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"2 Broke Girls" Preview: You Apparently Can Say Vagina on CBS. But the Laugh Track Will Drown It Out

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under TV Reviews | Comments (20)

Kat-Denndadings.jpg

Yesterday, in Seth’s write up of the CBS Upfronts, he mentioned a new show, “2 Broke Girls,” which will air on Monday after “How I Met Your Mother” in the fall. The idea of Kat Dennings in a sitcom, of course, sounds appealing, and without having any video evidence to refute that, optimism sprang forth from our bosoms.

Today, there is video evidence. And just like that, the optimism crawled down a sewer grate and hid under a rat.


What’s the point in even replacing one bad sitcom with great talent, “Mad Love,” with another? “2 Broke Girls” also comes from Whitney Cummings, who has her own show debuting in the fall on NBC. It looks just as bad.

The other new sitcom on CBS, this one airing after “Big Bang Theory,” is Kevin Dillon’s “How to Be a Gentlemen.” It’s another laugh-track sitcom. Look around, CBS: Laugh-tracks don’t work anymore (the exceptions, of course, all being on CBS). Those laugh tracks simply defuse the humor. They take something cool — like Kat Dennings — and transform them into something lame. And Kevin Dillon didn’t have far to go.











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Comments

Rickety Cricket is also a co-writer on It's Always Sunny, so I have hopes for his sitcom. But, Kevin Dillon seems the wrong way to go... Really, no matter what role your casting, Kevin Dillon just seems the wrong way to go.

"Kat Dennings" and "bosoms" in the same sentence, but it's not about "Kat Dennings' bosom?" Touche, Dustin. Touche.

Posted by: RobP at May 19, 2011 11:26 AM

Oh, and Mad Love was canceled? Damn. It wasn't very good, but the more it focused on Tyler Labine and Judy Greer, the better it got. Or, the more pleasantly watchable. And that finale was kind of a cliffhanger. Double damn.

Can we put The Thin Man remake on hold and just put Labine and Greer in The Fat Man, and make it an HBO show?

Posted by: RobP at May 19, 2011 11:29 AM

Those clips hurt brain!

What the hell is Cricket doing? Why would you go from writing on a killer show like Sunny in Philly to that garbage?

Were not going to even discuss Dave Foley. Because he's not in that. NO! HE ISN'T!

Posted by: Paultera at May 19, 2011 11:34 AM

Does CBS have 1 strip club set that they feel the need to use in all their shows?

Posted by: Mike D at May 19, 2011 11:34 AM

Poor Kat, that looks awful. The laugh track only makes it worse.

Posted by: Max at May 19, 2011 11:37 AM

Awww... I love Kevin Dillon. He was absolutely the best thing about Entourage.

Posted by: Mel C. at May 19, 2011 11:45 AM

I just don't understand the Kat Dennings thing. She looks like she smells bad. Not even a nice rack can make up for body odor.

Posted by: ceebee_eebee at May 19, 2011 11:51 AM

A nice rack can't. A perfect rack on the other hand...

Also can't, but shut up anyway.

Posted by: superasente at May 19, 2011 12:14 PM

I think Cricket's show has a laugh track but "Two Broke Girls" does not; it's performed in front of an audience, which is a more modern format than the antiquated single-camera format used by dinosaur shows like "Community" and "30 Rock" and "Gilligan's Island."

Okay, it's silly to refer to the format of those shows as antiquated dinosaurs, but it's equally silly to dismiss a show just because it tested its jokes in front of an audience. I don't know how good or bad this year's sitcoms will turn out to be, but it'll have nothing to do with the live-audience format, which demands more from writers and actors (since they actually have to make real people laugh) than single-camera (since they can make lame jokes and no one will tell them they're not funny).

Posted by: Jaime Weinman at May 19, 2011 12:21 PM

@Jaime Weinman
"[...] the live-audience format [...] demands more from writers and actors (since they actually have to make real people laugh) than single-camera (since they can make lame jokes and no one will tell them they're not funny)."

