Pilot Review: Partners

Partners (FX)
Premiered August 4 at 9pm

After seeing and enjoying the first few episodes of “Married” and “You’re the Worst,” it’s disappointing to see that they, along with “Louie,” are not all that FX is looking for in terms of its comedies going forward. This show skews much more towards “Anger Management,” a relatively lazy, highly familiar and uninspired sitcom with little to offer in the way of originality. The pairing of Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence seemed suspicious enough to begin with, and these first two episodes affirmed that they’re a random odd couple, and neither of them are putting much effort in here. I never watched much “Frasier” though I do remember Grammer being quite good on it, but I actually preferred him in his underrated role on the short-lived but terrific “Boss” in a much, much more serious part. Lawrence, on the other hand, I can rarely stand, pretty much just in the “Bad Boys” movies, and while he’s actually less grating than Grammer here, he’s not much better. The first episode included some expected stereotypes and easy jokes, and the second all but confirmed that this show is just recycling the most conventional sitcom plots it can, forcing Grammer’s Allen and Martin’s Marcus to pretend to be a gay couple in an installment that feels fresh out of the 1990s as a pale imitator of “Will and Grace.” If possible, Allen’s daughter makes it worse with a combination of her preposterous attitude and dress. I can’t find much to recommend about this show.

How will it work as a series? Back-to-back installments each week mean that lucky viewers will have not one but two opportunities to see Allen and Marcus squabble and manage to win the world over with their bickering and legal teamwork. That doesn’t sound like something I’d like to watch, and I suspect that these first two episodes offer a pretty good picture of what to expect.
How long will it last? Grammer hasn’t been able to hold onto a show since “Frasier,” with “Back to You,” “Hank,” and “Boss” lasting less than a collective four seasons. While the ratings were somewhat better than the reviews, this is operating under the 10/90 model, and I don’t expect that the ratings of the first ten episodes will merit another ninety.

Pilot grade: F