If you are looking for some chuckles this weekend, consider watching the new Fox series "Sons of Tucson" and the second-season of Disney's "Sonny With a Chance." Both TV shows are counting on young, energetic cast members to generate the biggest laughs.
In "Sons of Tucson," three brothers (Frank Dolce, Matthew Levy, Benjamin Stockham) hire a schemer to pretend he's their father while their real dad is in prison. Tyler Labine plays the schemer. Fans of his last series, "Reaper," might notice a few similarities between Labine's new role as Ron Snuffkin and his previous role of Bert "Sock" Wysocki -- both are slackers looking for the easy route to fame and fortune.
"In my defense, I know that at first glimpse there are a lot of similarities to Sock because I played Sock and I play this character. But I think, as it pans out, you'll find that it's a much deeper, sort of fleshed-out character," Labine says. "At least that's what I was trying to do. But I do have a certain comic styling that is similar to what I did in 'Reaper.' "
Labine's energetic comedy style will be the source of many of the show's laughs. The same goes for Brandon Smith and Doug Brochu on the Disney Channel series "Sonny With a Chance."
The two young actors play members of an ensemble cast of a sketch comedy show for tweens called "So Random!" Most of the action -- including the behind-the-scenes world of the cast -- focuses on Sonny (Demi Lovato), one of the newest members of the group. The series also stars Tiffany Thornton, Sterling Knight and Allisyn Ashley Arm. "We are getting into our stride even to the point of being actively involved in the writing," says Smith, who usually works on the script with Brochu because the pair often do scenes together.
Brochu can't imagine working with anyone other than Smith. They try to come up with 10 to 20 ways to approach a scene and create the most laughs. "I can sometimes be in my own shell and Brandon is just so out there," Brochu says. "I bring him down as he brings me up until we hit this perfect comedy zone."