That sentence made me lose the little faith in humanity that I still had. Hope you're happy

Posted by: pfranks at May 19, 2011 1:07 PM

"That sentence made me lose the little faith in humanity that I still had. Hope you're happy."

Accuracy makes you lose faith in humanity?

Nobody's saying live-audience shows are inherently funnier than all single-camera shows. That would be just as ridiculous as saying the opposite. (Though people do say the latter all the time these days.) But it's true that any time you see a live-audience sitcom you're hearing real people laugh at the jokes. Doesn't mean we have to find them funny, but it is closer to sketch comedy, stand-up and even comedy movies - which test everything in front of theatre audiences - than single-camera sitcoms like "Community," "Modern Family" or "The Love Boat."

Posted by: Jaime Weinman at May 19, 2011 1:17 PM

the antiquated single-camera format used by dinosaur shows like "Community" and "30 Rock"

So, Community and 30 Rock's methods are antiquated but "Filmed in front of a live studio audience" hasn't been done enough, huh?

Posted by: Paultera at May 19, 2011 1:38 PM

"So,Community and 30 Rock's methods are antiquated but 'Filmed in front of a live studio audience' hasn't been done enough, huh?"

Neither method is antiquated. Single-camera is a little older format than multi-camera in front of an audience, but both are equally a part of the sitcom and neither one is better or cooler than the other, that's all.

Posted by: Jaime Weinman at May 19, 2011 1:43 PM

Poor Kat Dennings. That looks awful. I'll still watch because she does have some tig ol bitties if you know what I mean.

Person of Interest looks good though.

Posted by: junierizzle at May 19, 2011 2:05 PM

Accuracy makes you lose faith in humanity?

Oh yes. It's only my delusions that keep me going. Stupid reality. This is why I can't be a solipsist. I'm not that mean.

Posted by: BierceAmbrose at May 19, 2011 3:54 PM

Oh Whitney. How you've sullied your reputation.

Posted by: really at May 19, 2011 5:09 PM

I love Kat Dennings, this I cannot and will not ever deny. But her character is named "Max Black"? Seriously? That's the most contrived, cliched thing I've heard in weeks, and does not bode well for the show.

Bring me more Robin Scherbatskys!

Posted by: TheBoy at May 19, 2011 5:11 PM

Improvement suggestion to CBS: 2 Broke Girls, 1 Broken Cup?

Posted by: gforcetwo at May 19, 2011 5:36 PM

It's like NBC and CBS are teaming up to prove that women aren't funny. How do they manage to rip out all of the humour from these women so efficiently?

For the record, the implication of talent is intended only for Whitney Cummings, who is quite funny indeed. Chelsea Handler, meanwhile, has always been awe-inspiringly unfunny, now it's just in sitcom form.

Are NBC and CBS conspiring to undo the work done by Bridesmaids upon the willfully ignorant who actually believe "women aren't funny"? Hell, due to their fine work here, I'm almost starting to believe it, and forcing people to watch YouTube clips of funny female stand ups has kind of been my thing for a while now.

Posted by: Steve at May 20, 2011 12:14 AM

Jaime Weinman,

Haing been to a taping of one of those shows before (USA High, ugh), I couldn't disagree with you more. They tape each scene multiple times, and by the third time, even if the jokes weren't funny anymore (if they even were in the first place) the audience was still laughing because that's what the producers were telling us to do. Live audiences are just as fake as laugh tracks because of this. If anything, I would think the lack of instant gratification makes filming single camera shows MORE difficult. You don't have instant "feedback" as to what is funny, even if it is the audience patronizing you.

Granted I was in the audience for USA High, laughing at every tired joke each time they told it, and WOOO!-ing each kiss, so maybe I'm not that trustworthy.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at May 20, 2011 9:29 AM