You're the Worst

This series has the time (and inclination) to really unravel the softening dynamic between its romantic atheists.

The show grows ever more confident each week. As Jimmy and Gretchen grapple with their relationship, their conflicts seem authentic and not contrived.

You’re the Worst immediately finds what all comedies hope for: character chemistry and a certain zing to the writing, transcending its naughtiest nature with a disarming taste of sweetness.

One of the reasons that You’re the Worst works so well is that we buy this relationship instantly. Geere and Cash have chemistry.

It’s Gretchen and Jimmy’s repartee, their unrelenting need to voice their awful thoughts, that makes Worst worth watching.

[Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash) are] both terrible people in a myriad ways, and yet, they really seem to connect, which allows “You’re the Worst” to evince an acidic sweetness through its bleakness.

Worst, created by Stephen Falk ("Weeds"), takes that well-worn conceit and forces it through the cold sieve of contemporary antiromanticism, and the result is often very funny.

The two principals in You’re The Worst at least are vigorously and often amusingly cynical. And over the course of the first two episodes sent for review, it even becomes possible to empathize with them--if only just a little.

Easily the most sexually frank show of the four, it's also the funniest.

We know the end point for these two; they’re made for each other. But the writing makes the bumpy journey nonetheless entertaining.

You're the Worst exudes some charm (Cash is rich indeed) but can't keep from overstepping, either. It's saved by relationship detail and human vulnerability that "Married" utterly misses.

Cash and Geere make the most out of every cutting line and look. But too often, the show mistakes being unpleasant for being amusing.

While You’re the Worst is eventful, its emotional beats are not exactly original. It feels like watching the first 20 minutes of a rom-com over and over again, a notion that I find not entirely unpleasant.

The notion of two superficial, emotionally stunted human beings struggling with the realization that they still have feelings is by far the most interesting premise of these four shows. But Cash is significantly more appealing than Geere (in fairness, her character is a bit less horrible than his), and the overall execution falls short of the idea.... This one, at least, has the potential to be something more than it is at the moment.

The premise of You’re the Worst is amusing, but the lines don’t match it. Once Gretchen and Jimmy get out of bed and back to their lives--he’s a writer, she’s a publicist--You’re the Worst gets a little better.

The show mimics an indie-film sensibility, with each of the leads conveying just enough vulnerability to offset their odious ways, although it’s not clear that’s enough--especially with the duo essentially being the entire show. (His roommate, her friend and the kid neighbor all feel more like devices than characters.)

A savage snark-fest in which two exhibitionistic misanthropes decide to hook up for a bit.

It should be noted that Geere and Cash are very, very good--they just need better material. (Unfortunately, the rest of the cast, even though they don't get much work, grind the show to a halt--an almost insurmountable problem except that Worst's penchant for trying to shock with crassness is really the stumbling block here).