3 out of 5

Created by: Justin Adler

covers season 1

I guess it’s like Modern Family but a bit more acerbic.  (I think I would enjoy modern family more if it was a bit more acerbic, so: mission accomplished, LiP.)

Sitcoms, not really being story-driven beyond a core premise, live and die on their jokes and, logically, the cast delivering those jokes.  Often there will be that odd person out you don’t die on a show, or that butchers delivery or whatever, or oppositely, the break-out star you wish would get highlighted more.  (And then does, and you hate the show for it.)  When a show is _on_ though, there are no wasted moments: any opportunity to direct your eyes toward the screen are happily taken, confident that a chuckle is on the way.  A lot of shows have been _on_ during the years, but the formula gets tougher when the cast-size increases, even though the plotlines (and thus opportunities for different jokes) increase as well: you can’t write all the characters the same, but make it too varying and you lose your audience.  And then, certainly, the “odd person out” possibility increases too.

Life in Pieces solves tonal choppiness in a surprisingly easy fashion: take your large cast (a family extended to a couple marriages, parents and relationships) and divvy up the focus into four purposeful “stories” per episode.  This allows the creator to lightly tie things together if needed, but it’s not a requirement: the simple prompt that we’re witnessing different stories allows us to watch each section separately as need be, with the magical wand waving of shared setting and telling us that these people all know each other making us accept it as a unified world.  And perhaps most importantly, this gives us an easy method to separate the characters off into effective foil-pairs when needed, and group moments can happen when needed.  It’s the best of all combinations, with a seamless drop-in / drop-out method to prevent clutter.

And they just _scored_ with the cast.  Even down to the youngest member, everyone is a joy to watch, and they all get their moments to shine.  Part of it, again, is the writing smartly pairing people whose styles’ play off of each other effectively, but the other huge part is simply down to some fantastic chemistry and acting.

But, y’know, even the best of sitcoms have a tough time breaking the barrier into greatness, because sitcoms… are sitcoms.  Swallowable entertainment in 30 minute chunks.  And LiP’s, for all its fun, certainly sinks into some predictable foible formats during its 22-episode (20 30 minute, 1 hour long) format, and doesn’t really go anywhere we haven’t seen.  That being said, any show that makes me stop what I’m doing to pay attention and gets consistent laughs outta me is a solid view, so this is one of those 3 star ratings that gives you the good ol’ “you’re doing great; don’t change” thumbs up, and then maybe awards the first place trophy to the smarter, sassier kid in the corner, but whatever, you still look good.