Fact-checked by Grok 2 weeks ago

Brian Gallivan

Brian Gallivan (born January 22, 1969) is an comedian, , , and known for his improvisational work with and his creation of the web series character "Sassy Gay Friend." A native of , and graduate of the , Gallivan began his career in Chicago's improv scene, performing in Second City Mainstage revues including Red Scare, Iraqtile Dysfunction, WAR! Now In Its 4th Smash Year, and The Debrief. Gallivan gained broader recognition through online content, particularly the Sassy Gay Friend sketches produced for The Second City's network, which parodied dramatic tropes with a no-nonsense advisory figure and amassed a significant following. His television writing credits include episodes of Happy Endings and films like The Informant! (2009), but he achieved notable success as creator and executive producer of the CBS sitcom The McCarthys (2014–2015), a family comedy drawing from his Boston Irish Catholic upbringing. More recently, Gallivan has served as an executive producer on the Apple TV+ series Shrinking (2023–present), co-created by Jason Segel and Bill Lawrence, earning Writers Guild of America and Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2024 and 2025. In addition to writing and producing, Gallivan has appeared as an actor in projects such as A Thousand Words (2012) and recurring roles in Shrinking, often leveraging his improvisational background for character-driven performances. His career trajectory reflects a transition from stage improv to mainstream television, emphasizing ensemble comedy and familial dynamics without major public controversies.

Early Life and Education

Upbringing and Family Background

Brian Gallivan was born on January 22, 1969, in . He grew up in the area within a large, close-knit of six siblings, where humor played a central role in daily interactions, with members frequently engaging in banter and storytelling to amuse one another. His father served as a teacher and coach at High School in for several decades, instilling a strong emphasis on sports within the household. One of Gallivan's brothers continues to coach at the same school, reflecting the family's ongoing connection to athletics. As the only son in the family, Gallivan experienced a dynamic marked by shared enthusiasm for among his relatives, though he himself showed less interest in them compared to and performance. This environment of familial wit and contrasting interests later informed elements of his work, including the CBS series , which draws loosely from his upbringing.

Academic and Early Professional Experience

Gallivan received a bachelor's degree in English from the . He later pursued graduate studies, earning a in English literature from the and another master's in secondary education from Emmanuel College. After completing his education, Gallivan taught English at the middle school level, serving at Chenery Middle School in , and St. Anthony School in . While employed as a teacher in , he enrolled in improvisation classes at the Improv Asylum in Boston's North End, an experience that sparked his interest in performance comedy. This early foray into improv laid the groundwork for his subsequent move to and involvement with professional ensembles.

Comedy and Performance Career

Transition to Improvisation and Second City

Prior to dedicating himself to comedy, Gallivan taught English and in the suburb of . Reaching age 30 prompted him to pivot toward , leading him to enroll in improvisation classes at Boston's Improv Asylum in the North End neighborhood. He performed with the troupe for approximately one year, honing skills in and comedy amid the local scene. In September 2003, Gallivan relocated to , the epicenter of American improvisation, to join The 's National Touring Company, marking his professional entry into the institution's ecosystem. This move represented a full commitment to , as he left teaching permanently to immerse himself in the rigorous, collaborative environment of Second City, known for training performers through iterative sketch development and live audience feedback. By 2004, Gallivan advanced to the Second City Mainstage, where he contributed to writing and performing in multiple revues through 2007, including Red Scare, Iraqtile Dysfunction, and WAR! Now In Its 4th Smash Year. This period solidified his foundation in long-form improvisation and , emphasizing dynamics and topical central to Second City's methodology.

