Happily Divorced

I like Fran Drescher. I like her comic timing. I like her schmaltzy sense of humor. I like her willingness to mock herself in order to get a laugh. I even like her oh so nasally voice. So I like Happily Divorced. The show succeeds or fails based on whether you like Fran Drescher. Lots of people do and lots of people don't. What the show is about is really almost superfluous because no matter what the premise, if you like Fran Drescher, you'll watch it. If you don't, you won't. I like Fran Drescher and I like her new show.

But for those who may not know Fran Drescher the show revolves around a woman and her recently out of the closet gay ex-husband living together, getting on each other's nerves and even sharing a few tender moments. The supporting cast is all good. I like the performances of Robert Walden and Rita Moreno as Fran's supportive but laid-back parents. (When Fran finds out that her parents always believed he was gay and thought that she knew all the time, she yells "Why would I marry a gay man?" Their response?...a shrug.)

So Fran Drescher fans, give it a try. The rest of you, tune in to something else.

I adore Fran Drescher. She kept me in stitches for years on "The Nanny", she's stone-cold beautiful, she can channel Lucille Ball at will, and she uses her star status to create a terrific platform for cancer survivors like herself. So what's not to love, huh? This show. Pains me to say it, but no amount of talent can save this cast from these scripts.

Fran's been mired in one turkey after another since "The Nanny". It's time for someone to find this woman a serious project, comedy or drama, that showcases what she can do. She's better than this and she deserves better than this.

Main character still named Fran with no difference how she talks or behaves as Fine or Lovett. Best friend Val/Judi. Nosey worker Niles/Cesar. Pushy parents Mah/Daddy Mah/Daddy. Husband turned friend and friend turned husband Peter/Mr Sheffield & Mr Sheffield/Peter. Episode after episode of Fran & Peter/Max looking for love separately, going on bad, farcical date after bad, farcical date with the occasional episode-long relationship blowing up. On and off unhealthy love interest Danny/Elliot. Numerous recycled plots. Numerous guest appearances of Nanny cast with lines paying homage to their previous roles. A partial recreation of the Sheffield home. Fran meeting a Fran-clone... again. Still playing a character a decade younger than her real age and always lying that she another decade younger than that. Still making overt lies about clothing size being smaller than reality. Still drowns emotion in excessive food but fakes a demure diet in front of dates. The list goes on and on.

I loved The Nanny, so Happily Divorced was entertaining enough because it was basically watching The Nanny again without watching The Nanny.

The show is about Fran who is married to Peter. The couple were married for 18 years when suddenly one night after making love, he turns to Fran and says "I think I'm gay." So the pair remain in the same house and began to sort it all out. Once Fran begins to tell her parents, and friends, they all have the same reaction..You couldn't tell? The show jumps ahead six months now, and the two still live together. The challenge is getting on with their lives. Fran begins to date and meets Elliot. The 2 seem to be doing well until one night a drunken Peter slips into bed with Elliot and Fran. This is enough for Elliot and he breaks up with Fran. Frans best friend, Judy, is also great friends with Peter. The 2 often hang out at a gay club. Bottom line, the 2 live together and carry on much like an old married couple still, besides sleeping in different beds. Thats the funny part about the show. They both have a lot of love for each other still. Peter looks out for Fran and Fran does the same. The show stars Fran Drescher, Tichina Arnold, and John Michael Higgins with supporting actors Rita Moreno and Robert Walden as Frans 70+ year old parents with whom she and Peter have a great relationship with. The show is funny, down to earth and simple. It mirror Frans real life ordeal with her long-time husband coming out in recent years. I hope you enjoyed my review and enjoy the show!

Being a fan of "The Nanny," I really looked forward to this new Drescher series. However, knowing the poor quality of the new TV Land sitcoms, I didn't really expect too much. I wasn't surprised. This series is badly written, routinely directed and clownishly performed.

Like "Hot in Cleveland," it comes across as a second-rate 90s sitcom (or even 80s), employing actors who have done far better work in previous series.

I just watched the 8th episode of the "first season".....Rita Moreno and Robert Walden are totally wasted with idiotic dialogue. Lou Diamond Phillips is a pointless "guest star," although Renee Taylor (of "The Nanny") has some humorous lines, due solely to the fact that she previously played "Fran's" mother.

John Michael Higgins brings "gay" to the table, as he often does, but much less convincingly, in this case. He's boring, and stereotypical. And his lines drop with a "thud".

I will be surprised if this series is given a second season, but if TV Land can continue to sustain the horrid "Retired at 35," then anything is possible.