Cast: Leanne Morgan, Kristen Johnston, Blake Clark, Ryan Stiles, Celia Weston, Hannah Pilkes, Jayma Mays, Graham Roger’s, Tim Daly, Andrea Anders

Created By: Chuck Lorre

Length: 20 episodes

Streamer: Netflix

Audio Description By: post House Digital

Written by:

Narrated By:

What Is it?: The stand up comedienne is given her own eponymous sitcom, playing a grandmother whose husband of over 30 years decides he’s not having fun anymore in the marriage, and leaves her behind. With the help of her family, Leanne will rise again.

What Works: Not everything Chuck touches turns to Gold, but instead of doing his usual banter, he’s relied on the tried and true blue collar family sitcom trope that populated the 90’s, and still exists occasionally today. we did just lose the most obvious example, The Connors, but arguably Happy’s Place and Georgie and Mandy are new entries in this brand. I’m not sure any of these work.

They harken back to the times of Roseanne, Married With children, Home Improvement, Reba, Grace Under Fire, King Of Queens, and the block of 90’s working families. It actually reminded me the most of Grace Under Fire, as that show was shaped around Brett Butler’s stand up, and there’s something about the lack of presence that Leanne Morgan has (which does grow and get better), that reminds me of other stand-ups offered sitcoms despite being unproven at anchoring and starring in a show.

I did take the time to watch Morgan’s stand up special on Netflix. She’s OK. she feels like a newer comedienne who is being rushed into this, like they became popular later in life. She also seems to tap into Netflix’s new attempt at awkwardly attracting red state subscribers, with Ransom Canyon, the Waterfront, the Hunting Wives, and now this. All of these shows though scream of a liberal Hollywood view of these blue collar communities, and lack authenticity. Morgan struggles with delivering so many of her lines, I’m wondering if she’s allowed in the writers room. A smarter and sharper producer would let her guide the show, since it is called Leanne, and maybe even encourage her to improvise. Her inexperience causes some really rough line deliveries, because she doesn’t have the experience, and the direction she’s being given is likely non-existent.

Even the formula is wrong. Kristen Johnston is leaning in on a characterization that is so close to Leanne, when every other successful sitcom thrives on having characters that are wildly different, but they work anyway. Think about the difference between Roseanne and Jackie, or Tim the Tool Man Taylor and any character on Home Improvement. How about the clashing personalities of the female leads on Reba, which worked so well they brought them back together years later in Happys Place. Johnston’s character needed to play lighter, softer, or more uptight. But it has to be different. Blake Clark is great casting, as is Celia Weston, and I’m actually surprised at some of the range Ryan Stiles is pulling off. So, it isn’t all bad.

But it isn’t great either. There’s a surprising amount of linear storytelling, so you really do need to pay attention. this wouldn’t work as well in syndication like the old days. Oddly, that’s fresh for this type of show. Her kids aren’t given enough to do, like the series is running from being a family sitcom. but, it is that. It certainly isn’t Golden Girls, as Leanne is so shy about reentering the dating world.

Leanne is trying to work with a formula that created classic sitcoms years ago, before we moved to more trendy sitcoms in workplaces (The Office, Parks and rec, St Dennis Medical, Abbott Elementary), and the continual search for the next Friends. then, we also had the Modern Family phase, but those were not blue collar workers. Leanne wants to revive something that was, but like Netflix’s other attempts at reflecting conservatism on screen, it just feels like a misstep. It feels fake, which is a shame, because Morgan’s stand up is anything but. Even if I don’t think she’s at the stage to carry a 75 minute special on her own, she’s got a solid 45. That’s not bad.

The Audio Description: Post House does about what you’d expect for a multi cam, with a guy in the sound booth who gets paid every time he hits the laugh track. It’s not like the sets are dynamic, or costumes, and the cast certainly is not diverse. It is a pretty basic show, and basic description is what we get.

Why You Might Like it: If you think Leanne Morgan is great, then maybe. But stand up specials are far from actually acting. Just ask John Mulaney, who has managed to have a successful career, but whose self titled sitcom bombed hard. Dane Cook used to pack stadiums, but his NBC sitcom never made it to air. Not just that the pilot wasn’t ordered, they made the whole first season, and NBC decided they just couldn’t. Not even for a burn off. For every successful comic with a sitcom, there’s another that flopped. Ellen had a show that ran just fine on AbC, until that one moment changed everything. Do you remember her follow-up sitcom for CBS? Did you know Whoopi had a self titled sitcom?

You Might Not Like it if: you’re looking to feel represented as a middle to lower income blue collar family, with somewhat traditional values, only to find a sitcom that pretends to have its finger on your pulse, while basically doing what so many other shows do and treat you like you’re weird.

Final Thoughts: I think this is a misfire. Netflix could try and reshape it, but they won’t. They’ll pick it up, because it gets views, and is relatively cheap. that 90’s Show got a terrible reception and still ran for two seasons. I still can’t find anyone who has actually watched The ranch. Netflix struggles with the multi-cam format. the one time they had something great, One Day At A Time, they let it die. Leanne will live on, but I won’t be following her growth.

Rotten: 5.4/10