Signature Characters and Sketch Work

Gallivan's at primarily featured satirical takes on politics, current events, and , developed during his tenure as a mainstage performer and writer in . He contributed to four revues: , Iraqtile Dysfunction, WAR! Now In Its 4th Smash Year, and Between Barack and a Hard Place, where he performed original sketches blending with scripted absurdity. These works often lampooned American foreign policy, domestic scandals, and cultural tropes, with Gallivan's contributions emphasizing sharp, character-driven humor over broad . His most recognized creation is the "Sassy Gay Friend," a recurring character originating in 2004 during a mainstage production, initially appearing in two sketches parodying Shakespearean heroines and . In these bits, the flamboyantly attired friend—marked by an orange scarf and tight clothing—bursts into tragic scenes to deliver exasperated, no-nonsense interventions, halting dramatic folly with lines like "What are you doing?!" and pragmatic advice to avert disaster. The archetype draws from the "sassy gay friend" trope in popular media, repurposed to undercut literary , such as preventing 's or 's rash decisions by urging self-reflection on relational missteps. The character's sketches gained wider traction through The Second City Network's YouTube series starting in 2010, reviving the format with episodes like "The Fate of Ophelia" and "," amassing over four million views by mid-2010. These short-form videos maintained the core premise—interrupting heroines from works like or —while incorporating sponsor tie-ins, such as product placements for MiO water enhancer, without diluting the comedic bite. Gallivan has cited the sketches' appeal in their timeless subversion of high via lowbrow candor, influencing his later performative style. No other characters from his Second City era achieved comparable standalone recognition, though ensemble sketches like a 2008 political featuring a "Sillary Tinton" assassin highlighted his versatility in topical .

Web Series and Online Presence

Gallivan gained prominence through the web series Sassy Gay Friend, produced for the Second City Network's YouTube channel, where he portrayed a flamboyant character intervening in pivotal moments of literary and historical narratives to deliver sharp, comedic admonishments. The series consisted of short sketches, typically one to two minutes in length, with episodes released starting in early 2010, including renditions interrupting scenes from Romeo and Juliet, the biblical story of Eve, and the fate of Ophelia from Hamlet. The sketches, originally developed from Gallivan's live Second City performances, were recorded in January 2010 and quickly amassed views on YouTube, serving as a digital extension of the company's improvisational style into sponsored content, such as integrations with products like MiO liquid water enhancer. By mid-2011, the series had expanded to multiple episodes, highlighting Gallivan's signature brash persona and contributing to Second City's strategy of testing material online before stage adaptation. The full compilation remains available on The Second City's official YouTube channel, underscoring its enduring role in his early digital footprint. Beyond the series, Gallivan maintains a modest personal online presence, including an Instagram account under the handle @unclebarney5, which features occasional posts related to his comedy career and podcast appearances, such as a 2024 episode on The Past Times Podcast. He also operates a low-profile YouTube channel with approximately 31 videos and fewer than 10 subscribers as of recent checks, primarily hosting non-professional content rather than structured series. This contrasts with the viral reach of his Second City work, which positioned Sassy Gay Friend as a cornerstone of his transition from stage to screen.

Writing and Production Career

Early Television Contributions

Gallivan entered television writing as a staff writer on the NBC sitcom Are You There, Chelsea?, which aired its single season from January to April 2012. In this role, he contributed scripts to multiple episodes, including co-writing "Those Damn Yankees," which focused on sports rivalries and family dynamics within the show's ensemble. The series, loosely based on Chelsea Handler's book My Horizontal Life, featured Gallivan's humor in character-driven scenarios amid the production's short run of 12 episodes. Following this, Gallivan joined the writing staff of ABC's during its second and third seasons (2011–2013), contributing to the ensemble comedy's sharp, fast-paced dialogue. He penned episodes such as "To Serb with Love" (season 3, episode 11, aired February 2013), which explored group friendships and romantic entanglements, and another untitled episode from the prior season. His work on the series, which totaled over two dozen episodes across his tenure, emphasized witty banter and serialized relationships, aligning with the show's despite modest ratings. These early staff positions provided Gallivan with foundational experience in network television production, bridging his improvisational background to structured scriptwriting under showrunners like for . No prior television credits appear in professional databases, marking 2012 as the onset of his TV writing career before developing original series.

