GALAVANT IS one of the most entertaining and original shows debuting this season. The plot focuses on a dashing young knight, Sir Galavant (Joshua Sasse), who is rejected by the love of his life, Madalena (Mallory Jansen) after trying to win her back from a conniving king (Timothy Omundson). Months after this public defeat, a princess desperate to save her kingdom (Karen David) offers Galavant redemption and a chance to be with Madalena again, so he embarks on a musically-charged quest to save her.
The show clearly owes a debt to Monty Python, making similar campy, tongue-in-cheek jokes. Though the humor isn’t as unpredictable as that of Python’s classic sketches, it’s cute, funny, and is more mature than what one might expect from a fairy-tale show made by the creative team behind Tangled on Disney-owned ABC. The modern humor and vernacular contrasts well with the classic storybook setting. The bite-sized half-hour episodes are silly and lighthearted, perfect for binge-watching.
The songs are cute and a choice that works well with the show’s format, but they’re nothing memorable. They move the show along and allow more jokes to be packed in a short time frame, but Galavant likely couldn’t survive as a true musical. However, the show avoids feeling too gimmicky, mostly because it’s so easy to buy into its funny, fantastical world.