TV Review - Undateable

Chris D'Elia and Brent Morin co-star as
two polar opposites in "Undateable"

Set in Detroit, it rarely, if ever, acknowledges that fact. Created and written by Adam Sztykiel, Bill Lawrence executive produces. Lawrence is the creator of Scrubs, a medical comedy that became one of the greatest bromances on television, and this series has the potential of being another great bromance. Yet, it has a long way to climb.

Brent Morin stars as Justin, a guy who runs a bar. Chris D'Elia, fresh off the cancelled show Whitney co-stars as Danny, his roommate whose occupation is less clear because all he does is hangout at Justin's bar and hook up with as many different girls as possible. Bianca Kajlich (Rules of Engagement) plays Leslie, the sister of Danny. David Fynn plays Brett, the British, gay bartender. Ron Funches is Shelly, the big, black, dumb due to marijuana-smoking guy. Rick Glassman is Burski, the skinny, quirky or dorky sidekick.

All these people sit around the bar and talk about their relationship issues. This isn't Cheers, though it might want to be. Morin and D'Elia bounce greatly off each other, but Morin as Justin is the clear shining star. He is hilarious. He's sweet and charming, and he can sing! He has no trouble making a complete fool of himself, but you always love him because he's so adorable.

D'Elia as Danny is his foil. He's just a jerk. He's more smooth, whereas Justin is awkward and a clutz. Danny is a womanizer who unlike Justin doesn't believe in monogamy. As annoying as he is, Justin does what he can to change Danny and make him less selfish, less self-involved, more compassionate and more empathetic.

Meanwhile, Danny is constantly trying to get Justin to do ridiculous things, basically to make Justin more like himself, so there is this tug-of-war where Justin and Danny attempt to rub off on the other. In the periphery are these wacky characters like Brett, Shelly and Burski who drop stupid lines every now and then, but it seems as if Sztykiel and his writers don't care much for them.

It's mainly because Sztykiel doesn't seem to have a specific story to tell, not like Chuck Lorre's Mom or Dan Berendsen's Baby Daddy. The premise is the slimmest and the thinnest of premises. The show, therefore, can spin its wheels and live in the bubble where it currently resides. It has no narrative thrust, no reason to tune in week-to-week.

Three Stars out of Five.
Rated TV-14-DL.
Running Time: 30 mins.
Available on demand, formerly aired on NBC.