Extended Family

Extended Family had a rough start. I won't deny it. But its first season has improved with each episode. Yes - there are come cliches to the story. But I think the creatives took the criticisms of the early episodes and have worked to make it better.

This is what streaming CAN'T do. Let shows grow and improve week by week. With streaming you need a good first season from beginning to end because of it dropping at once. I know some streaming shows do week to week release but they film the season all at once. While that can work for some shows particularly at HBO, it doesn't work for mainstream streaming.

Linear TV is important.

After the first few episodes, I thought no, what were they thinking, this is ridiculous and will never work. But I have loved Jon Cryer since Pretty in Pink, and I fell n love with Donald Faison in Clueless. So I hung in there, and I'm so glad that I did. It is a very engaging story about exes who remain good friends. It's a light hearted comedy about family life. It's fun for the entire family. I think it's a well written script, and a good cast whose comedic timing is flawless. Does it get a little cheesy sometimes. Yes. Does it go overboard sometimes. Yes. But that's what makes it fun to watch. Cryer isn't afraid to step outside the box and be a little cheesy. I think it makes for good entertainment.

There were so many red flags right out of the gate that this was not going to be anything more than a mediocre sitcom. Unfortunately it did not even live up to that minimal expectation.

First was the completely unfunny trailer. When they can't even make you smile, let alone laugh, in the trailer, you know worse is yet to come. Second, once you do choose to give this a try (against your better judgement) you are smacked in the face with a loud, obnoxious laugh track. And while annoying as heck, it also always means there is nothing actually funny happening on screen so they need to provide the illusion of humor via canned laughter. Third is the fact that two of the three main actors are trying to be funny but simply can't pull it off with the dismal writing and plot they have to deal with while the third (yes, it's Faison, he is awesome!) is funny but like the others, has been severely hampered by the writers and whoever came up with this plot line.

I cannot endure more than the few shows I sat through to write a fair review, so I'm done. But still I say give it a try because we all have different tastes in sitcoms. I have liked some in the past that others did not, so watch and make your own call.

It has only been one episode, so this may be unfair, but it looks very unfunny with lame, hackneyed attempts at jokes. Abigail Spencer showed she can act on "Suits". I am not sure she can be funny.

Jon Cryer is still playing Alan from "Two and a Half Men". That shtick is old.

I may tune in again, just because there already no new episodes of any other network shows, but episode one was terribly disappointing.

There really isn't much more to say. Read the other reviews that are all saying the same thing. The jokes just are unoriginal and I don't think I laughed once in the whole half hour of the show.

From the corny deliveries to the spoon-fed laugh track, this show is clearly not a winner. But hey, they cant all be winners. That's what pilot season is for. But this one most likely won't make it past its first season. Great actors for sure, but this comedy format doesn't play to their strengths very well.

Jon Cryer needs to leave silly sitcoms for a while so audiences don't immediately see Alan Harper of "Two and a Half Men". He played that role for so long, that the only way for audiences to disassociate from that character is if he came out 100% a different character. But another wimpy dad role? C'mon. They had to know that was a bad call.

I've always been an Abigail Spencer fan, and she has surprisingly good timing for sitcom-style comedy.

Donald Faison was perfect for Scrubs, so it's hard to accept him at anything less than that.

Lenny Clarke is too much. And not in a good way. Loud, frying-pan-over-the-head delivery on his jokes. It's sort of his style, but it doesn't fit here.