Review: Kristin Chenoweth sparkles in 'Trial & Error: Lady, Killer,' a perfect summer show

Kelly Lawler | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 10 TV shows you don't want to miss this summer Sometimes you can have a little too much fun in the sun. When it's time to take a break from the heat, chill out with these 10 cool summer TV shows.

Sometimes you need a little silly in your life. And there's no doubt that NBC's "Trial & Error" has just the right dose of silliness.

The mockumentary-style, serialized comedy that follows a murder trial is back for a second season, just in time to bring a dose of sunshine to a summer that has been especially dark, at least when it comes to TV (looking at you, "Sharp Objects" and "The Handmaid's Tale").

The first chapter featured John Lithgow as Larry Henderson, the defendant in a small-town courtroom in East Peck, South Carolina, and bright-eyed New York lawyer Josh Segal (Nicholas D’Agosto) as his attorney. Sending up true-crime documentaries such as "Making a Murderer" and "The Staircase," "Trial & Error" mastered an over-the-top, almost Mel Brooks-style comedic tone with characters such as Anne Flatch (Sherri Shepherd), who dresses and acts like a kindergarten teacher but has a number of absurd ailments and quirks, including laughing at tragedy and spontaneously jumping 10 feet in the air.

The latest chapter, "Lady, Killer" (Thursday, 9 ET/PT, ★★★½ out of four) replaces Lithgow with effervescent Kristin Chenoweth, the pint-size singer/actress who swans onto the screen and easily slides into a role that seems tailor-made for her. It's good, not-always-clean fun that matches the comedic heights of the first season and manages to avoid simply repeating the same formula. "Trial" remains slapstick and joke-dense, but with Chenoweth as the lead, the farce includes nearly as much gender-related satire as it does the true-crime kind, from its title to jokes about "lady drivers," female politicians and pregnancy.

This year's case involves Lavinia Peck-Foster, the first lady of East Peck, so beloved by the town that when she enters the courtroom, spectators rise for her, not the judge. She's found with the dead body of her husband in the trunk of her car, but no one is convinced she's guilty except prosecutor Carol Anne Keane (Jayma Mays), who's now pregnant, possibly with Josh's baby.

Now a devoted "Pecker," Josh is thrilled to handle his second murder trial, after successfully exonerating Larry last season. (An owl did it, of course.) Despite Lavinia's charm and penchant for giving gifts to the judge, jury and prosecutor, the evidence against her is overwhelming, and Josh enlists Anne and hilariously inept investigator Dwayne Reed (Steven Boyer) to try to establish her innocence. Of course, nearly every break in the case is matched with a setback, and a midseason twist might just knock the sweet demeanor right out of Josh.

Chenoweth delivers one of her best performances as Lavinia, who, as she's explained, is a combination of Lisa Vanderpump, Carol Burnett, Madeline Kahn, Dolly Parton, Julie Andrews and Hannibal Lecter. Lavinia is is all wealth and entitlement and Cruella de Vil-style cigarette holders, with a charming Southern drawl and baby doll-eyes that convince Josh to represent her.

Chenoweth is a gifted screwball comedian, and she uses every ounce of her petite frame for physical humor, whether it's throwing herself at a man for sexual attention, fainting dramatically or lying down to take a picture with the jury.

Between its bright color palette, sunny setting and jaunty tone, "Trial" is a perfect complement for a glass of lemonade and a midsummer heat wave.

The series has a playfulness that's scarce, even in many comedies. FX's "Atlanta" and HBO's "Barry" are deeply funny but mix their humor with drama (existentialism or assassins). But sometimes you're in the mood for something relentlessly upbeat, such as "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" or "Parks and Recreation." And the ludicrous population of East Peck would find kindred spirits in the weird citizens of Pawnee, Indiana.

Creators Jeff Astrof and Matthew Miller's stupid humor is some of the smartest around, carefully crafted so that a recurring joke about people peeing in a pool never loses its hilarity. They also know how to balance pee jokes with a parody of hit highbrow podcast "S-Town." Being smart and stupid at once is a trick East "Peckers" would surely appreciate.

You'll have a stupid good time, too.