B Positive

The writing sparkles; so does Ms. Ashford. The edginess of the dialogue, the rather outre subject matter and a seeming disregard for what has long constituted the stuff of network sitcoms are, in a word, refreshing.

Like most Chuck Lorre-branded shows, B Positive starts out as a barrage of one-liners, most of them admittedly funny, but not necessarily suggesting a solid structure for a continuing show. Yet somehow during all the raucous punchlines, some engaging characters start to show up.

This is a workable formula for an above-average broadcast multi-cam — basically co-creator Chuck Lorre's bread and butter — as B Positive combines inoffensive writing with a cast of impressive depth, giving this bittersweet sitcom room to grow its world in a variety of directions, several of which have real potential.

I like Middleditch and Ashford together enough to hope that Pennette and the writers find a way to work out the kinks and tap into this pairing’s considerable potential.

Thanks to its stars, "B Positive" earns mildly favorable scores at the outset, even if the title, as sitcom grades go, would be a bit too positive.

It's maybe easy, too easy, to write off "B Positive" as just another sitcom with a few setup jokes, along with the usual, predictable beats. But there's something else here, something potentially even good. Which would be? Call it comfort food, well-served.

With settings like Gina’s job at an assisted living facility and Drew’s dialysis group turned frank support group, “B Positive” works to lend more personality and authenticity to what could otherwise be just a basic odd couple show. Should it get the room to go forward, the show would be smart to expand upon those elements that make Gina and Drew seem more human instead of leaning on their wacky differences.

[As Gina, Annaleigh] Ashford is warm, wacky, larger and weirder than life. She elevates the premise of B Positive. [9 - 22 Nov 2020, p.9]

The “B Positive” pilot is decent enough as CBS sitcoms go. It doesn’t show the promise of “The Big Bang Theory” pilot but it’s not as bad as plenty of other CBS’s past sitcoms, like last season’s “Carol’s Second Act.”

Pennette’s mission, though, is to keep Ashford in the fold no matter what it takes. She’s the A+ in this fairly middling comedy.

We’re recommending B Positive mostly on the strength of the cast and the ability of Lorre and his showrunners to make the adjustments they need to find the show’s sweet spot. ... But this is one of the shakiest premises we’ve seen yet in a Lorre sitcom.

Middleditch has an uphill battle to make his character more sympathetic than annoying; Ashford needs the material to integrate the angel and the devil she’s being asked to play alternately into a single entity. But shows like this tend to ripen with time, so that, even if the writing never substantially matures, the characters do; they get real, like Pinocchio. Whether it has time, only time will tell.