Living Biblically

The canned laughter is extremely disruptive and unnatural. People say a line, wait for the canned laughter, say another line, etc, etc. The show dynamics would be completely changed if the canned laughter would disappear. I love Jay Ferguson, the lead, & I love AJ Jacobs, the author of the book, but this series needs to be a lot of tweaking. It is annoying and preachy as it is. Surely with such great components, awesome actors, this could be made good. I hope they are able to fix it. Start with that horrible laugh track!!

After the death of his friend Ray, Chip Curry (Jay R. Ferguson) is struggling. Like Ray, he had faded from his religious attendence. His wife Leslie (Lindsey Kraft) reveals her pregnancy and he decides to live biblically for the nine months. Co-worker Vince (Tony Rock) is his friend. He seeks counsel from Father Gene (Ian Gomez) and Rabbi Gil (David Krumholtz). His boss Ms. Meadows (Camryn Manheim) gives him a column to write about his new experiences.

It's very simple. I didn't laugh. The question becomes why. This is a traditional network sitcom based on a non-fiction book of how A.J. Jacobs spent a year living strictly by the bible. I don't think this high concept idea fits easily with the laugh-track infused network sitcom genre. Dealing with religion is tricky. Mostly, I don't find these characters compelling. The actors are mostly functional although they are missing the wacky friend character. Maybe Gomez and Krumholtz are set up to be a comedy duo but it's hard to laugh at a rabbi and a priest. At least make them walk into a bar. Oh yeah, they do that. While I'm fine with the actors, I don't find their characters that appealing. This is not a good show and it didn't get much of an audience. I would have pitched a bet between the devil and god about Chip living biblically in the form of a single camera dramedy.

Having read 'The Year of Living Biblically,' When I heard they were coming out with a TV Show inspired about this very book, I was very excited and I was sure to watch it the day it came out. Finally, February 28th, the series premiere of 'Living Biblically!' After all that excitement and hype-up, I soon realize that some books are meant to stay just books. I was so disappointed, the acting is just terrible, and the humor is just unbearable, and like many of the reviews mention, the laugh track is just so unfitting for this show. I thought to myself that it would surely get better as the season went on, but boy, was I so wrong on that. With that being said I highly recommend the book but don't even waste your time with this CBS comedy.

4/10

Such a promising premise from a rich and subtle book, spoiled with burlesque execution. Producers, please watch "The Good Place" for inspiration on how to treat deep topics in a funny way with believable characters. I so want to love this show as much as I did the book. Give more control to the author, AJ Jacobs. His lines are FUNNY without being cheap. Let me feel what Chip is wrestling with as he decides how to live out a particular scripture. Have faith that this show will draw thoughtful people. I'll be praying for you.

This show has been so disappointing. With a refreshingly new plot and a pretty stellar cast, you'd think this would've been a slam-dunk from the beginning, but...no. The dialogue is so forced and predictable it's really hard to watch the actors attempt to make something of the lines without cringing.