- Network: ABC
- Series Premiere Date: Dec 18, 2019
Critic Reviews
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It wasn’t a fluke that the first “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” was as big of a critical and viewership success as it was: Nostalgia sells, but the quality also has to be there for a project like this. That’s still the case for take two on this live event special.
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Overall, however, the second "Studio Audience" seemed a slight deceleration from May's powerful first edition, an outing that had the advantage of freshness and surprise.
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The results of this second “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” presentation were mostly fun to watch, if at certain moments stressful, as a few of today’s actors (and one surprise “Good Times” alum) occasionally struggled with the live format and the precise rhythm of old-school, multicamera comedy dialogue.
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Even if the political message was less trenchant than the one presented on “All in the Family,” the actors did a better job of conveying the established family dynamics without resorting to the mugging displayed by Harrelson. Amos’ surprise guest appearance also sweetned the pot. The only weak link was Jay Pharaoh in Jimmie “J.J.” Walker’s role of James Evans Jr. Walker is a hard act to follow.
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More effort, in a way, seemed placed into making ABC’s current shows seem like library classics than in making either of ABC’s library shows presented in a live context thrive outside its own historical setting; it was left to the viewer to figure out for themself why “All in the Family” and “Good Times” were important. ... Plopping contemporary stars into old scripts and trusting it’ll move us feels like a cop-out.