Creation of The McCarthys

Brian Gallivan conceived The McCarthys as a semi-autobiographical sitcom drawing from his experiences growing up as the gay son in a large, sports-obsessed Catholic family in , where his father worked as a teacher and basketball coach, and his brothers pursued similar coaching roles. The series centers on Ronny McCarthy, a character reflecting Gallivan's own position within his boisterous family dynamics, emphasizing familial teasing, loyalty, and the challenges of amid culture, though Gallivan clarified that elements like the number of siblings and specific character traits, such as the mother's portrayal, were fictionalized for dramatic effect. Gallivan pitched the show to using authentic family anecdotes to highlight its comedic potential, including a hypothetical scenario where his father appoints him as assistant basketball coach, which his siblings found inherently amusing and illustrative of the family's sports-centric . Initially developed as a single-camera , the project faced network feedback deeming its tone too "dark" for that format, prompting a shift to multi-camera production with a live to broaden its appeal and align with 's traditional sitcom style; Gallivan adapted to this change despite initial reservations, noting it better suited the show's authentic, character-driven humor rooted in "writing about things I know." As creator, writer, and executive producer—sharing credits with figures like Mike Sikowitz and —Gallivan prioritized truthful portrayals over explicit agendas, such as routine gay representation, focusing instead on believable family interactions where Ronny's dating life intersects with his relatives' influence in roughly half the episodes. The pilot received a in , leading to a premiere on October 30, 2014, at 9:30 p.m. on , marking Gallivan's first series as show creator following his earlier writing contributions to programs like .

Recent Projects Including Shrinking

Gallivan serves as an executive producer on Shrinking, an Apple TV+ comedy-drama series created by Jason Segel, Bill Lawrence, and Brett Goldstein, which premiered on January 27, 2023, and follows a grieving therapist who begins breaking ethical boundaries with clients. The series has been renewed for a third season, set to debut on January 28, 2026, with Gallivan among the executive producers alongside Lawrence, Segel, and others under Warner Bros. Television. In addition to production duties, Gallivan appears as a recurring guest star in season 2, portraying Stuart, the adoption agent assisting character Brian (played by Michael Urie) and his husband, across five episodes released in 2024. In June 2024, Gallivan was tapped as showrunner for Off Color, a semi-autobiographical comedy in development at Amazon MGM Studios, created by comedian Owen Thiele, who drew from his experiences growing up queer in the South. Thiele and Gallivan are co-writing the pilot, with the project emphasizing Thiele's perspective on identity and family dynamics, produced in association with Warner Bros. Television. This marks Gallivan's return to leading a new series project following the conclusion of The McCarthys in 2015.

Personal Life

Family Influences and Residence

Gallivan was raised in , in a large, sports-enthusiast family of Irish Catholic descent with five siblings. His father worked as a teacher and basketball coach at High School for decades, instilling a household culture centered on athletics and ; three of his siblings also became teachers, while others coached high school or played at the college level, including positions in Stoughton and Walpole. His mother demonstrated deep knowledge of , often surpassing Gallivan's own familiarity with the sport. The family's dynamic—marked by verbal sparring and affectionate insults as a primary mode of interaction—shaped Gallivan's approach to , providing raw material for his work depicting close-knit, banter-heavy households. He has credited their inherent humor as a key influence, observing that "My family is very funny. They all make me laugh," which informed the semi-autobiographical elements of , including portrayals of sibling rivalries and parental expectations in a basketball-centric environment. This upbringing contrasted with his own disinterest in sports, highlighting tensions he later channeled into writing about identity and family loyalty. As of 2014, Gallivan's parents and all five siblings resided in Massachusetts, while he had relocated to Los Angeles to advance his television career, marking him as the sole family member based outside the state. He maintains close ties, with nine nephews and three nieces adding to the extended family's Massachusetts roots.

