Great News

A delightful surprise, Great News immediately becomes one of network television’s best sitcoms.

The laughs-per-minute rate is high, though, so the worst you can say about Great News is it's merely pretty good. [28 Apr/5 May 2017, p.99]

The series ambles along at its own congenial pace, lighthearted and largely without a care in the world. Great News can also be something of an Easter egg hunt for lovers of classic TV and classic Broadway.

A surprisingly solid sitcom that for the most part keeps its balance amid one absurdity after another.

The dialogue is funny, but performers like Martin and Higgins, who are both fantastic, really make it sing.

A loopy, likable new NBC comedy.

The writing is sassy enough to make you indifferent to the show’s source material, including, of course, the Robert De Niro movie “The Intern.” Martin dominates every scene she’s in and, in truth, the double Tony winner’s acting style, honed by multiple Broadway roles over the years, is so broad, only a powerful ensemble cast like this one could even share the screen with her.

Call it 30 Rock Lite, a slightly less subversive television-workplace comedy peopled by loopy eccentrics too goofy to be mean for long.

It can be a bit much at times, but there's a great supporting cast--including John Michael Higgins and Nicole Richie as the news anchors--and there are enough laughs to keep it moving.

There are some strong episodes, some big laughs and an ensemble that could become really special if the show is given the chance to further tap its potential.

Gteat News manages to be at least a good broadcast network comedy thanks to sharp writing and winning performances, particularly from “SCTV” veteran Andrea Martin as Carol, mom to cable news producer Katie (Briga Heelan).

The set and the substance feel a little dated, and the show leans into that ‘80s aesthetic with a bit of nostalgia that is both disorienting and a little comforting (much like going back to visit your parents’ house after moving out). That being said, once the show settles into its rhythms, there’s a lot of humor to go around.

Once the show discovers what it really has in its holster (a biting rivalry between Chuck and Nicole Richie’s Portia, for example), it finds its comedic stride with some truly inspired writing. Sadly, though, it never quite rises up to the levels of original insanity it learned from its predecessors or manages to surpasses them.

Yet if Great News is mostly what one might call theoretically funny, it is certainly not unwatchable. It has its untaxing pleasures. It would not be a stretch to call it amusing.

The cast combines for a few laughs each week, and outside of the stray fart or feces joke, little of it is bad enough to make you cringe. But goodness, this is Andrea Martin we’re talking about. Surely some network can find something better for her than "not terrible."

This is an uneven show--a lot of sharp jokes jumbled with dumb ones. You will not feel smarter or hipper for having watched it. Sample it only if you’re in the mood for mindlessness.

It’s just another sitcom set at a television show.

The show is overtly loopy and severely lacking in personality.

There are few funny moments. Give the cast credit for throwing themselves into it--especially Martin--but the proud mama bit gets old fast.