Extended Family, a sitcom premiering on NBC December 23, sees Jim and Julia, portrayed by Jon Cryer and Abigail Spencer, decide to continue raising their kids in the family home following their divorce, taking turns with who gets to stay in the apartment. Julia has found a new boyfriend, Boston Celtics owner Trey, played by Donald Faison, which further complicates the already complex scenario.
A few notes about the show: Extended Family is the uncommon series set in Boston, joining the Frasier reboot in Beantown. And the laugh track makes it feel like turning on a sitcom from the ’80s.
Extended Family has its moments. Cryer is appealing, though he’s hardly breaking new ground as the likable loser Jim, who is not much of a departure from the likable loser Alan he played on Two and a Half Men. Scenes between Jim and Trey work pretty well. As much as he dislikes the idea of his ex-wife having a new boyfriend, Jim sort of likes Trey, and also likes that he happens to own the Celtics.
Not exactly breaking fresh ground either is Jim lamenting the amount of time his kids are on their phones.
Plot lines can be a bit flimsy. The pilot sees daughter Grace’s goldfish Googles die after Jim overfed him. Jim tries mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the fish, but it does not work. Grace injects a bit of gravitas into the goldfish yarn when she shares that Googles was a stand-in for her parents’ marriage.
The second episode has the family constitution as its centerpiece, touching upon whether Trey staying over the apartment with Julia is a violation of one of its articles. The family constitution segues into Jim delivering quips that touch on democracy. For the full effect, he pounds a gavel when a ruling is rendered.
Trey has had just about enough of the parliamentary procedure. “Stop with the freakin’ constitution — I’m becoming an anarchist!” he howls.
Some scenes feel more appropriate for the sitcom world than the real world. When Jim and Julia decide to divorce, they throw a reverse wedding — formal outfits, loved ones in the church, the removal of the rings and the tearing up of the vows, then a reception with a DJ.
“If we were Jewish,” Jim cracks, “we would’ve glued a glass back together.”
Creator Mike O’Malley, who created Survivor’s Remorse and was showrunner on Starz drama Heels, is showrunner and executive producer on Extended Family. Perhaps it is O’Malley’s Boston roots that has the show set there. Adding to the 617 vibe is wisecracking Boston comic Lenny Clarke as Jim’s father.
After its December 23 premiere, Extended Family slides into its regular time slot on NBC January 2.
The show offers a few laughs, but viewers here in the waning days of 2023 sure don’t need a laugh track to remind them when to chuckle.
