TV Review: CBS' 'Partners'

CBS premieres its new comedy Partners on Sept. 24 at 8:30 p.m. The following are reviews from TV critics around the Web, compiled by B&C.

“I’m dumbstruck. Just dumbstruck. Watched the pilot. Watched the second episode, too. Gets worse. The plastic “punch lines” grow more contrived. The tired stereotypes feel more offensive.”
– Diane Werts, Newsday

“The new sitcom Partners, based on the working relationship of its creators, David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, calls out for a couples counselor. Maybe he could explain why this celebration of friendship feels so sour and joyless.”
– Mike Hale, New York Times

 “The style of humor is as old as vaudeville: Krumholtz is the straight man in more ways than one, but his Joe gets off a few nicely deadpan lines as a counterpoint to Louis’ stream of hysteria.”
– David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle

“Partners is ham on a shtick, a broad sitcom that moves at the same Ritalin pace as 2 Broke Girls, the vaudeville showcase that airs right after it.”
– Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe

“What you have here, then, is a show about four people and three different couples, counting Louis and Joe. What you also have, unfortunately, are three couples without a shred of chemistry in any of their configurations.”
– Robert Bianco, USA Today