Speechless (2016)

This self-aware, quick-witted and altogether engrossing comedy is actively anti-tokenism, mocking the very conceit that it even could be by putting the focus on Ray instead of J.J. and cleverly jabbing at those who fight for inclusion without caring to connect with the included.

In fact, all of the performances are winning, with Driver deserving most of the praise. ... Speechless is shaping up to be one of the fall’s best comedies.

This is the best network comedy of the season (yes, that's a caveat), with its deceptively easy balance of heart and snark.

The briskly paced humor is delightfully irreverent, taking aim at PC posturing and entitlements of all kinds.

This show belongs to Driver. ... She’s a force--and a comic force, as she proved on “Will & Grace” and “About a Boy.”

This is one of those rare pilots that lends about the same comedic weight to every main character (and a good deal of the supporting cast, as well).

There are hundreds of family sitcoms out there, but with empathetic (and very funny) characters at its heart, Speechless is already a standout.

Speechless [is] easily the best of the new network sitcoms. ... It's a sweet, skillful and sometimes poignant performance [from Micah Fowler, who plays J.J.]. ... Driver shines, charms and appropriately horrifies.

After a ridiculous opening bit--in which Maya recklessly drives the entire family to a restaurant whose 50 percent off coupon will expire in three minutes--both Driver and the show settle into a solid and for the most part amusing groove.

It's not perfect right out of the gate--Kenneth needs to be defined by more than his amusement at Maya's unrelenting (and loud) mama bear style, though Yarbrough and Driver have a good comic rapport--but the family's likable, the writing finds humor in the world of special needs parenting without ever making fun of J.J. for his condition, and that world should provide plenty of fodder for Silveri and company to mine in success.

Speechless deftly blazes trails between irreverence and crudity, topicality and political correctness.

Created by Scott Silveri, whose brother has cerebral palsy, the pilot crackles with one-liner wit and hilarious monologues, many, though not all, delivered by Maya, who all but vibrates with her tangled mess of take-no-prisoner standards and eternal optimism.

Speechless shifts immediately into gear with zippy authority and a knowing sense of humor.

You won't feel like you're doing public service when you watch this show. It's very funny. Very entertaining. And it has a big heart.

The experience of being special needs and loving someone who is special needs isn’t exploited here. It’s illuminated here--and humanized, satirized, and, most importantly, laughed along with.

That JJ has cerebral palsy, which keeps him from speaking, as well as limits his obscene gestures, is what makes ABC’s Speechless distinctive. That he’s a flawed kid with a flawed family in a reasonably funny sitcom is what makes Speechless good, rather than simply worthy. ... But by the end of its first episode, Speechless establishes one important indicator of a new sitcom’s potential. It has a voice.

It's a promising pilot that gets the balance right on humor and heart, and that's enough reason to give it a chance going forward.

The sheer exuberance of Speechless and the unsentimental way it approaches its premise ultimately makes the ABC family comedy likable, funny and even touching.

Speechless is a wry, nimble comedy.

The premise may sound more sad than funny, but fortunately, it's not. That's due in large part to Fowler, who like his character has cerebral palsy and is anything but pitiful. Both are smart and funny and determined to be their own person, no matter the obstacles.

Driver’s manic spirit has never been displayed to such great effect. Yarbrough and Bowie bring warmth and depth to their roles beyond the script. At a moment when CBS has regurgitated “King of Queens” into “Kevin Can Wait” and its Matt LeBlanc series “Man With a Plan” looks embalmed on arri­val, Speechless is a fresh addi­tion to prime-time family comedy.

Driver brings the right energy and sets the overall mood as a mother who won’t take no for an answer when it comes to JJ’s rights; John Ross Bowie, as her husband, Jimmy, offers a nice counterbalance as a casual, laid-back dad.

It's not until JJ, who can't speak but who has plenty to say, seizes control, that Speechless finds its own funny voice.

[Minne Driver] jumps into it headfirst which helps the original sale, but as she settles into the role she will have to adjust the tone in order to toe the line between endearing and annoying. ... The real story here though is breakout star Fowler. For a kid who has minimal dialogue he has loads of star power thanks to fantastic facial expressions and giggle-worthy reaction shots.

Driver['s character] is so self-righteous in her advocacy, so insensitive to her impact, that a little of her goes a long way. And there’s more than a little of her here.

Speechless has a lot of promise, and Driver--who brings her same manic, pushy, yet charming persona over from NBC’s cancelled comedy About a Boy--is its driving force. But Yarbrough is quietly the show’s greatest asset, and his interactions with J.J. allow for both characters to have that coveted voice, one that makes them as deeply considered and uproariously funny as anyone else.

Speechless, created by Scott Silveri, wants to avoids mawkishness and pity so much, it goes way overboard in the other direction, making the audience feel like the cop who declines to chase after Driver when she’s speeding: he finds her so hostile and obnoxious, he says it’s just not worth confronting her.