Pilot Review: Love You More

Love You More (Amazon)
Premiered November 10

This is the third of Amazon’s pilot season offerings that I watched, and I have to say that I really didn’t enjoy all three. This one is, theoretically, the one with the most potential, but it’s also a mess. There’s way too much going on, and for it to start with some relatively intense and uncensored sex then move to a home for adults with Down syndrome. There are parts of this show that I feel like I could like, such as the endearing relationship built between Karen and her roommate Jean, played by Loni Anderson, once Karen realized that she was lonely since her daughters made fun of her, and of course the sweet conversation she had with the new resident of the home who said he had only touched her breast so that he could hide the fact that he was gay, something for which she immediately accepted him. The rest of this show, however, is far from appealing, and, these instances aside, Karen isn’t a particularly nice person. I sat down right after I watched this episode to watch “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” and I’m more than satisfied with that being the only musical comedy in my life after the unfortunate song about nipples she performed in the dressing room. Bridget Everett, who I don’t think I’ve seen before in other projects but has apparently been building momentum recently, has potential, but this show has no idea what it wants to be and shouldn’t be the vehicle for her breakthrough.

How would it work as a series? Buying a bra was a big step to help Karen in one aspect of her life, but it’s not clear where this show would focus if it returned for more episodes. I think it’s very uneven and capable of moderate decency, but the thirty or so minutes we saw here were far too disjointed and ambitious without any real return.
Will it make it to series? While I noted in my review of “Sea Oak” that the Glenn Close starrer was probably the most likely to be picked up, there’s no set number of shows Amazon can make. Michael Patrick King being associated with this show is a plus, and it feels like the most typical Amazon series of these three. It’s far from guaranteed, but I think this one might make it.

Pilot grade: D