Ben and Kate

So far, I love this show! I find the humor witty & hilarious! I wish there was more positive buzz about the show. I think the characters have been casted perfectly. I crack up every time that I watch it. I even DVR it since its hard to watch while chasing after my 2 little ones. My husband is also hooked. It's not all that realistic in its portrayal of daily life, but they take simple things and put a spectacular twist on it. For me, personally, it's along the lines of a Seinfeld or Modern Family type of humor. Great writing, great acting... What more can I say?? Looking forward to next week's episode. I love it!!!

"Ben and Kate" may not have a particularly original premise, but, in comedy, that is not necessarily a weakness.

The new Fox series not only provides laughs but a positive mood, something "Parks and Recreation" proved can carry a series for years.

Nat Faxon plays Ben Fox, an unemployed, big-hearted, emotionally-unstable bachelor. Faxon's humor is effortless and infectious. His character is comfortable being the object of mockery, having made the conscious decision to live life to its fullest (or rather, funniest), even though that may mean, in the eyes of some, he has no life at all.

Dakota Johnson plays Kate, a single mother who manages a bar. While she is infinitely more responsible than her brother, she believes in Ben enough to follow him into his path of zaniness.

The supporting cast does a superb job of providing laughs while not trying to steal the spotlight. Lucy Punch in particular stands out with her over-the-top-advice and inability to understand Maddie, Kate's daughter (played by Maggie Elizabeth Jones).

The show, like producer Dana Fox's other endeavor, "New Girl", is fast-paced and provides enough one-liners to deserve a look.

Ben and Kate is a fantastic and deeply underrated show. Upbeat and inventive, it features one of the best ensemble casts on broadcast TV. In particular, Nat Faxon and Lucy Punch demonstrate incredible comedic timing and help elevate the show above what could have been an ordinary half hour of television. Additionally, the show's writing distinguishes itself from other sitcoms, since it is genuinely funny, yet also consistently positive and earnest. I would highly recommend this show to fans of Community, 30 Rock, New Girl, or any other similar feel-good, yet original show on television. As of the writing of this review, 13 episodes have been aired and the remaining 6 are in limbo. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend that anyone seek out the episodes already available, since they stand on their own like other comedy show that were cancelled too soon in their time like Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks. You will be genuinely happy that you did so and, hopefully, someday in the near future, we will see the remaining episodes and some closure to this gem of a sitcom.

So my friend said she watched the pilot and found it hilarious so I thought I'd give it a try and. . nothing. I snickered a few times but everything seemed so forced. Kate's behavior as if she is this awkward single mother isn't believable AT ALL. Her quirkiness if by far the most scripted thing I have ever seen. Ben is too old to be acting that way and I am so shallow to speak of his teeth but come on, all I could look at was his mouth, it's distracting. His acting is by far the worse of the show next to his friend, the African American guy (whose name I do not know), his character is so forced, so mechanical that I couldn't even laugh at his ridiculous attempt at trying to be funny. I like BJ, she is the only one who is "Acting", the rest of the cast is horrible. The editing is horrible. The script is horrible. I understand why ppl find this funny (and they probably find The Mindy Project funny too) and it's totally okay because not every sense of humor is the same but this show is definitely stupid. For this to be a Pilot episode (I'm sorry I am speaking of it because I just watched the pilot) it was non-informational at all. I felt like I came into a show mid-season and had no idea who anyone was. I think Lucy Punch is great and deserves to be on a show that can better serve her talents. If this show gets picked up for another season, it just goes to show the comedic level of those sitting behind the big chairs. BLAH

Kate Fox (Dakota Johnson) is a high-strung single mom caring for her daughter Maddie and her fun-loving loser older brother Ben (Nat Faxon). BJ (Lucy Punch) is her best friend and Tommy (Echo Kellum) is his best friend.

Dakota is great at playing the standard cute awkward girl. I love Lucy Punch and she's playing a character named BJ. Nat Faxon is almost always loads of fun. Even Echo and the little girl are cute. Everyone is cute, loving, and seems like a one happy family. I love everybody in this show although the setup is very standard. They seem to enjoy each other and have good chemistry. It lasted 1 season with 16 episodes. I do wish they could have continued. The traditional setup functioned well.