Well, Pan Am is gone (and likely cancelled) so ABC is trying another series at 10pm, GCB. It’s the newest TV show that’s co-produced by Darren Star, the man best known for creating Melrose Place, Sex and the City, and Beverly Hills, 90210. Will this show find success like those or not last as long as Pan Am did?

GCB follows a former high-school “Queen Bitch” (Leslie Bibb) named Amanda Vaughn. She’s become a widow with two children and she returns to Plano, Texas. Once back in her old hometown, Amanda comes face to face with the former schoolmates that she used to mock. Other castmembers include Jennifer Aspen, Marisol Nichols, Miriam Shor, David James Elliott, Mark Deklin, Brad Beyer, Annie Potts, and Kristin Chenoweth.

Is GCB worth watching? Well, here’s what some of the critics think:

Boston Herald: “The comedy is broad, though some Christians will be offended that so many here are depicted as hypocrites. But the March 11 episode, ‘Hell Hath No Fury,’ squanders the show’s promise with a story about high school bullying, the generation gap and how daughters repeat their mother’s mistakes or not. Oh, there’s hugging. And life lessons learned. Ugh. Please, not on a Sunday night. Makes me want to watch a marathon of Starz’ bloody Spartacus: Vengeance On Demand to wash the treacle out of my eyes. If GCB wants to soar to heavenly numbers, it better let the devil out to play.”

LA Times: “ABC has been touting its new comedy GCB as a cross between Steel Magnolias and Desperate Housewives. While it does have Steel Magnolia screenwriter Robert Harling as its creator, we regret to inform you that GCB owes more to the Real Housewives than it does the desperate ones.”

SF Chronicle: “The trouble is that GCB may be someone’s idea of Christian but it’s not really good – just so-so – and one reason it’s not good is that it’s not really very bitchy – just annoying… GCB will follow Desperate Housewives for now, which potentially gives it a nice ratings boost as it tries to get off the ground. On the other hand, the show’s scheduling proximity will draw inevitable comparisons to Housewives and, truth to tell, Wisteria Lane beats bougainvillea every time.”

Boston Globe: “The pilot is well sketched out, but low on laughs… If there is a way to deepen these character sketches, add some warmth, and perfect the balance of comic inanity, humanity, and Christianity, then there’s some hope for GCB. Right now these women just seem mean. And while that may hew to ‘reality’ for churchgoers who recognize these types from a few pews back, it’s not much fun – good, Christian or otherwise.”

NY Daily News: “ABC has invoked both those things in hyping GCB. Now it must slide them both aside. The Christian ‘issue’ should fade, soon, since nothing in the show mocks religion — just religious people with feet of clay. Ironically, the characters here spend more time in church than characters on any dozen other prime-time shows combined.”

Salt Lake Tribune: “Recently, Entertainment Tonight referred to ABC’s GCB as a show that ‘makes fun of religion.’ But that’s not true. The soap/comedy/drama makes fun of people who don’t live their faith. And there’s a big difference… GCB is hilarious and over-the-top, while at the same time reflecting the real world of the rich and often self-righteous. And those people go to church.”

What do you think? Do you think GCB is worth watching? If you’ve watched the first episode, will you be back for more?

Image courtesy ABC.