John Lithgow shines in absurd gay comedy Trial & Error

Michael James 11 January 2022

Trial & Error featuring John Lithgow will have you laughing out loud.

This gem from 2017 has landed on Aussie screens and we can’t believe we’ve only just found it.

Trial & Error is the perfect comedy to binge right now

There are certainly plenty of TV shows to binge-watch at the moment.

With a surge in streaming services at present so too is the surge in new TV programs flooding the market.

However Trial & Error is not new to the TV game, having first screened in 2017 it ended its run in 2019.

That doesn’t make it any less hysterical to watch.

John Lithgow stars as Larry Henderson, an eccentric and aloof poetry professor on trial for murdering his wife.

As his bumbling legal defence team is established around him in the small town of East Peck, South Carolina the plot goes from hysterical to ridiculous.

Each episode unveils new and absurd twists in and turns in this small town trial that has everyone talking.

Presenting as a mockumentary to the legal crime drama allows the laughs to flow freely in this witty, absurd and irreverent comedy.

A cast that delivers comedic gold

John Lithgow leads the cast of Trial & Error with comedic perfection.

Soon it is discovered that John is bisexual and was having an affair with his personal trainer.

His character is camp, delusional and completely unaware of the continuing severity of his situation.

Of note, his fascination with Roller-scising (exercising on roller skates) is nothing short of hysterical.

Supporting Lithgow is Nicholas D’Agosto (Masters of Sex, Gotham) and Jayma Mays (Glee).

Respectively they play Josh Segal and Carol Anne Keane, duelling lawyers in the case against Larry Henderson.

Josh is determined to prove Larry’s innocence despite all evidence to the contrary meanwhile, Carol Anne is determined to have Larry put to death, to better her profile.

The chemistry of these two lawyers at war helps drive his comedy at a laugh a minute, but it’s the supporting characters that take the cake.

Supporting cast shines

Sherri Sheppard plays Josh’s assistant Anne Flatch with absolute deadpan perfection. At least once an episode she will reveal a different absurd condition she suffers from.

Anne simultaneously suffers from a condition where she can’t remember faces (but she can remember penises). After a trip to the dentist she will spontaneously speak in a different accent and after a needle, can only walk backwards.

Each time Anne reveals a new condition it is with the purest and utmost conviction that can only make you laugh uncontrollably.

Complimenting her perfectly is the lead investigator on the case Dwayne Reed played by Steven Boyer.

Dwayne’s pure idiocy is so perfectly timed, he and Anne will leave you in hysterics every episode.

Trial & Error is available to watch for free on 9Now in Australia.