Interests Outside Comedy

Gallivan maintains a longstanding passion for , rooted in his academic background as an English major at the and subsequent graduate studies in at the . Prior to his comedy career, he taught English and in the area, which aligned with his affinity for reading. Among his favored authors are , , , , , , the series, , and ; in recent years, he has gravitated toward mystery s. He has described reading as transformative, stating in a 2010 interview: "I have always loved reading... whenever I have a I’m reading, my life is better." Beyond books, Gallivan is an avid consumer of television programming, encompassing dramas, comedy-dramas, and reality formats, including The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real World. He also frequents movie theaters as a regular pastime. These pursuits provide outlets distinct from his professional focus on sketch comedy and scriptwriting.

Reception and Legacy

Critical Acclaim and Style Analysis

Gallivan's creation of the CBS sitcom The McCarthys (2014–2015) received generally positive critical attention for its well-crafted scripts and ensemble chemistry, with reviewers commending the series' authentic portrayal of a boisterous Irish Catholic family navigating generational and cultural clashes. The show, which drew from Gallivan's own upbringing, was described as funny and smart, avoiding reductive stereotypes of working-class Bostonians in favor of nuanced, relatable dynamics centered on a gay son amid sports-obsessed siblings. Despite airing 15 episodes, it was pulled mid-season due to insufficient ratings, limiting its run to one season. As a and on the Apple TV+ dramedy Shrinking (2023–present), Gallivan has contributed to a series lauded for its blend of humor and emotional depth, earning Emmy Award nominations and a season two renewal announced on October 17, 2024. Episodes penned by Gallivan, such as season one’s “Fifteen Minutes,” have been highlighted for advancing character arcs through personal vulnerability and relational tension, aligning with the show's 97% approval for season two based on 82 reviews. Gallivan's comedic style, honed through Second City revues in the mid-2000s, emphasizes ensemble-driven narratives rooted in observational humor from familial and cultural friction, often employing broad, accessible setups to explore outsider perspectives without heavy reliance on caricature. In The McCarthys, this manifests as a multi-camera format subverting fish-out-of-water tropes via the protagonist's integration into a hyper-masculine family environment, yielding sharp dialogue that balances affection with conflict. His earlier web sketches, like the viral Sassy Gay Friend series originating around 2010, showcase a penchant for concise, advisory interruptions that punctuate dramatic scenarios with irreverent wit, amassing a substantial online following through Second City Network distribution. Across projects, Gallivan's approach prioritizes character specificity—drawing from autobiographical elements like sports fandom—over abstract , fostering grounded realism in comedic escalation.

Influence on Satirical Comedy

Gallivan's "Sassy Gay Friend" , originating from sketches performed on mainstage in the mid-2000s and adapted into videos released between February and March 2010, exemplifies his approach to satirical through of dramatic literary tropes. In these sketches, Gallivan portrays an irreverent character who interrupts pivotal scenes from works like Shakespeare's tragedies or stories, delivering blunt interventions such as "What are you doing?!" or "Look at your life, look at your choices" to mock characters' self-destructive decisions and the exaggerated solemnity of classic narratives. This format satirizes both canonical literature's dramatic excess and the media's "sassy gay friend" , employing campy exaggeration to highlight absurdities in storytelling conventions. The series' rapid online virality, amassing over 4 million views within months of launch, demonstrated the potential for web platforms to disseminate satirical beyond traditional theater audiences. Its success, particularly among viewers aged 17-24, prompted a wave of imitators, with observers noting "a legion of inferior knockoffs" that attempted to replicate the formula of injecting modern pragmatism into historical or literary scenarios. Gallivan's work thus contributed to the early 2010s surge in internet-based literary parodies, bridging improv traditions from revues—such as Iraqtile Dysfunction and , which lampooned political and cultural events—with accessible digital formats that prioritized concise, punchy critique. By foregrounding self-aware exaggeration of gay s while subverting dramatic , the "Sassy Gay Friend" sketches influenced subsequent online 's use of archetype inversion for , though Gallivan himself emphasized the character's role as a pragmatic disruptor rather than a prescriptive model. This approach extended Second City's legacy of topical into viral media, fostering experimentation in short-form videos that blend high-cultural references with lowbrow irreverence, as evidenced by the character's enduring recognition and adaptation into live performances.

