The Paul Reiser Show
NBC | Release Date: April 14, 2011
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
38
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
10
Negative:
11

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: They bring David himself on as a kind of nudge to the ribs, as if to say, "Of course we know we're ripping off Larry's show." But what the hey? David's clearly in on the joke and is well paired with Reiser as the two of them riff off each other over lunch. Read full review
58
NewsdayVerne GayApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: Most of the material flatlines even before it begins, while never rising to the level of the HBO series to which it pays homage. Read full review
50
Uncle BarkyEd BarkApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: The older you are, the more you might respond to the oft-clunky, middle-aged craziness of The Paul Reiser Show. Read full review
40
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan StormApr 14, 2011
Season 1 Review: I'm not saying the copycat comedy of The Paul Reiser Show isn't funny, but it doesn't compare favorably to the cracked originality of Community or 30 Rock. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyApr 14, 2011
Season 1 Review: Some of the humor is decent enough, but some also has the same feeling as Paul's life: We're here and there's nothing we can do about it, so we might as well tell jokes. Read full review
40
HitfixAlan SepinwallApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: It's all incredibly broad, and lacking in any real point of view. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: Much of the action arises from Reiser's inability to manage his mouth, but where David boldly owns the dark and limitless empire of his self-absorption, Reiser still wants to be the happily married Dad who may say the wrong thing once in a while but whose heart is still in the right place. A guy who's just like you, only much richer with his own show. But you can't have it both ways; just ask Larry David. Read full review
40
The New York TimesAlessandra StanleyApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: The series is better when it strays from Mr. David's format, but mostly it follows it too closely. Read full review
40
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: Despite solid work from the show's supporting cast, none of the elements of this show really work. So far, the only thing it has going for it is that it kicked "Perfect Couples" off the air. Read full review
40
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenApr 11, 2011
Season 1 Review: It suffers from predictable jokes that are more likely to conjure a hint of a smile, not a belly laugh. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian LowryApr 11, 2011
Season 1 Review: The gag [that Reiser is "is happily bored"] loses considerable steam, though, once you realize he has chosen to busy himself writing, producing and starring in this tepid art-imitates-life comedy, which only serves to make "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Seinfeld"--its closest comedic kin--shine even brighter by comparison. Read full review
38
People WeeklyTom GliattoApr 14, 2011
Season 1 Review: Reiser, a precise, nimble comic, doesn't have the gut-level energy to bully life into this contraption. It's stalled. [25 Apr 2011, p.46]
38
Chicago Sun-TimesPaige WiserApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: The only funny moments came from Omid Djalili, who plays a sub-dollar-store merchant and cat-tracking hobbyist. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineKris KingApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: The central failing point is that the comedy feels strained and lacks the fluid mania that makes Curb Your Enthusiasm so successful. Read full review
37
USA TodayRobert BiancoApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: The adventures aren't funny, and the friends aren't believable. But the real flaw is Reiser seems to have missed one of the central points that gives Curb its odd, counterintuitive appeal: David's willingness to paint himself in an unwaveringly horrid light. Read full review
33
Boston HeraldAmy AmatangeloApr 14, 2011
Season 1 Review: The Paul Reiser Show is stale and dated. Read full review
30
TimeJames PoniewozikApr 14, 2011
Season 1 Review: The episodes sent to critics relied on so many middle-aged-buddies tropes (the competitiveness, the family obligations, the sudden drop-ins) that watching was just a chore. Read full review
30
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: The show never takes off, and Reiser, best known for "Mad About You," winds up looking like a shoddy replica. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanApr 11, 2011
Season 1 Review: Nothing in the first two of these trite NBC versions makes you want to continue with the others. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyKen TuckerApr 11, 2011
Season 1 Review: It's a measure of how bad this show is that it makes performers as good as Damages' Ben Shenkman and Eastbound & Down's Andrew Daly only slightly less irritating than Reiser himself. Read full review
20
Washington PostHank StueverApr 12, 2011
Season 1 Review: [Happy Endings] is a dream compared with the creaky overdose of Aleve that comes with The Paul Reiser Show. Read full review
10
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushApr 13, 2011
Season 1 Review: It's hard to imagine a worse idea than The Paul Reiser Show, creating a new void to replace the void that was Perfect Couples. Read full review
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