Trial & Error (2017–2018) User Reviews

Trial & Error: Quirky, Fun, Twisty-Turny, and Absolutely Freakin' Hilarious!

[aaronredis · 8/10 · 21 April 2018]

OMG!!! This show is so much fun.

I'm so looking forward to this show's return! It went on such a long hiatus. It's about time we have a date for season 2. Every episode was hilarious! I think "Trial & Error" definitely deserves a second season. I'm especially happy to hear Chenoweth is joining the cast! She's just great! She'll bring a whole new dynamic I think.

I watched the whole first season in one day because I was so hooked. The best part is I wasn't expecting to like it. I thought it'd be stupid and cheesy. Boy was I surprised! I was sooo very wrong because it's such a fun and smart comedy. It reminds me of "The Office" and of "Parks and Recreation." I so love these mockumentary style shows. With mentioning these, I do want to say that "Trial & Error" is different from these two in that it's a lot more about the people and their quirks than it is about a workplace.

Another thing that sets this show apart is the many plot twists and shocking moments, which to me feels very innovative; this is not just a sitcom, it's a serialized comedy.

Another unique factor is that there are some touches of dark comedy and absurdist humor that really give this show its own identity, which I absolutely adore.

So brilliantly cast because the cast does a very good job at delivering funny and heartfelt performances. I genuinely laughed a lot. I mean, Jayma Mays may be the weakest link and that is saying A LOT to me because she's great!

There's more than enough potential for this show to go on. Considering the executive producer wishes to make 7 seasons of this show, and I'm totally up for watching them all if they stay this much fun, remain this witty, and uphold this quality.

Oh, and, just for the record: Anne is my favorite! She freakin' rocks. I lose it every time she's on the screen. Ugh. Just love her!

If you haven't been watching this show you're totally missing out on something so funny, smart, and refreshing. You'll find yourself laughing so hard you cry. It's absolutely worth a watch, so what are you waiting for? :o)

I give "Trial & Error" an 8.1/10.

Wonderful and funny! Great Characters

[guylaine_madden · 9/10 · 29 March 2017]

Really love this show. I liked the characters right off the bat, I laugh out loud at every episodes, multiple times. It's just a good, light, fun show to help you relax and forget about all the sh*t that's happening in the world right now. I look forward to new each new episodes ;-)

Such a great show

[dothancore · 8/10 · 21 July 2019]

I am writing the review long after the show was cancelled.

Just want to say I really love the show, it is funny, witty, with fast pace and some unexpected, hilarious twists. The main and supporting actors all delivered stellar performance living up to their characters.

It's a shame that a good show like this got cancelled way too early, while plenty mediocre ones live on.

So funny

[mariared-849-823291 · 10/10 · 1 April 2017]

I usually don't enjoy comedy sitcoms, as they are rarely funny and often boring, cliché with second hand humor. I watched this only because John Lithgow. I love his work and I think he is delightfully funny. So I am glad watched the show because I fall in love with it. I love this show so much it's so original, has a lot of dark humor, witty humor, it's a delight. I hope there will be many seasons to come. I love all the characters as they each add to the show. Well done! Finally, a sitcom worth watching!

I love this show!

[teejk-48491 · 10/10 · 14 April 2017]

Perhaps not suited for people that don't pay attention (there is a lot of stuff going on in the background). I watch it and always mutter that "this show is REALLY WRONG on so many levels (even say "f***ed up often)" but in a good way. It reminds me of "Blazing Saddles" and Animal House and the "Airplane" movies. Mindless entertainment at a time when we need it I think.

Fresh, Fun, Hilarious

[jmsnyder-91261 · 10/10 · 18 April 2017]

Absolutely one of the best comedies in years! ! John Lithgow shines in this as he does in everything. The thing is that every single cast member is Amazing! Seriously, I had no idea how addicting this show was going to be. I can't recommend it highly enough! We laugh from beginning to end. Every episode somehow finds a way to be better than the previous one. Can't wait for season 2!

