The League Series Review

The League (2009-2015)

Season 1 - 6 episodes (2009)
Season 2 - 13 episodes (2010)
Season 3 - 13 episodes (2011)
Season 4 - 13 episodes (2012)
Season 5 - 13 episodes (2013)
Season 6 - 13 episodes (2014)
Season 7 - 13 episodes (2015)
Rent The League on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Jackie Marcus Schaffer, Jeff Schaffer
Starring: Mark Duplass, Jonathan Lajoie, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Stephen Rannazzisi, Katie Aselton, Jason Mantzoukas
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer

Plot
A group of old friends compete in a fantasy football league, using every opportunity to make each other's lives miserable.

Verdict
This is never as funny as I wanted it to be. It relies on juvenile sex jokes and crudeness. It's not comedy so much as trying to be completely outlandish. While it's centered on football, most of the episodes deal with their lives, interactions, and pranks. After the first season, I wasn't clamoring for a second. The first five seasons are consistent if underwhelming, but the last two seasons are noticeably worse, losing focus and becoming even more bizarre.
Skip it.

Review
This is a show about fantasy football, but it's really a group of friends that haven't grown up. I was prompted to watch this from listening to the podcast How Did This Get Made. Paul Scheer and Jason Mantzoukas are two of the hosts, while the third host June Diane Raphael appears on the show twice.

The comedy seems low effort. It's all sex jokes and innuendo which seems juvenile. The inherent comedy is how much time they devote to this silly fantasy league, but it's also what connects them. Most of the episodes are these guys ragging on each other and getting into various kinds of trouble. Each season of the show corresponds to a football season as they compete against each other for the Shiva trophy. A made up trophy that no one outside of the league can understand the allure.

Season 1: Stephen Rannazzisi, Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll, Jonathan Lajoie, Paul Scheer play
Kevin, Pete, Ruxin, Taco, Andre

Andre (Paul Scheer) is the butt of most of the jokes. He's desperate to be cool and liked which is exactly why his friends torment him. His inability to realize they're making fun of him only increases the lengths they'll go. Ruxin (Nick Kroll) is the most ruthless and sarcastic. He never misses a chance to imply that Kevin and Pete (Mark Duplass) have a relationship. Pete is the most laid back and least awkward. He creates the Sacko trophy for the losers of the league.

Season 5: Jonathan Lajoie, Adam Brody, Nick Kroll, Katie Aselton, Stephen Rannazzisi, Paul Scheer play Taco, Ted, Ruxin, Jenny, Kevin, Andre

Kevin (Stephen Rannazzisi) badly wants to win the league and the Shiva trophy. He's the one most often found in embarrassing situations. He's desperate for advice, often getting tips from his wife Jenny (Katie Aselton). She's just as crude as the rest of them.
Kevin's younger brother Taco (Jon Lajoie) is the king of failing upwards. He has no job, no prospects, and is always starting the oddest of businesses.
Reoccurring character Rafi (Jason Mantzoukas) is Ruxin's brother in law. He's the most crude character in the show, completely oblivious to how the world works. The show's purpose for him is to introduce a character that is the most depraved. For instance, he's combined his toilet and kitchen into a toilet kitchen so he can multi-task. His history in the show is inconsistent, just for the sake of making jokes.

Season 5: Seth Rogen, Jason Mantzoukas play Dirty Randy, Rafi

If I liked football, I'd like this show marginally more, but there are so many buddy comedy hang out shows that are better. It's not bad, but the juvenile humor doesn't help this stand out. Part of what kept me watching was to see Jason Mantzoukas as Rafi. He's such an odd character. Unfortunately the show begins to overuse him. He's a great side character, but too much when he's more of a lead. The character peaks in season five. The first five seasons are pretty consistent. Season six and seven feel like the show is running out the clock or just running out of ideas. I never loved this show, but season six and seven is where I started to dislike the show. It's left the core concept and just heightened the worst qualities of the characters. Seven is worse than six. The tenth episode seemed like the low point with a pointless character event, but episode eleven managed to sink lower. It's an animated episode because it can't afford to or doesn't want to put Rafi's adventures on screen. The entire show isn't built on jokes as much as ridiculousness, from the most crude insults it can generate to the silly situations these characters trip into. I don't mind silly, but this show's go to every time is dick jokes.