Kevin (Probably) Saves the World

This hour-long dramedy relies heavily on Ritter’s ability to sell its outlandish, at times confusing, premise, and to the degree that it succeeds, it’s almost entirely due to the star’s powers of persuasion over any objective standard.

This sounds sappy, but this series doesn't pontificate. Inspirational and playful, it teaches its endearing lessons in an entertaining way. Filled with light humor and heart, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World is a show with potential.

We know this is sappy stuff, potentially, but it can be funny, too! Whether “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” can walk that line is a question later episodes will have to answer. Meanwhile, for all its weird mythology, the values it espouses are simple: Be good, and if you can't be good, act good, which will lead eventually to being good.

Quibbles about the premise aside, Ritter makes and sells this show. He balances the pathos and the comedy. In lesser hands, this hour just would not be appealing.

The rules explained by the angel (Kimberly Hebert Gregory, replacing Cristela Alonso from the pilot) are both complicated and nebulous, and it’s not clear what Kevin is supposed to do beyond being a do-gooder. Maybe “Touched by a Guy Touched by an Angel” is what this show is going for?

Quibble over the categorization all you like, but that won't make Kevin any less of a chore to watch. A variant of the tasked-by-an-angel genre that stretches back to It's a Wonderful Life and perhaps beyond, the show is theologically unglued and emotionally dopey.

The first episode is so sappy it belongs on pancakes--and, yes, I realize the world is hurting, but patronizingly low-grade inspirational junk like this is not the answer to anyone’s problems.