Like its central character, Denis Leary’s “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” (FX, 10 p.m.) is a little out of time. The guitar slinging, groupie magnet rock star is a thing of the past, as is his feathered hair. The band in Leary’s show, the Heathens, had a basic rocking style such that their biggest his sounded just like David Bowie’s “Jean Genie.”
But they had interpersonal issues — the lead singer slept with all the other’s wives and girlfriends — so they broke up after one album. Now, with the craggy xxx about to have to accept a job in a Brian Adams’ cover band (which doesn’t even have as good a name as another such group, Non Bon Jovi), he rallies to get together with his moderately more successful former bandmate (John Corbett), who now happens to be a producer and Lady Gaga’s guitarist (which itself is sort of an in-joke: Gaga has a guitarist?).
The biggest turnoff of the start of “Sex & Drugs” is that the first thing Leary’s character, thinking he is still a lothario of note, is to go after a young girl who turns out to be his daughter. This icky premise is similar to the one in “Californication” and the effect is sort of the same.
This time, the daughter wants to be a lead singer and use her estranged dad’s songwriting skills — with the old band. So there’s a reason to get the old group together and Leary reverts to his Irish dad motivations from “Rescue Me” in trying to protect his daughter from men in general.
Along the way there are laughs — though not as much as in Leary’s other current project, the underrated “Sirens” on USA. And there are a lot of acute musical observations, the kind of which you don’t hear much outside of record stores (and which I appreciate very much). It’s the kind of inside joking you’d hear about NFL stars on “The League.”
The supporting cast so far can’t share the comic duties Leary has — Corbett is pretty much just peevish. But there may be a way this can become more interesting if they just avoid the usual cliches of rock bands themselves. Plus they have to do something about that hair.