NBC’s summer comedy series lineup continued last night (after “Mr. Robinson” ended its run last week) with “The Carmichael Show” which kicked off a 6-episode run at 9pm.
“The Carmichael Show” is inspired by star Jerrod Carmichael’s relationships with his say-anything contrarian father, therapist-in training girlfriend, ever-hustling brother and mother, who is always, always, always right with Jesus.
Amber West, Lil Rel Howery, David Alan Grier, and Loretta Devine co-star.
Did you tune in?
Apparently, many of you did, because, as NBC reports, “The Carmichael Show” drew 4.8 million viewers overall from 9-9:30 p.m. ET, making it the most-watched summer comedy series debut on any of the Big 4 networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) since 2007, when “Creature Comforts” drew 6.1 million viewers for CBS – a span covering 12 summer-comedy launches.
This follows the August 5th premiere of “Mr. Robinson” which was the #2 highest-rated summer comedy debut on the Big 4 since 2009, a span covering 11 summer-comedy launches.
The second episode of “The Carmichael Show” also performed well, holding onto most of the viewers who watched the first episode, drawing 4.1 million viewers overall from 9:30-10 p.m. ET.
I partially live-tweeted both premiere episodes last night, and, based on the feedback I received from those who participated, your reactions were somewhat mixed. No extremes – nobody absolutely hated it; and no one absolutely loved it! If anything, most hoped it would get better as the season progresses; although I should note that it’s only a 6-episode first season, so there isn’t exactly a lot of time for it to hook its teeth into you, if that’s what you’re waiting for.
But in short, traditional on-set sitcoms – whether in front of a live studio audience, or accompanied by a laugh track – just don’t appeal to me anymore the way they used to 20+ years ago. They look and feel anachronistic – at least to me. So I unfortunately can’t say that this is a show that I’ll continue to watch. But I’m sure many of you will. Different strokes for different folks, as the saying goes.
If you did tune in, thoughts?
(Source: Shadow & Act)
