Trial & Error

:

Season 2
  • Network: NBC
  • Series Premiere Date: Mar 14, 2017
Season #: 2, 1
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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Critic Reviews

  1. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Kelly Lawler
    Jul 18, 2018
    88
    Chenoweth delivers one of her best performances as Lavinia. ... Between its bright color palette, sunny setting and jaunty tone, Trial is a perfect complement for a glass of lemonade and a midsummer heat wave.
  2. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Steve Greene
    Jul 19, 2018
    83
    Unhinged at times, oddly thoughtful at others, Trial and Error is more than parody; it’s a welcome wave of silliness.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Kristen Baldwin
    Jun 29, 2018
    83
    It takes a tremendous amount of commitment and precision to make comedy this stupid work so brilliantly, and once again Trial & Error’s cast proves wonderfully capable.
  5. Salon
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    Aug 13, 2018
    80
    Toss in the comedy’s solid ensemble cast (especially Sherri Shepherd’s bright-eyed Anne Flatch, whose assortment of exotic medical conditions yields inspired physical comedy), and the result is an agile, wickedly funny slice of summertime escapism.
  6. Sioux City Journal
    Reviewed by: Bruce Miller
    Jul 30, 2018
    80
    Highly addictive, it quickly makes you want to find out what happens to Lavinia Peck-Foster, the first lady of East Peck and her legal team.
  7. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Kathryn VanArendonk
    Jul 19, 2018
    80
    The plot is simultaneously all-important and also totally irrelevant. Lavinia must be brought to justice or be acquitted of the crime in the end, and Trial & Error has machinations aplenty for both outcomes. But for all of the twists and slapstick pratfalls, all that really matters is the magnetism of Lavinia, her dastardly deeds, and that truly fantastic swim cap.
  8. Variety
    Reviewed by: Caroline Framke
    Jul 10, 2018
    80
    The premiere is the strongest by a wide margin--which isn’t to say that the season slides downhill so much as that premiere is fantastic. It’s hard not to miss Lithgow, but Chenoweth’s Lavinia is a melodramatic treat.
  9. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    Jul 18, 2018
    75
    A summer pleasure. ... Kristin Chenoweth knows it's a mad, mad world out there but has the chops to make us forget about that for a little while.
  10. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Jul 6, 2018
    70
    Kristin Chenoweth is a diva-esque hoot. ... Slapstick antics and cliffhanger twists elevate the ridiculous tomfoolery. [9 - 22 Jul 2018, p.13]
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  11. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    Jul 5, 2018
    65
    Ms. Chenoweth is a smart addition but the humor is often too broad and, worse, predictable. When the show’s humor offers a more surprising take, Trial & Error shines--the “East Peck Lady Laws of 1952” are particularly amusing--but that seems to happen with less frequency in season two.
  12. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Jul 19, 2018
    58
    Chenoweth works her campy magic, but the energy from the show is different. A running gag involving the town’s attitude toward female drivers is hilarious and the kind of off-kilter humor Trial & Error excelled at in its first season. There’s not enough of that.

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best TV Season of 2018
79
#79 Most Shared TV Season of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 21
  3. Negative: 5 out of 21
  1. imthenoob
    Aug 9, 2018
    7
    The main cast is as enjoyable as they were in the first season and it is, at least to me, a genuinely funny show. The biggest disappointmentThe main cast is as enjoyable as they were in the first season and it is, at least to me, a genuinely funny show. The biggest disappointment is the absence of John Lithgow. He helped make the first season so great and his departure really hurts season 2. The new guest star of the season, Kristin Chenoweth, plays a character who is just incredibly one-dimensional and lacks any depth what so ever. She is nowhere near as good or entertaining as Lithgow and his character was in season 1 and again, I feel that is a major blow because she's not the kind of character that fans can get behind.

    It's still a solid show though and I'm hoping it continues on for season 3 but knowing NBC, I doubt it.    … Full Review »
  2. Davrosdaleks1
    Aug 25, 2018
    8
    I really loved the first season. It had a real Parks & Rec quality, but a little darker. Still, I had to wonder about the show's future withI really loved the first season. It had a real Parks & Rec quality, but a little darker. Still, I had to wonder about the show's future with MVP John Lithgow no longer in it, The answer: It's still loads of fun but season 2 Lady Killer doesn't quite reach the highs of its predecessor.

    Lithgow was the funniest character last season and no one is able to replace him. This is by no means a slight against Kristen Chenoweth as the show's new accused client Lavinia Peck-Foster, a southern rich woman and basically royalty in the town of East Peck. She's the Tom Hardy's Bane to John Lithgow's Heath Ledger's Joker. Chenoweth is having the time of her life as an eccentric socialite used to things going her way.

    The show doesn't quite have the joke ration of the first season. A bit more time is spent on the main trio, lawyer Josh Segal, the flustered straight man who's constantly putting up with the lunacy around him, dim-witted Dwayne Reed, and soft-spoken oddball Anne Flatch. They're all good characters, but it seemed like a little too much material is mined from Dwayne and Ann's foibles. The last season was impressive in that it had the traditional dumb guy moments and Ann's endless number of rare medical conditions work without them seeming tired and overdone. Here the characters do feel a little worn out at times.

    The show's move to Vancouver to save money seems to have cost some of the cast, which resulted in some underwhelming replacements. The new judge Kalitow's whole gimmick is that he speaks really quietly which gets old fast. It was apparent last season that Krysten Rodriguez's Summer Henderson was supposed to evolve into a love interest for Josh and become part of a love triangle with Carol Anne Keane. However, since Rodriguez is no longer on the show, they shoe-in crime podcaster Nina Rudolph. She has very little screen time and there's nothing memorable about her.

    Now, I know I may sound kind of negative. I'm just saying why the season doesn't quite match the quality first one. By itself, it's still a load of fun. There is still a lot of crazy, goofy stuff in this to really love. Again, this is like Park and Recs in that they just keep firing line-after-line and bit-after-bit at you.

    Unfortunately, it looks like this may be the last season. Cancellation seems nigh. If so, I will miss this show.    … Full Review »
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