Just goofy fun

[thrall7 · 8/10 · 14 April 2017]

Like a lot of people, I'm a big fan of John Lithgow, who is a very versatile actor. He's one of a select bunch who are adept at serious drama and broad humor, as seen in his turn on "Third Rock from the Sun" and his hosting SNL.

This show isn't pretentious about the humor. It's broad and fast-paced in most episodes. If you don't like one joke, wait thirty seconds or so and we've got another one for you. The writers make use of a lot of devices to get the humor across, including some quick-hitting sight gags you need to watch for or you'll miss them. (As an example, check out the slogan for the health club in one of the episodes as the trial begins.)

Jayma Mays is a bundle of sexual tension in her role as the ambitious DA and is nearly as funny as Lithgow's character. Sherri Shepherd is great in a sometimes too small part. Overall, the cast is wonderful and seems to be having a lot of fun with the show.

I will say that I don't know if this is a show that has a lot of staying power, though, because it's hard to see where it can go after this first season. Still, it's a very funny half-hour that really is a lot different from most of what's on right now. The only show that takes the same approach to fast-paced, packed with jokes is "Angie Tribeca." It works for them and it works well for this show.

Best new comedy in a very long time!

[ChristianCage · 17 March 2017]

If you love slapstick characters, fast paced smart writing with endless humor, surprising emotional twists with a murder mystery still being the focus point of this show for the season as a who done it, then Trial & Error is for you.

This show is so ridiculous & is only going to get better & better as the season progresses, think of it as if Law & Order had a love child with Parks & Rec. :)

Another great show that people aren't watching

[Bryan- · 7/10 · 29 November 2018]

At the time of writing there's under 5k votes for this show. This is one of the funniest shows in recent years and no one's watching. Not all the jokes work but the ones that do hit hard.

Edit: Upon watching this again I'm having serious issues with the constant zooming of the camera.

Silly, Mindless Fun!

[gbacina · 9/10 · 28 April 2017]

Hilarious, well written series. It just gets better as it progresses. The acting is excellent. Sherry Shepherd is particularly good in her role as a woman who suffers strange ailments for every circumstance. This is total fantasy and laugh out loud looniness. 1/2 hour of pure entertainment!

quirky fun

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 16 January 2019]

It's East Peck, South Carolina. A documentary film crew follows inexperienced New York lawyer Josh Segal (Nicholas D'Agosto) defending Larry Henderson (John Lithgow) accused of killing his wife Margaret. Dwayne Reed (Steven Boyer) is his idiotic investigator and former cop. Anne Flatch (Sherri Shepherd) is the assistant suffering from many different ailments. Summer Henderson (Krysta Rodriguez) is Larry's adopted daughter. Carol Anne Keane (Jayma Mays) is the assistant district attorney. The second season has Josh moving permanently to East Peck and town founding family member Lavinia Peck-Foster (Kristin Chenoweth) as his new client.

This is a quirky faux-doc legal comedy of quirky characters. It's The Office except much sillier. It's generally fun with a light murder trial or two. Astrof and Miller seem well versed in writing and producing TV comedies. The show started out well but continuing decline in viewership meant it only had two short seasons. I would have liked to have one or two more seasons.

Hilarious

[labman-40649 · 10/10 · 26 March 2017]

This is the funniest television show I have seen in the last 25 years. My family and I laugh the entire length of the show until we are crying!!! Keep up the awesome work. You are the true Kings and Queens of Comedy!!!! The entire cast is beyond brilliant!!!! I truly hope this show will be on as long as Gunsmoke was.

Great mix of characters, quirky, funny show...

[wildsparrow16 · 7/10 · 20 March 2017]

I have loved Lithgow since 3rd Rock From the Sun, back in the day. This is a funny show and the characters mesh very well together. I love his office staff, especially his secretary and her numerous neurosis conditions. The law office shares space with a taxidermy outfit. This show is especially funny if you are southern and familiar with certain southern traits such as our dislike of strong displays of painful emotion ("I've never seen my wife so upset!" Camera zoom on wife showing no emotion whatsoever). The show is surprisingly tender and sweet, too.

