"Whitney"
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Premieres: September 22, 9:30pm on NBC
Stars: Whitney Cummings, Chris D'Elia, Zoe Lister Jones, Rhea Seehorn, Maulik Pancholy, Dan O’Brien. (more)
Plot: Whitney (Whitney Cummings) and Alex (Chris D'Elia) have been together for three years, and are in no rush to get married. But their close-knit group of friends have their own theories as to why they haven't gotten hitched. Whitney's two besties Lily (Zoe Lister Jones) and cynical divorcee Roxanne (Rhea Seehorn) have contradictory viewpoints on the institution of marriage, while Alex's pals Neal (Maulik Pancholy) and Mark (Dan O’Brien) have their own distinctly testosterone-informed opinion on the matter.
Why We're Excited: Having proved herself to be funny enough to tango with Chelsea Handler on her E! talk show "Chelsea Lately," there's no question that Whitney Cummings has the chops to headline her own comedy project. Little wonder, then, that NBC is selling her as this fall's "It Girl." Much of the pilot's content is drawn from her comedy routines, mining humor from relationship weirdness and her own awkwardness when it comes to navigating etiquette and society's expectations of women. Her brassy style of flubbing her way through an acquaintance's wedding, for example, has shades of Lucille Ball's physical humor in it.
Why We're Not: Sadly, we do not love "Whitney," which joins a long line of broadcast television vehicles for comedians whose raw style suffers under primetime's diluting spotlight. It's not the worst sitcom this fall, mind you, but you'll be hard-pressed to find much to laugh about in that first half hour. Fortunately, this is not Cummings's only project for 2011-2012; she's a co-producer on CBS's much more likable "2 Broke Girls."
Trivia: Cummings is the first female comedian to perform in Dubai and Beirut.
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