References

  1. [1]
    Brian Gallivan - IMDb
    Brian Gallivan was born on 22 January 1969 in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Shrinking (2023), The Informant! (2009) and A ...
  2. [2]
    Brian Gallivan - The Second City
    Brian Gallivan wrote and performed four revues on The Second City Mainstage in Chicago (Red Scare, Iraqtile Dysfunction, WAR! Now In Its 4th Smash Year, and ...
  3. [3]
    'The McCarthys' creator Brian Gallivan: 'My family is very funny'
    Oct 25, 2014 · 'The McCarthys' creator Brian Gallivan: 'My family is very funny'. The Dedham native and College of the Holy Cross graduate launches a CBS ...
  4. [4]
    Brian Gallivan - Earwolf
    Brian Gallivan has traveled from Boston, through Chicago, to Los Angeles and has ultimately found a home online with his popular character Sassy Gay Friend.
  5. [5]
    Outstanding Comedy Series 2025 - Nominees & Winners
    Brian Gallivan. Executive Producer. Bill Posley. Co-Executive Producer. Ashley Nicole Black. Co-Executive Producer. Kip Kroeger. Produced by. the-studio-2025 ...
  6. [6]
    Shrinking (TV Series 2023– ) - Awards - IMDb
    Writers Guild of America, USA · Wally Baram · Rachna Fruchbom · Brian Gallivan · Neil Goldman · Brett Goldstein · Bill Lawrence · Annie Mebane · Bill Posley ...
  7. [7]
    Brian Gallivan — The Movie Database (TMDB)
    Brian Gallivan is known as an Actor, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator, and Co-Executive Producer. Some of his work includes A Thousand Words, ...
  8. [8]
    Brian Gallivan - Biography - IMDb
    Brian Gallivan was born on January 22, 1969 in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Shrinking (2023), The Informant! (2009) and A ...
  9. [9]
    Talking with Furniture: Brian Gallivan (Sassy Gay Friend)
    Dec 15, 2010 · Gallivan: I come from a big family, and we always enjoyed trying to make each other laugh. We liked telling each other weird things that ...Missing: background | Show results with:background
  10. [10]
    'The McCarthys' Creator Brian Gallivan on the 'Huge Gap Between ...
    Oct 30, 2014 · Brian Gallivan's new comedy “The McCarthys” revolves around a gay man named Ronny in Boston who's surrounded by a sports-obsessed family.Missing: early background
  11. [11]
    'The McCarthys' hits close to home for Boston creator
    Oct 25, 2014 · After attending Holy Cross and receiving master's degrees from the University of New Hampshire in literature and Emmanuel College in secondary ...
  12. [12]
    Because Sassy Gay Friend says so! - Boston Herald
    Nov 18, 2018 · Gallivan, a former middle-school English teacher in Belmont and at St. Anthony's in Allston, played two sold-out shows last week at the ...
  13. [13]
    Exclusive: Brian Gallivan on Sassy Gay Friend, MiO, and Stupid ...
    Apr 26, 2011 · I taught middle school at St. Anthony's in Allston and the Chenery Middle School in Belmont, MA before I started taking classes at Improv ...
  14. [14]
    Turning 30 was a career-changing event | News | theunion.com
    Apr 8, 2004 · For Brian Gallivan, becoming a comedian five years ago was prompted by hitting the Big 30. At the time a Boston area English and social ...
  15. [15]
    On their way up the laugh track - Chicago Tribune
    Oct 20, 2006 · Gallivan got into the improv business late in life, taking classes at the age of 30 in his hometown. He worked with Beantown's Improv Asylum for ...Missing: transition | Show results with:transition
  16. [16]
    Second City vets making it behind scenes – Chicago Tribune