Nothing new to be found in this played out genre

[slkellygoo · 3/10 · 17 March 2017]

I'll start off by saying, I've liked John Lithgow as an actor in general, but I always hated his acting in 3rd Rock. I've never watch a full episode of that show because the overacting turns me off within a few scenes. I did like his portrayal as Barney's father on How I Met Your Mother, so I watched the first two episodes of this to see how it would be, but with the above "prejudice". So with that said....

Trial & Error, two episodes in, is in all respects, completely unoriginal and derivative. Every aspect I can think of to consider it by, it seems like nothing but poor a poor ripoff of at least two or three other sitcom tropes.

The first, most obvious rehash is the faux-cumentary format, proposing that what you are watching filming of a documentary, filled with fourth-wall breakage as characters directly address the camera as if talking to a reporter or interviewer, with all the used up flubs, misstatements, suddenly being interrupted by another character walking in with embarrassing or incriminating revelations, supposedly unaware of the camera crew standing five feet away. This now-barren ground has already been worn bare, cultivated masterfully by shows like The Office (British and American) and Arrested Development. But there's really no new life to be drawn out here - or if there might be, this show makes no effort to find it. It's all the same faux-cumentary gags that have been played out in many other good shows - and many more bad ones. There's nothing fresh to be found here. Or if there is, there's no talent or attempt to find it.

Another thing that stood out to me was that this feels like a cheep ripoff of Arrested Development, especially in the lead character of Larry Henderson. He just feels like a weak, limp interpretation of Jeffery Tambor's portrayal of George Bluth Sr. While the characters themselves have some differences - the conniving and obviously guilty Bluth vs. the completely bumbling idiot Henderson - it's still the same basic story arc, arrested in the outset, apparently guilty while claiming innocence, sudden revelations about the character's actions or traits. It all just felt like second hand clothes - once fresh and crisp, now just worn and limp.

Josh Segal, played by Nocholas D'Agosto, sits uncomfortably in the Michael Bluth slot, the one "normal", sane character surrounded by absurdity - just more the fish-out-of-water in that he's an outsider to the small southern town where the story is set. Other characters are just absurd caricatures, much as were the surrounding characters in Arrested Development - but still, they all feel uninspired compared to other, better shows.

And, off of that, there's all the southern stereotypes embodied in those characters. And I don't say that out of any offense at the stereotyping itself, there's just nothing new. It's all very stale. Another review mentioned My Cousin Vinny, which I hadn't thought of when watching it, but that is a story that does an infinitely better job of using the the character and idiosyncrasies of southern culture to further the story. Trial & Error just throws in jokes that have been done a thousand times, lazily presuming they're funny when they're just boring.

As for John Lithgow, his portrayal of Larry Henderson, the completely inept, situationally incompetent poetry professor accused of murdering his wife, isn't quite as over-the-top, over done, and buffoonish (from my perspective) as 3rd Rock, but it still has that same feel - just reigned in a little. So if you like Dick Solomon, you should enjoy his performance here. And I would probably give him more time to develop the character - if the rest of the show wasn't so uninspired.

The only other character I enjoyed a bit was the receptionist Anne Flatch, portrayed by the wonderful Sherri Shepherd. She pulls back a little on her exuberance in her performance here - but in a good way. It makes it feel a little fresh. One of the best gags introduces in her character was the various and random disorders she suffers from. She pulls off the various gags well, but... here, with their one fresh idea, the writers even managed to screw it up - they introduced four or five of these disorders over the course of two episode to the point that it took an adorable character with a quirk or two to a total basket case. Shepherd did her part portraying these, the writers kind of blew their load by throwing so many into what should be a brief glimpse into this character, that they just turned her into a nut job. As far as character development it's just lazy.

Which, I guess, leads to a summary: the writers/creators took a good group of actors, a possibly decent premise, but in the end everything else felt lazy, uninspired, and generally ripped off of other, much more creative predecessors. Maybe they will find a way to make this more fresh, but I don't know that I'll stick around to find out.

Nothing like it.

