The Marriage Ref | A

      I’m not married, nor have I ever been married, but there’s something understatedly brilliant about the new NBC reality show, The Marriage Ref. It’s a comedic look at married couples who have some outlandish fights, but with the twist that there is finally a winner in these arguments.
     Couples fight over things like stuffing a dead dog, having a stripper pole in the house and keeping a dead husband’s prosthetic leg. Intrigued yet?
Hosted by comic Tom Papa, who is the “marriage referee,” the show’s panel of celebrities changes every week. Guest panelists like Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Madonna and Ricky Gervais argue the case of either the husband or the wife, and add a great deal of humor to the show.
     Baldwin, more hilarious in person than when he is scripted, says lines like, “Women come and go, but a stuffed dog is forever.” Papa, who makes the call at the end of the debate, does great impressions and livens things up with standup comedy.
Natalie Morales acts as the show’s “fact checker,” looking into facts about the couple as well as facts about their arguments. For instance, did you know that pole dancing can burn up to 250 calories an hour? The Marriage Ref is educational as it is entertaining.
Watching the couples fight has never been more amusing. One wife, Dianah Hunter, tells her husband that, “People in Hell want ice water, but they don’t get it,” after he tells her that a stripper pole is something he really wants.
      Some of these people are truly outlandish, and it makes you wonder if these couples are scripted or actually exist in real life. But some things simply cannot be made up, like a man whose mistress is his cat.
     For anyone who isn’t married, this show is like the what-not-to-do-when-you’re-married guide. And for anyone who is, it’s the man-thank-god-my-spouse-isn’t-like-that show. It’s witty, informative, amusing and certainly appeals to the masses. It’s a must-watch for anyone who is or plans to be married one day.

The Marriage Ref airs on Thursdays at 10 p.m. on NBC.

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