    Brian Gallivan, who performed on the Second City mainstage from 2004-07, writes for ABC's “Happy Endings” (a show created by Chicago native David Caspe).
  17. [17]
    Brian Gallivan - TimeOut
    Jun 1, 2010 · He first performed them on the Second City mainstage in the mid-aughties, and at one point, he recalls, “Someone said to me, 'You found a new ...
  18. [18]
    The Second City Skewers Obama and Clinton - NPR
    Mar 1, 2008 · The Second City cast members Molly Erdman and Brian Gallivan perform "Killer," about a character named "Sillary Tinton" who is trying to ...Missing: signature | Show results with:signature
  19. [19]
    Second City's Testing Ground in Cyberspace
    May 22, 2011 · ... episodes of “Sassy Gay Friend!,” a series of one- to two-minute skits starring Brian Gallivan as the sassy friend of the title. Two of the ...
  20. [20]
    SASSY GAY FRIEND - Romeo & Juliet - YouTube
    Mar 8, 2010 · ... Second City Inc./Brian Gallivan.
  21. [21]
    The Fate of Ophelia - SASSY GAY FRIEND - YouTube
    Feb 17, 2010 · Sassy Gay Friend with Brian Gallivan | The Full Series | Classic Comedy Sketches From Second City ... Iconic Star Rewind•396K views.Missing: characters | Show results with:characters
  22. [22]
    Second City - 'Miyuki' - 'My Future Girlfriend' - The New York Times
    May 18, 2011 · Brian Gallivan plays the title character in “Sassy Gay Friend!,” a series on Second City's YouTube channel. By Mike Hale. May 18, 2011.<|separator|>
  23. [23]
    Second City Originals - YouTube
    ... Series from The Second City. The Second City · 26:26 · Sassy Gay Friend with Brian Gallivan | The Full Series | Classic Comedy Sketches From Second City. The ...
  24. [24]
    Brian Gallivan (@unclebarney5) • Instagram photos and videos
    139 writers of the Happy Endings staff who went on to run television shows of their own in Sierra's hilarious and groundbreaking Rutherford Falls and Gallivan' ...
  25. [25]
    Cost to Hire Brian Gallivan For Private Events
    He first made a name for himself with the web series Sassy Gay Friend on the Second City Network, which features a character he originally brought to life in ...Missing: presence | Show results with:presence
  26. [26]
    Are You There, Chelsea: Those Damn Yankees - IMDb
    Rating 6.5/10 (81) Director. Gail Mancuso · Writers · Eric Zicklin · Brian Gallivan · Ed Lee · Stars · Laura Prepon · Lenny Clarke · Lauren Lapkus.
  27. [27]
    'Happy Endings' Grad Casey Wilson to Star in ABC Comedy 'Hail Mary'
    Feb 29, 2016 · The casting also reunites Wilson with Hail Mary writer/executive producer Brian Gallivan, who wrote a few episodes of Happy Endings and had a ...
  28. [28]
    CBS Orders Pilots From Will Gluck, Frank Marshall And Two From ...
    Jan 18, 2013 · Written by Happy Endings staff writer Gallivan, it is loosely inspired by Gallivan's life. The big family comedy revolves around an Irish ...<|separator|>
  29. [29]
    CBS' 'The McCarthys' Too "Dark" As Single-Cam Comedy, Creator ...
    Jul 17, 2014 · Brian Gallivan began a Q&A for his semi-autobiographical CBS sitcom The McCarthys by announcing his family never actually had a DUI, ...
  30. [30]
    Fall TV: The True Stories of How 14 Freshman Shows Were Pitched
    Sep 24, 2014 · Even though The McCarthys is only loosely inspired by my family, a lot of real stories about the Gallivans were part of my pitch. I told one ...
  31. [31]
    Brian Gallivan | Television Academy
    Brian Gallivan: bio, photos, awards, nominations and more at Emmys.com.
  32. [32]
