She’s the co-creator and co-producer of 2 Broke Girls on CBS and the creator, co-producer and star of Whitney. The former had a great debut on Monday night while many are having their doubts about the latter.
Here’s what the critics are saying:
USA Today: “Shot in front of an audience — a rarity for NBC — Whitney is Cummings’ attempt to turn her stand-up act into a sitcom, and it falls into every trap that the best such transfers avoid. The main character is too loud, too dominant and far too central; the lines all sound as if they were written to be delivered by a performer rather than spoken in conversation; and the supporting characters are ciphers who exist merely to reflect or foil the star.”
Boston Herald: “Every fall, a network promotes one newcomer as a rising superstar. If you buy NBC’s hype, comedian Whitney Cummings, star and writer of Whitney, is the most adorable mash-up of Tina Fey and Sarah Jessica Parker.”
“Cummings is talented — just look at the show she created for CBS, 2 Broke Girls. Her own vehicle seems to be a romantic comedy for manic depressives.”
NY Daily News: “Transferring a good standup or sketch comedy act to a TV sitcom is a little like transferring a souffle to a dinner plate. It requires a very precise set of moves. Somewhere between the nightclub stage and Whitney Cummings’ new self-titled NBC sitcom, Whitney, the humor has lost some of its buoyancy.
“Not all of it. Cummings’ boy-girl humor still has some of its sharp edges. But too often Whitney, which debuts Thursday at 9:30, plays like spliced-together one-liners and sketches.”
LA Times: “The pilot works hard at first — you can almost hear it breathing — swinging for a laugh a line and introducing the supporting cast. Whitney and Alex make two of a customary sitcom gang of six, filled out by a too-cute couple (Zoe Lister-Jones and Maulik Pancholy), a caustic divorcee (Rhea Seehorn) and a policeman on the prowl (Dan O’Brien).”
Hollywood Reporter: “A lot of the success of NBC’s new sitcom may hinge on whether people find its star likable or not. Whitney Cummings’ biggest mistake here may have been letting NBC make her show a multi-camera affair, complete with (yet another) overly generous live audience.”
What do you think? Will you be checking out Whitney on NBC? What’s your gut? Do you think it’ll survive to get renewed or will be quickly cancelled instead?
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