Broke

In some ways it's not about poverty, but rather a tale about reassembling a shattered family.

We saw glimmers of a good show in the pilot, thanks to showrunners Alex Herschlag and Jennie Snyder Urman’s insistence on taking time to build the characters instead of going for cheap gags.

Broke is anti-escapism television when we need a mental holiday the most; despite its ham-fisted multi-camera sitcom set-up, it's too real... and then it adds a laugh track.

With Camil working his Rogelio magic, Leggero pushing aggressively for chuckles, Diaz's amusingly fresh characterization and fleeting warm-hearted moments, I can see the elements in Broke that might coalesce into something better eventually. But it's harder, based on the three episodes I've seen, to know why I'd want to stick around to see what comes together.

Sausage factoryline network sitcoms like this one — most of them, really — are weirdly out of step with the moment, like the obnoxious guest at some party who drinks too much and tells bad jokes before learning that he's not at a "party" but at a wake. ... Lamentable second act.