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Herc Says NBC’s Awful New Sitcom GUYS WITH KIDS Belongs In A Diaper!! Because It’s Shit!!
An improbably hacky new laughtrack sitcom from writer-producer Charlie Grandy (“The Daily Show,” “The Office”), “Guys With Kids” stars Anthony Anderson (“K-Ville,” “Law & Order”), Zach Cregger (“The Whitest Kids U Know,” “Friends With Benefits”) and Jesse Bradford (“The West Wing,” “Item 47”) as fellows entrusted with childcare. It also stars Tempestt Bledsoe (“The Cosby Show”) and Jamie-Lynn Sigler (“The Sopranos”) and Erinn Hayes (“Parenthood,” “Childrens Hospital”) as the kids’ mothers.
It doesn’t take a lot of viewers to keep a show on NBC these days, but if the network elects to torture us with this woebegotten dud longer than a season, I will eat a Pamper.
... a bad, bad TV show.… It’s a cheap, stale, stereotype-addicted sitcom where no one, male or female, comes off especially well or likeable, excepting possibly the babies. …
... rests most of its humor on a very tired and ill-conceived hook: Men taking care of small children is hilarious because it's so unexpected! … And that makes me wonder: What rock have the people who created this show been living under? It's neither unusual or necessarily hysterical to see men caring for the their children, yet "Guys With Kids" would have you believe that dudes wearing baby slings is intrinsically guffaw-inducing …
... some of the jokes are amusing, but the show is a traditional sitcom that looks slightly dated. …
... insipid .…
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... There’s not a single laugh-worthy line in the entire show … Notwithstanding the unfathomable reaction of the studio audience, the show certainly couldn’t survive on the basis of its humor, because there is none.
... fully prepared to lift the entire enterprise out of sitcom hell — are Gary (Anthony Anderson) and Marny (Tempestt Bledsoe), a squabbling couple who have twin babies plus a couple more kids. In their brief, cacophonous scene together in the pilot, Anderson and Bledsoe are a delight. The rest of the gang, including the other babies, should just get out of their way. Then we’d magically have that thing no major network seems capable of ordering: a funny comedy about black people.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... Truly, all the actors on “Guys with Kids” – even the unknown children used as props -- deserve better writing than what they get in this crummy, unimaginative sitcom.
… Jimmy Fallon co-created this series, and you’ll know it because he’s the one who announces the show was taped before a live audience. And right then and there, the magic — if there was any — vanishes. ... The adults muck it all up.
... a show that's as bland, generic and forgettable as that name implies. Guys Without Jokes would be even more accurate, but the one NBC chose will do.…
... Run, don't walk, from this depressingly generic retro-sitcom …
... it never garners more than a smile at best because it's so patently not unusual. In fact, it's less funny because the pretense that it should be unique is insulting. It's 2012, not 1955. …
... the execution brings such a stale approach to sexual politics as to feel dated by the first act break. Wait, men help out with child-rearing these days? Get outta here! … as these characters could attest, spare time is precious for harried parents -- probably too important to squander on a date with "Guys With Kids."
10 p.m. Wednesday. NBC.
Readers Talkback
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I mean any? The premise is beyond stupid.
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lol but who cares
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2nd is same as first right?
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I'm cool like that.
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Seriously, it kills me and I'm not being sarcastic. Hardest laugh I've had all day. Great Job!
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As I said in a previous TB, last year's "Man Up" was much funnier (if that helps). Very sitcomish - takes the characters 1/3 of the episode to figure out a solution the audience arrived at the second the dilemma was introduced. A conflict between two other characters had me not caring what happened because I was for the rest of the episode wondering "If they were planning on going out, who was supposed to look after their kids?". We all know Hercules hates sitcoms. I sometimes think that bias makes his dismissal of a show unfair. But not in this case. This is the kind of show that gives sitcoms a bad name. And yet I'll tune in next week anyway to see if it gets better. Still, no where near as bad as "Work It".
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Sept. 12, 2012, 5:08 p.m. CST
and I bet you it gets a prime timeslot, meanwhile Community is relegated to the Fright night graveyard
by TheSeeker7
I hate America
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I hate the lack of an edit button
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That might have been the worst show I've ever seen.
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Because if it's the latter, then damn...
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Sept. 12, 2012, 7:45 p.m. CST
The dude wearing shades with the baby carrier look is stolen right from the Hangover
by Joey Stars
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I know TV can be hit or miss, but sitcoms are horribly written today. Yes, the onle that survive two or three seasons are usually good, with the exception of some (especially on TVland). But Ben & Kate, The Mindy Project, Go On, The New Normal, Animal Practice are all horrible. This looks horrible too. Whitney sucks, but I blame the supporting cast and the writing. Whitney went from being a photogapher (though we never saw her take a picture) to not having a job. And don't get me into any POS with the words "Tyler Perry's" infront of it. The show is a mess. But the art of sitcom writing seems to be lost. Are they improvising more on shows? Is that the reason?
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Sept. 12, 2012, 8:03 p.m. CST
that's too bad...zach creggar goes from the greatest sketch comedy show of all time to this.
by la te ral us
why can't they just bring back whitest kids??? it was just starting to gain a big following on IFC
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Sept. 12, 2012, 9:25 p.m. CST
Of course Grandy (son of Love Boat star) is a Harvard graduate.
by mjgtexas
Nepotism + life experiences limited to Cambridge/New Haven dorm rooms= a lack of connection to real world situations. I guess not being a Jew was a hardship for a couple of years.
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Sept. 13, 2012, 9:35 a.m. CST
re: "that's too bad...zach creggar goes from the greatest sketch comedy show of all time to this."
by jim
Don't forget "Miss March" (by comparison this show's a step up).
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Sept. 13, 2012, 9:57 a.m. CST
Now we know the downside to the otherwise hilarious "Zach Galifinakis with a baby bjorn" HANGOVER one-sheet. Was it worth it America? WAS IT?!
by cmjmia
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Clearly this is just a bunch of hate spewing from jealous tv critics.
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And it was GOD AWFUL, which actually made me miss Whitney and Are you there Chelsea, yes it is that bad. At least those shows had chicks to look at.
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Sept. 13, 2012, 11:39 a.m. CST
Okay, Herc, we'll hold you to the promise that if this, or any other bad TV show gets a second season, you'll eat a Pamper!
by MrMysteryGuest
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I'm not even watching the trailer for this.
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...He was awsome on The Shield tho'.
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