Divorce (2016)

Its characters and situations are alternately aggravating, humorous and, to a lesser extent, poignant. Parker and Church are fully in charge throughout as a perfectly imperfect duo. Yes, they’re both that good--in a series that demands just that.

In this skillfully conceived series the characters never fail to remind us of the forces that drive them, and no one does it better or more compellingly than Thomas Haden Church as Robert, a man in chaos hurling his many selves around, all of them infused with his absurdity and raging wit.

It grows into something less brittle--and funnier--over the six I've seen, as the couple explore their increasingly unpalatable options and we get to know them better.

Though the central relationship is captivating, Divorce makes missteps with its comedy.

The humor in Divorce is so bleak and the characters are so toxic that you may crave a "Silkwood" shower afterward.That's not to say there aren't funny lines or excellent performances by the core cast of Parker, Haden Church, and Molly Shannon and Tracy Letts as the awful friends whose mutual meltdown at a party sparks Parker's Frances to ask for a divorce. Trouble is, they feel like performances from different shows.

The first six episodes of the show have their moments (and at least an ever-present Molly Shannon-slash-Sarah Jessica Parker gal pal angle), but it’s mostly a downward spiral of negativity and regret that could have been a powerhouse dramedy, but lacks a deft of emotion (or humor) to make the ennui worth it.

Frances and Robert are just irritating, and you really need more character complexity and a better actress for irritating to be funny. They deserve each other, but, alas, they don’t deserve us.