Tanya “EOTM” Blakes Review: Happy Endings — Not Funny — But Paul Reiser Sure Is

By: Tanya Blake — the infamous – dammit — and it’s my review — so leave a comment below!

Tanya Blake

 

‘The Paul Reiser Show a comedy premieres tomorrow –‘ (8:30PM ET Thursday, NBC) — debuting tomorrow — and many are already giving it a thumbs up — well I am!

Image Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

‘The Paul Reiser Show’ is taking on a new approach to the half-hour network comedy.

It’s not about dating or relationships, so it’s got that going for it, but it’s also not imaginative or amusing. It’s strange to see Reiser attempt to meld the very specific sensibilities of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ with those of a generic comedy about suburban life, and to say that the hybrid isn’t viable is putting it mildly.

Part of the appeal of the show will depend your Reiser tolerance level, and I must admit, I was never a big fan of ‘Mad About You,’ his long-running NBC sitcom. Still, I was open to a show that mined his neurotic-Everyman appeal, but this show doesn’t do that successfully.

The new show is based on Reiser’s own post-mega-success life: He’s rich enough to basically do nothing all day, so he’s highly involved in child care and, in the show, he hangs around with other dads who apparently have a significant amount of free time.

‘The Paul Reiser Show’ is a single-camera comedy, yet the domestic comedy feels like it was resurrected from a mid-’90s sitcom. It’s predictable, bland and feels like something you’ve seen before. But mixed in to the pilot are some diner scenes with Larry David that feel like outtakes from an average ‘Curb’ episode: The two men bicker and fight and those ‘Curb’-flavored scenes are just jarring in this context, because they don’t really fit with anything else.

I think I love it – what say — you?! Leave your comments below.