NBC Mid-Season Pilot Review: Andy Barker, P.I. - Premieres March 15

Andy Barker, P.I. - Thursdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres March 15th at 9:30PM ET/PT

Andy Richter ("Late Night with Conan O'Brien") re-teams with Conan O'Brien (series co-creator and executive producer) in this comedy as he portrays Andy Barker, an earnest, hard-working CPA who has succeeded at everything -- until his new accounting business fails to take off. But when he's mistaken for Lew Staziak (Harve Presnell, "Fargo"), the retired private detective who used to occupy his storefront office, Andy embraces the twist of fate and dives into his double life.

Andy's relentlessly supportive wife Jen (Clea Lewis, "Ellen") isn't sold on this risky new venture, that is, until she notices a sudden boost in Andy's self-confidence. Andy's fellow strip mall neighbors -- Simon (Tony Hale, "Arrested Development") and Wally (Marshall Manesh, "Will & Grace") join him in the dicey investigations.

This comedy series was created by O'Brien and former "Late Night" head writer Jonathan Groff ("Ed"), who executive-produce the series with Jeff Ross and David Kissinger. "Andy Barker, P.I." is from NBC Universal Television Studio and Conaco. The pilot was directed by Jason Ensler ("The West Wing").

NBC.com is offering free online streaming of all 6 episodes, including an online exclusive with guest stars Amy Sedaris and Ed Asner. They are also available for purchase on iTunes.

Cast: Andy Richter as Andy Barker, Clea Lewis as Jenny Barker, Tony Hale as Simon, Harve Presnell as Lew Staziak, Marshall Manesh as Wally

Read our review of the pilot and two other episodes here.

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday on our message board.

Related Links:

NBC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Andy Barker, P.I. Photo Gallery