Pilot Review: I Hate My Teenage Daughter

I Hate My Teenage Daughter (FOX)
Premiered November 30 at 9:30pm

Some show titles leave nothing to the imagination. Usually, it’s best to have a show name that’s somewhat ambiguous but also indicative of something tangible (not “The Event”). Ultimately, however, it comes down to the quality of the show, and this new FOX comedy is not good. Jamie Pressley comes from an Emmy-winning role on “My Name is Earl,” where her character was plenty ridiculous but she did give it her all. Katie Finneran has been a steady player on dramatic series like “The Inside” and more comic, classic ones like “Wonderfalls” (both on FOX). It’s therefore very disappointing to see them both stuck in such one-note, over-the-top parts that afford them no opportunity for creativity in their portrayals. Their daughters, played by Kristi Lauren and Aisha Dee, aren’t much better, and to see Kevin Rahm go from playing the spritely Lee on “Desperate Housewives” to a forgettable brother on this is a shame. There’s nothing memorable about this pilot other than the grating nature of the laugh track, mostly because everyone’s reactions are so unnecessarily big and the jokes are so unfunny that it’s hard to believe anyone would laugh at them. There have been (“Gilmore Girls”), are (“Parenthood”), and will be plenty of more compelling mother-daughter relationships on television, and this series is as unimaginative and stale as they come. Imbuing any of the characters with an original trait might help, but I don’t think there’s any saving this show \from being unnecessary in the first place.

How will it work as a series? These daughters should be able to cause a whole lot of trouble, and their mothers are sure to have stir up plenty of issues themselves. Its laugh track means that it will operate like any family sitcom, positioning its louder players with more prominent and poignant punchlines and emphasizing its showier characters.
How long will it last? The show’s premiere numbers were decent, but the reviews we’re not. Only certain lambasted shows remain on the air for a while, and something tells me this isn’t going to be one of them, especially considering how FOX’s other comedies are currently being received. This one might survive until the end of the season, but I doubt it.

Pilot grade: F