    https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2025/10/apples-beloved-comedy-shrinking-returns-for-season-three-on-january-28-2026/
  33. [33]
    Bill Lawrence on Casting Writers in Shrinking - TheWrap
    Nov 6, 2024 · Most notably, Gallivan stars as Brian (Michael Urie) and his husband's adoption agent Stuart, and others fill the season in small cameo ...<|separator|>
  34. [34]
    Owen Thiele Sets Semi-Autobiographical Comedy at Amazon
    Jun 5, 2024 · Brian Gallivan (Shrinking, The McCarthys) is set to serve as showrunner on Off Color, which is currently in the development stages. Thiele ...<|control11|><|separator|>
  35. [35]
    How Much of 'The McCarthys' Is Based in Reality? - Bustle
    Nov 6, 2014 · According to an interview with The Wrap, Gallivan did indeed grow up in a large Boston family that related to each other mainly through talking ...
  36. [36]
    Variety's 10 TV Scribes to Watch
    Jun 10, 2014 · Brian Gallivan gained fame as the eponymous Sassy Gay Friend in the ... ” His father and three of his five siblings are teachers, and ...<|control11|><|separator|>
  37. [37]
    Family gives writer material for 'McCarthys' comedy
    Oct 29, 2014 · Gallivan had moved to Chicago and joined the Second City comedy troupe, where his “sassy gay friend” character was popular. He wrote for Chelsea ...
  38. [38]
    'The McCarthys' Review: CBS's New Family Comedy Is a Slam Dunk
    Oct 30, 2014 · CBS's new comedy “The McCarthys” is well written and terrifically cast. Star Tyler Ritter is effortless in his delivery and grounds the comedy ...Missing: critical reception
  39. [39]
    Review: 'The McCarthys' do Boston Irish reasonably proud, and funny
    Oct 30, 2014 · They are dim, but mostly not dumb, countering what we have come to expect from portrayals of the middle- or working-class people of Boston. They ...Missing: critical reception
  40. [40]
    The McCarthys subverts the traditional sitcom with a queer sensibility
    Oct 30, 2014 · The new CBS comedy isn't cool, but it is funny, smart and well-acted – a classic fish-out-of-water sitcom set in an all-American familyMissing: style | Show results with:style
  41. [41]
    CBS benches Second City alum Brian Gallivan's 'The McCarthys ...
    loosely inspired by Second City alum Brian Gallivan's life — from the schedule. The episode that was to air on WBBM ...
  42. [42]
    Apple TV+ renews beloved, global hit comedy “Shrinking” for ...
    Oct 17, 2024 · Apple TV+ announced that the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-nominated comedy has landed a renewal for season three.
  43. [43]
    Season 2 – Shrinking - Rotten Tomatoes
    Rating 97% (82) The show in general is too politically correct and too much therapy talk like every 2 people talking will say something deep that's not what happens in real ...82 Reviews · Episode 2 · Episode 4 · Episode 6
  44. [44]
    Review: Shrinking 1x03 – “Fifteen Minutes” - The Spoilist
    Feb 4, 2023 · It makes sense for a show that feels so personal to each of its ... This week's episode is penned by Brian Gallivan and this is easily ...
  45. [45]
    "The McCarthys" TV Review on CBS - Variety
    Oct 29, 2014 · Big and broad, CBS' “The McCarthys” tries to bask in the glory of a fractious, colorful nuclear family from Boston (here pronounced Baaahston)Missing: critical reception
  46. [46]
    Q&A with 'Sassy Gay Friend' Brian Gallivan - Daily Bruin
    Feb 10, 2011 · Brian Gallivan: I started taking improv classes in Boston at a theater called Improv Asylum, and I just loved it. I was a middle school teacher ...Missing: biography upbringing