The Carmichael Show

The socially relevant half-hour isn’t a revolutionary development, but Jerrod Carmichael and company are continuing the proud tradition of capturing the particular rhythms of interfamily debates, pausing just long enough to let the audience reward them for their authenticity.

The show carries itself with a no-big-deal confidence, exploring subjects organically, as you would in a real conversation, and always rooting its one-liners in the psychology of its characters.

The Carmichael Show does not set out to re-invent the comedy wheel, but it proves that paying attention to the basics and generally writing to the strengths of a well-calibrated ensemble can pay major dividends. The continuing existence of this lively, well-crafted series is something of a miracle, and so far, it’s one worth celebrating.

It has great potential to be an incendiary comedic voice among a sea of family sitcoms with a harpy mother, a no-nonsense dad, a scheming brother and a girlfriend who wants the approval of her boyfriend’s parents.

No one is going to say The Carmichael Show is a groundbreaking sitcom, but it’s certainly a likable and, with some regularity, a funny one.

Everyone seems too busy delivering hokey lines to focus on being, you know, funny. [21/28 Aug 2015, p.96]

At the end of the day, or at least the end of the pilot, we’re left with another quirky family that mostly seems to be heading only for the next laugh line.