week after week, if they haven't decided to just end it all after the first episode.

The too-cleverly named Thom Payne (Steve Coogan) is celebrating his 44th birthday with his wife, Lee (a wonderful Kathryn Hahn), and their friends Bella and Barry (Molly Price and Andre Royo) and their respective young sons. There's a whole post-"Big Chill'' vibe to the scene as the conversation hovers over middle age, mortality, who's getting their vagina tightened and making sure they hide the joint before the kids see mom and dad toking up.

Thom is in the ad game, but his company is now being run by a pair of nonsense-babbling Swedes named Gottfrid and Gustaf (Nils Lawton and Tobias Segal). Gottfrid struts around in front of his staff blathering about energizing and modernizing the company, while Gustaf whispers in his ear. It's all very Penn and Teller, without the magic, and gets tiresome after a while.

Thom's older colleague Jonathan (Bradley Whitford) is an alcoholic who is all about toadying up to his younger bosses. He wears skinny jeans and apes whatever BS the Swedes are spouting.

"Marketer, rebrand thyself,'' he advises Thom. Later on, he will observe that "corporate America is a German porno.''

The more Thom sees and hears, the more depressed and angry he becomes. He makes some attempt to look younger and hipper but he can't contain his raging cynicism about what's happening at the office.

"(Expletive) 'Mad Men','' he says in voiceover narrative. "My name is Thomas Payne and I work for Satan. We kiss the pimpled (Expletive) of arrogant, know-nothing teenagers.''

As Thom's mood at work darkens, he inevitably brings his troubles home with him at the end of the day. Hearing their young son, Julius (Sawyer Shipman), cry in the night, Lee gets out of bed and pads toward her son's room.

"He's a fearful child,'' Thom observes.

"No,'' Lee answers. "You're fearful. He's 6.''

Thinking he...