Why I Won’t Be Watching Sitcom "The Exes” After Its November 30th Debut

Just by chance, I ran across a sneak peek for the pilot of upcoming comedy series, "The Exes", which debuts November 30^th on TV Land. The premise is as follows: female divorce lawyer rents an apartment to three divorced men whom she has represented. Cheap laughs ensue. At the helm are Kristen Johnston, Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, and David Alan Basche---a cast that isn't too shabby. But unfortunately the series premiere is filled with more cheese than a 350-pound lasagna. So, the chances of me following up on the sitcom are pretty slim. I guess you could say I had a few problems with this show, ten to be exact.

• 1. The suspension of disbelief was too impractical. Divorced men shacking up could be feasible considering the climate of the economy. But let's face it, how often do you find random divorced men bunking together in the real world?
  
  
• 2. I wasn't fond of the Slappy Acting. This phrase refers to the watery, slapstick brand of humor found in most PG-friendly sitcoms.
  
  
• 3. The three men form an awkward "family" dynamic.
  
  
• 4. The weight of the sitcom rests on Donald Faison's shoulders. He is good for a few chuckles; but they're so traditionally placed that all the life has literally been sucked out of them.
  
  
• 5. There were gaping holes in the dialogue. In short, this TV series is full of PG-Lite drivel, the kind of show you watch while recovering from tonsillitis.
  
  
• 6. Wayne Knight will forever be Newman (from Seinfeld). Even as he sits on this brand-new sitcom sofa.
  
  
• 7. I'm not quite sure how I feel about Crazy Sandy. She's goofy, slightly psycho, and is holding a dangerously lit torch for Phil (Faison). Though it must be said that these kinds of characters often give birth to breakout stars (i.e. Hustle Man from "Martin").
  
  
• 8. Is this place and male brothel? There is something very Madame-like about the divorce lawyer Holly's (Johnston) role on the show. She's renting the apartment across the hall to three men. She's giving them relationship advice (via role-play), hooking the guys up on dates, and is generally way too involved in their personal lives. Something just feels wrong about this.
  
  
• 9. Kristen won't do "lonely single lady" as well as Tina Fey. I know that this is a totally different type of sitcom. I know that Johnston's character is light years from Fey's. But I've been spoiled: nobody does Single Woman Woes as well as the "30 Rock" star.
  
  
• 10. It just didn't make me laugh. Despite the fact that I find different types of humor amusing, I found little genuine humor on "The Exes". I just found myself grasping at straws. One of the funniest moments occurs when Donald makes reference to "throwing a hot girl in the dryer" (you had to be there).
  
  
  
  

SOURCES:

www.hulu.com

www.tvland.com