[ozzytank · 10/10 · 29 August 2018]

Addicted to this show. Quirky, unpredictable, original, likable and absolutely hilarious. Thought the second season would struggle to compare to season one... I was wrong.

BRING THIS SHOW BACK!!!

[delaynephillips · 10/10 · 21 August 2022]

This is one of the most underrated shows of all time! I don't know WHY this was cancelled but let's try to bring it back!!! It is absolutely clever and hilarious. I will always stan Trial and Error!

LOVE THIS SHOW

[sssidhva · 10/10 · 6 August 2020]

Holy cow, I didn't think I'd laugh at the bits in a show as hard as I did in The Office.

This show has such an amazing overall vibe! The characters are just brilliant, and each actor plays their role amazingly well!

The screenplay is amazing, the jokes are brilliantly timed and delivered, the production is stellar, the camera work is perfect. I love it. Every single detail, nailed.

Please bring this show back, and give us more seasons! I swear with the right marketing, this show could be HUGE. We're talking mass-appeal! I hadn't heard of this till I stumbled across this in Amazon Prime, and I'm so sad to learn that there's only 2 seasons! Please, please bring it back!

Lithgow is perfect for 'Trial and Error'

[LiquidPoetry1921 · 8/10 · 15 March 2017]

With the popularity of true crime shows like 'Making of a Murderer' and 'The Jinx', you knew it wouldn't be long before a show came along to spoof them...and this is definitely it!

Starring John Lithgow (The Crown) as Larry Henderson, a roller-skating obsessed poetry professor who has been accused of killing his wife by throwing her through a plate-glass window. Unfortunately for Larry, this is also how his first wife died. Hired for his legal defense is 'northeasterner' Josh Segal (Nick D'Agostino), who is assisted by bumbling ex-cop Dwayne Reed (Steven Boyer) and completely ineffective secretary Anne Flatch (Sherry Shepard).

Viewers of the show "Parks and Recreation" might find this show quite similar to that one. Although there were funny lines from all the characters, is was definitely Lithgow who carried the show with his incredible comedic timing and dead-pan expressions. Although the first couple of episodes may have been a little too similar to other 'documentary style' sit-coms, 'Trial and Error' has one important thing that those other shows did not...Lithgow. And for that reason alone, this show might just make it!

Murder Most Silly

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 15 March 2017]

Larry Henderson is accused of his wife's murder. Her death was caused by crashing through a window. He claims he loved her dearly. A young New York lawyer (Nicholas D'Agosta as Josh Segal) is sent down to handle the preliminaries in Larry's trial. His two assistants--chosen from local talent--are dedicated to the cause, but fairly useless.

The conceit of this comedy is that the viewer is watching documentary footage. This allows the actors to break the fourth wall. Other comic underpinnings are the fish out of water nature of Josh coping with Southern customs and prejudices, the dumb redneck, the secretary who suffers from a plethora of psychological syndromes, and the wackiness of Larry (John Lithgow).

Jayma Mays plays the prosecuting attorney with political aspirations. As a whole, the cast is strong. I found the writing to be funny, but I wonder if it can remain funny by repeatedly mining the same tropes. In the first two episodes, the writers have shown a certain fearlessness. Given the level of absurdity in the show's premises, there is plenty of room for unpredictable twists. And this is a show ripe for juicy guest starring roles.

Although this is no "My Cousin Vinny", it has promise. And I have laughed out loud enough to make me very interested.

This Show Is/Was Brilliant

[jeepyjb · 10/10 · 1 February 2019]

John Lithgow? Genius. Kristin Chenoweth? Brilliant as usual. The rest of the cast? Absolutely hilarious! This is the kind of intelligent camp I expect from a good sitcom. The constant banter, the one liners, the physical comedy, and the double entendres are all well written. Even quite a few running jokes and multi-episode built up jokes. Its a lot like modern family in style, and diversity of humor. Was surprised to find season 2 cut short, but the ending left it open to be brought back. I hope someone sees the sense to give it another go before the show, and all its amazingness is forgotten in the annals of tv history.

