Critic Reviews

The comedy here can be broad, and is usually far from subtle, but there’s a buried message that promises better episodes ahead.

If executed properly, "The Neighborhood" could hold up a powerful cultural mirror in the vein of [Richard] Pryor and Norman Lear. But it’s not quite there yet.

It has political points too, about diversity and unity, preservation and gentrification, which are simultaneously emphasized and danced around. Stripped down to its essentials, it’s a familiar sort of comedy about a person who would like to be left alone and the person who won’t leave him alone. ... If Dave can seem too weird to be true, the Butler family represents a dynamic so familiar to situation comedy as to seem practically real.

CBS has taken major steps to make its new fall series considerably more diverse than last time. The Neighborhood hits that mark, but also marches to the same-old/same-old sitcom beats.

Perceptiveness alone will not carry a sitcom; it's got to have jokes. And The Neighboorhood relies far too much on the novelty of a black character spouting edgy lines that we're more accustomed to hearing from a white mouth.

It’s the misuse of Cedric and Greenfield that seems criminal.

It has all of the cutting-edge social commentary of a CBS sitcom from the early 1970s.

A quality cast does its best, but can’t salvage the cringe-worthy dialogue and paper-thin characterizations.