First "The Office" Alum Returns to TV In (Probably) Bad Idea [VIDEO]

The Office’s Craig Robinson is getting his own show–and, sadly, the concept sounds as old and tired as the network that approved it. Variety announced that Robinson will star on his own show called Mr. Robinson with a six-episode order scheduled to start sometime soon. [Image via Gage Skidmore/Flickr]
The show stars the actor and comedian playing a fictional version of himself who (get this) becomes a music teacher at a middle school. The rest of the show’s description doesn’t make it sound any more promising.
“While teaching the kids everything from rock to the blues,” Variety reporter AJ Marechal wrote, “he simultaneously learns how to put the school’s rules to the test.”
Hmmm, a show about a hip teacher who teaches students and subsequently himself through a ragtag group of young pupils? Where have we heard of that concept before? How about every other sitcom in which a comic plays a hip teacher? Let’s start with Welcome Back, Kotter, a show starring a comedian (Gabe Kaplan) who plays a hip teacher who teaches students and subsequently himself through a ragtag group of young pupils (The Sweathogs). Then there’s Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, a show starring a comedian (Mark Curry) who plays a hip teacher who teaches students and subsequently himself through a ragtag group of young pupils (sub-standard, unenthusiastic cheerleaders).
And let’s not forget Mr. Rhodes, a show starring a comedian (Tom Rhodes) who plays a hip teacher who teaches students and subsequently himself through a ragtag group of young pupils (it was so bad, I never bothered to watch a whole episode to find out what kind of special students they were). If that last one sounds eerily similar, that’s because it also aired (wait for it) on NBC!
This tired TV trope is so old that even the movie Funny People parodied it by giving the character played by Jason Schwartzman his own cornball teacher sitcom–and we doubt that Robinson’s new show will be any less painful than watching this…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGJU4VoT2zw&w=600&h=338]