Duncanville

Duncanville is a show where normal things happen to a regular kid. Maybe the fact that it’s not trying too hard is what makes it so funny.

While there’s sometimes a sameness to Fox’s recent animation efforts — comedies centered on families filled with oddballs — that doesn’t necessarily diminish the laughs. Newcomer “Duncanville” certainly prompts multiple guffaws in its first two episodes.

What will be curious to watch as “Duncanville” progresses is who emerges as the distinct voice of the show. Two episodes aren’t enough to offer a definitive choice, but there seems to be fresher, more intriguing material for Annie, Duncan’s mom, than the show’s eponymous teen.

The first two episodes of “Duncanville” reveal a show with solid voice acting (including a surprise turn from Wiz Khalifa as a cool teacher scootering around the cafeteria) that has a decent handle on its setting and characters, especially its teen ones just trying to get through the day without literally stumbling face-first into blistering embarrassment. It’s just too soon to tell how much longevity it might have given the strength of the lineup it’s now slotted into.

Duncanville is not a show we needed, exactly, but it's still a completely harmless addition to the genre that features some voices we always enjoy hearing.

The show is pleasant, manic and stale all at once, yet neither sophisticated nor weird enough to engender immediate viewer loyalty. Judging from the two episodes available to critics, I see potential for it to grow and eventually find its voice. But it also appears to be stuck on the wrong premise.

Do they have pedophiles writing for this series now? To much sexual innuendo towards children in July 25th episode.

This is nothing but a The Simpsons rip-off including the lack of quality and bad taste of humour of their last fifteen seasons.