What's it about?
Centers around Whitney and Alex, a happily unmarried couple. Together for three years, the duo is in no rush to get hitched, which seems to get a mixed response from their friends. At the end of the day, Whitney and Alex try to have a relationship on their own terms - in a world that expects a more traditional approach.
So, how was it?
I've already admitted my prejudice against multi-cam comedies in my review for 2 Broke Girls. Fortunately for that show, it starred two immensely likable leads that drew me in against my wishes. WHITNEY, on the other hand, didn't offer me anything all that special to set it apart from other sitcoms. (Ironic, because Whitney Cummings created both shows.)
The idea that this couple is insecure because they're not married even though they've been together for three years is simply not interesting enough for me to keep watching every week. And Whitney herself is simultaneously too bitingly witty yet also inexplicably un-self-aware to seem like a real character. I don't need a caricature to teach me about unconventional relationships when I have a show that does that with better characters and better actors that makes me laugh more -- without a laugh track telling me when something is funny (yes, I'm talking about MODERN FAMILY).
The one bright spot in the pilot was Rhea Seehorn. She plays Roxanne, an utterly convincing, scathingly sarcastic, pseudo-alcoholic friend of Whitney and Alex. As absurd as her character was, she seemed the most real to me. I know people like her. If Whitney had more of Roxanne's self-awareness and comedic timing, the show might be more worth watching. Heck, give Ms. Seehorn her own spin-off right now and I'd watch it! As it stands, there's really nothing in this show to keep drawing me in week after week. No amazingly unique and catchy concept, no fully-drawn, engaging characters, and not even that many laughs. It's too bad, because NBC knows its comedy. Look at PARKS AND RECREATION, 30 ROCK, THE OFFICE or COMMUNITY. It just seems like they missed the mark on this one.
Rating:
* Atrocious. I will never watch this show again. Ever.
Nothing here for me. I'd rather spend an hour watching Michael Emerson fight crime than a half hour watching Whitney Cummings flounder her way through her relationship with her boring boyfriend. Good thing for Ms. Cummings that she'll still have the infinitely funnier 2 BROKE GIRLS to focus on after WHITNEY inevitably gets cancelled.
What did you think, Fellow Addicts? Am I way off? Or did you also find it...not funny? Vote in the polls below and then hit the comments!
(For a quick glance at the other pilots coming out, check out my Fall TV Preview.)
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