Entertaining

[drjgardner · 7/10 · 31 March 2017]

Trial and Error has an entertaining premise and great acting. The cast is uniformly wonderful though some (Cristine Rose, Bob Gunton) are under utilized. It's got clever writing, but unfortunately it generates snickers and smiles rather than belly laughs.

I like comedies like "Big Bang", "Mom", "Fresh off the Boat", and "Life in Pieces" and each of these comedies delivers the big laughs. "Trail and Error" doesn't but it is entertaining and it's always good to see John Lithgow

Funny. Funny. Funny.

[Laight · 10/10 · 22 October 2020]

Probably one of the funniest network shows to come along in a while, T&E is a work of comic art. Nicholas D'Agosto is excellent at portraying a sweet, totally endearing schlump who tries hard but can't help but fail, even when he wins. The rest of the cast is terrific as well. The show does have a tendency to repeat the same jokes over and over, but that's a small quibble in a show that so much deserved to come back for another season. Really worth watching. And laughing.

Lithgow is always good

[mcmugged · 7/10 · 24 March 2017]

I really looked forward to a new comedy starring John Lithgow. This one is pretty funny even though there is a lot of ridiculousness to it. The secretary who can't remember faces and feints when she sees beauty, and laughs at inappropriate times, etc. could get old.

The one thing I find irritating is that too many comedies these days rely on raunchy jokes. Some writers can make any subject hilarious, but too many of them write jokes in the way which remind me of what I used to think was funny when I was 10 years old. At least John Lithgow has a way of making even stupid jokes seem innocent and funny. So it is worth watching for him.

John Lithgow should have passed on this series regardless of what they are paying him

[Ed-Shullivan · 5/10 · 15 March 2017]

After just watching the pilot episode and a second episode we understand that the premise of this series is that a slightly quirky Larry Henderson (John Lithgow) does not seem to be too worried that he is the prime suspect after his wife was apparently murdered and he seems to be more upset that the cable guy is late for his appointment.

So Larry Henderson is being represented by a crack pot team consisting of junior lawyer Josh Segal (Nicholas D'Agosto) who is referred to as a good lawyer because he is a north easterner (another name for someone with a heritage that rhymes with "new"). Josh is picked up at the airport by the lead investigator Dwayne Reed (Steven Boyer) who happens to be an inept former cop who was fired after shooting at his own empty police cruiser after watching it roll away in neutral which was his fault in the first place. Now this dynamic du(d)o is supported by an administrative assistant named Anne Flatch (Sherri Shepherd) who has an endless supply of ridiculous illnesses such as she cannot recognize any face five seconds after she has seen it, she laughs uncontrollably even when there is bad news being relayed, and she faints when she sees a pretty picture. I assume the writers thought that we would find Anne's idiosyncrasies funny but I barely grimaced, let alone chuckle.

Jayma Mays whose last starring TV role was in the 2009 series Glee plays assistant District Attorney Carol Anne Keane who would like nothing more to than win this murder conviction and see Larry Henderson receive a lethal dose of poison, which she states is the most humane way of ridding the world of Larry who is accused of murdering his wife, who surprisingly happened to die in a similar manner as John's first wife. Oh and as for John's reason for killing his second wife it is claimed he likes to lock lips with his male personal trainer.

In summary Trial and Error is a cross between the 1977 comedy series Soap and the 2009 comedy series Modern Family. Unfortunately the first two episodes were forgettable and I do not give this series much of a chance of being extended as long as either of the aforementioned comedy series Soap or Modern Family. I just hope John Lithgow's salary was guaranteed for the first 13 episodes which is more than I can say this series is guaranteed to make it through.

Sorry John... I can only rank this series a 5 out of 10

Clever and silly, so much fun!

[Christopher_bwrs · 10/10 · 5 April 2019]

Kristin Chenoweth was the perfect choice for the second season, she nailed that role perfectly! So wished they would had been a 3rd season, so wanted more and to see how everything turned out. I always laughed from the guy waving the flags shouting, "Lady Driver". So hilarious!