Critic Reviews

Yes, this rips off “The Larry Sanders Show” and to some extent “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and it’s not nearly as good as either of those. But it has a certain crass, infuriating charm.

The level of satire runs from mild to way over the top.

On “Curb,” audiences can relate to life’s minutia as dissected by its lead, as he tackles everything from rude manners to a bloated sense of self. Donny! is more difficult to relate to, but at just six episodes, that might be OK.

The edge in the writing on Donny! is pretty dull, as it simply restates all the absurd things about the entertainment business that we already know.... Donny isn’t a particularly interesting character on the show, and Deutsch--who uses his own dazzling New York townhouse on the show--never quite rises above the material.

There's little in Donny! that's surprising or unpredictable but as "soft-scripted" comedies go, it has the occasional funny moment. But mostly it's just another comedy with a cringeworthy Dumb Daddy (Donny Deutsch) lead character that's easily skippable.

Deutsch doesn't really have chemistry with anybody, so it isn't surprising that the scenes in Donny! that come closest to funny are the ones in which he's completely absent.

There’s some shaving that needs to be done here, all right. But if USA tried to pare Donny! down to its worthwhile bits--the few that could inspire any sort of enthusiasm--most could pretty easily fit inside a 30-second spot.

This is awful stuff. Awful.

At one point, a character scribbles "Donny Douche" on a pad for no reason other than, perhaps, an attempt by the producers to forestall some critic from using that phrase in a review.

"Donny!" would be as bad as you could imagine except ... it exceeds even your imagination.