Critic Reviews

When the series premiered in July, 'Reno' looked like a one- or two-joke stunt, a smartly sustained 'Saturday Night Live' sketch. ... As this series has evolved, its format has proven remarkably expansive and emotionally rich, using parodic elements to explore these characters and place them precisely in a social environment.

The largely improvised series is a jangly American version of 'The Office,' with its best comedy revolving around race, gracelessness, despair, and a glorious lack of self-awareness, courtesy of the kinds of outsize characters who inhabit the typical workplace.

As the episodes have continued, something unexpected happens - the action begins to take a backseat to characters. It's not so much that you begin to care about this collection of cartoonish misfits, but the depth and breadth of their weirdness becomes the show's primary source of entertainment. Reno 911! ends up being more a surreal soap opera than a Cops parody. [25 Aug 2003]

It is laugh-out-loud hilarious -- if your drink doesn't spew out your nose at least once an episode, you're not paying enough attention. [19 Aug 2003]

Outrageous. ... Thanks to inspired editing, it all hangs together. [14 Jul 2003]

An exceedingly funny spoof of Cops that also manages to dismantle the entire crime-show genre. [23 Jul 2003]

Often hilarious. [23 Jul 2003]

An entertainingly raunchy spoof of reality TV. [23 Jul 2003]

"Reno 911!" isn't quite as rich and subtle as the best improvised comedy - the basic format becomes repetitive, and the performers sometimes drive the material into absurd directions when it might have been funnier to keep things smaller - but all in all, it's still a very funny show. [23 Jul 2003]

The opening episode sometimes feels like a "Mad TV" sketch that's going on too long, and that doesn't bode well for the long haul. But that's not to say there's not plenty to laugh at - and even admire - in Wednesday's deadpan debut. [20 Jul 2003]