The single camera comedy Go On ran for a single season of 22 episodes, from 2012-2013 on NBC. Sports radio host Ryan King’s (Matthew Perry, Friends) wife passed away a month ago, and he still hasn’t really dealt with his loss. He wants to go back to work, but his boss, Steven (John Cho, Cowboy Bebop), orders him attend to attend group therapy sessions at the local community center first. Ryan plans to just coast through his ten hours, sitting in the back of the room, listening to old recordings of his own show and not taking things seriously. He often uses comedy to deflect and not have to deal with his feelings or more serious matters. Group leader Lauren (Laura Benanti, Life & Beth), whose only loss training qualifications are being a Weight Watchers coach, isn’t really thrilled by Ryan’s attitude, and signs his form so he can go back to work. However, after he has a breakdown at the office, Ryan realizes he may need the support group after all. Ryan starts to open up, work through his own grief, and connect with the other misfit members of the group, each dealing with their own life changes.

The series focuses on both Ryan’s work life with his boss/best friend Stephen and sarcastic assistant Carrie (Allison Miller, A Million Little Things), as well as his adventures with his quirky support group both within and outside of the group sessions. Lauren may be the one officially in charge of the group, but it’s often the inmates running the asylum and taking over the sessions. Anne (Julie White) lost her partner Patricia and is still stuck in the angry stage of grief. Owen (Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary) was shy but started coming out of his shell as soon as Ryan arrived—his big brother has been stuck in a coma after a skiing accident. Sonia (Sarah Baker, The Kominsky Method) lost her cat, Cinderella. Fausta (Tonita Castro, Dads), who primarily speaks Spanish, lost her father and brother. Danny (Seth Morris, Big Mouth) is a soldier who returned from deployment to discover that his wife had a child with another man. George (Bill Cobbs) is an old man who has gone blind. Yolanda (Suzy Nakamura, Avenue 5) is the teacher’s pet, and an anesthesiologist whose fiancé left her. And finally, there’s mysterious oddball Mr. K (Brett Gelman, Stranger Things) who seems to make every situation just a little bit more awkward—as the season goes on, we learn some bizarre and interesting things about his past.

The series is not only a fun, laugh-out-loud comedy, but can also be quite heartwarming and endearing. The series tackles the serious topic of grief with humor. The group members have this instant chemistry with one another, and quickly become a loving and supportive group of friends. The ensemble cast is hilarious—I had watched this series when it originally aired, but had forgotten so many of the actors who appeared on the show. So many of them have gone on to star in other big shows I have enjoyed. In addition to the main cast, the series also featured Hayes MacArthur (Angie Tribeca) as Lauren’s fiancé, Christine Woods (Grace and Frankie) as Ryan’s deceased wife, and Piper Perabo (Yellowstone) as a former member of the support group. The show also included some guest appearances from sports and broadcasting personalities playing themselves, including Rich Eisen, Terrell Owens, Shaun White, Bob Costas, Chris Bosh, Jeremy Roenick, Misty May-Treanor, and more.

Once I started re-watching the episodes on this DVD release, I couldn’t help but keep watching. It’s a fun and addictive show that makes for a great binge. The writing is fun and witty, and I really appreciated that it was done as a single camera show rather than as a multi-cam with a laugh track. While the series never got a second season, the season finale still gives a sense of closure to the show and serves as a satisfying conclusion to the series. Though I would have happily watched more.

Go On arrives on DVD for the first time thanks to Mill Creek Entertainment. The video presentation is solid, with a clean picture, bright colors, and a solid level of detail—it’s just missing that slight extra pop and clarity of an HD release. The audio track primarily uses the front channel for dialogue, though there is some noticeable use of the surround channel to provide ambiance and score. The series’ 22 episodes are spread across 3 discs, which are stacked on a peg on the right side of a standard-sized DVD keepcase. Discs are labeled with the titles of the episodes they contain. Each disc offers episode and subtitle selection as well as a Play All option.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (7:55:00)

• All 22 episodes of the TV series spread across 3 discs:
  • Disc 1 (2:32:05): “Pilot”, “He Got Game, She Got Cats”, “There’s No ‘Ryan’ In Team”, “Bench-Clearing Bawl”, “Do You Believe in Ghosts… Yes!”, “Big League Chew”, “Any Given Birthday”
  • Disc 2 (2:30:33): “Videogame, Set, Match”, “Dinner Takes All”, “Back, Back, Back… It’s Gone!”, “The World Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over”, “Win At All Costas”, “Gooooaaaallll Doll!”, “Comeback Player Of The Year”
  • Disc 3 (2:52:22): “Pass Interference”, “Go Deep”, “Ring And A Miss”, “Double Down”, “Go For The Gold Watch”, “Matchup Problems”, “Fast Breakup”, “Urn-ed Run”
• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles: English

Extras:

No bonus material included.

Final Thoughts:

Go On was a fun series that ended to soon. It has a wonderful ensemble cast that has amazing chemistry and comedic timing. The series is able to find that sweet spot being both a laugh-out-loud comedy as well as endearing and heartwarming. Mill Creek’s DVD release looks and sounds great, but doesn’t include any bonus material. Fans of the series or of the talented cast will definitely want to pick this up, especially at its bargain price. It also comes highly recommended for anyone who missed this comedy the first time around.