PILOT REVIEW: The Neighborhood

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Starring: Cedric the Entertainer, Max Greenfield, Sheaun McKinney, Marcel Spears, Hank Greenspan, with Tichina Arnold, and Beth Behrs

Created by Jim Reynolds
Written by Jim Reynolds, Directed by James Burrows

IN SHORT: Who Wants to Watch a CBS Comedy That Loudly Discusses Race Relations?

THE PREMISE:
Calvin Butler (Cedric the Entertainer) is a loud, Archie Bunker in reverse. He proudly celebrates his black heritage in a largely black Los Angeles neighborhood with his wife Tina (Tichina Arnold). A nice guy from the midwest, Dave Johnson (Max Greenfield) moves into the neighborhood with his wife, Gemma (Beth Behrs), and son, Grover (Hank Greenspan). Rounding out the main cast is Calvin's live-in son, Malcolm (Sheaun McKinney) and other son, Marty (Marcel Spears).

THE REVIEW:
I'm not sure if this show is trying to be a modern day All in the Family but it's coming across like a lame ABC sitcom from the mid-2000s. This is one of those shows where the premise completely overwhelms the pilot in the way that Mike & Molly's pilot became all about fat jokes. There is just one race joke after another from lame ones like Max Greenfield's character sitting down to play chess and saying "I'm white" (get it, because he's playing with the white chess pieces?) to just constant discussion about the black neighborhood from both the black and white characters in the show.

This show is a little worse than your average CBS sitcom because it's a colossal waste of talent. Cedric the Entertainer can be funny, but he is playing everything larger than life in a completely unbelievable way. Max Greenfield is coming off an iconic role in New Girl and Beth Behrs was the best part of 2 Broke Girls, and they are over-acting too. If anything, the two sons (played by Sheaun McKinney and Marcel Spears) had the most comedic moments in the pilot.

There was so much criticism of CBS for their lack of diversity in their network shows, but this is the other side of the coin. This is how CBS decides to do diversity. Instead of just having a black lead in a well-written sitcom about a neighborhood, it has to be a shrill show about race relations.  If they want this show to be a commentary about race, it needs to be way more sharp and witty. That's most certainly not happening here and I'm not sure that CBS in its current form would greenlight a show like that.

BOTTOM LINE:
I think there's a show here and maybe it can even settle in if it just becomes about the friendships (or fights) instead of about race. But this is a show that wants to be loud and obvious instead of nuanced so I don't see that happening.