Hank Stuever
Hank Stuever
Critic

‘Guys With Kids’: The old normal

(NBC/VIVIAN ZINK/NBC) - Gary (Anthony Anderson) and Marny (Tempestt Bledsoe) are highlights in this tired attempt at comedy.

“Guys With Kids” (NBC at 10 p.m.) — It’s precisely what the title says: just new iterations of the same spit-up and teething jokes. I still don’t understand how comedies about baby hassles count as quality TV time for people seeking a diversion from everyday life, but something about married men who have cute babies strapped to their chests continues to get network executives’ juices flowing.

“Guys With Kids,” executive-produced by Jimmy Fallon, introduces us to the travails of three buddies, all living in real estate most of us couldn’t afford. In this case, it’s a condo tower in New York’s TriBeCa neighborhood.

Hank Stuever

Hank Stuever is The Washington Post’s TV critic and author of two books, “Tinsel” and “Off Ramp.”

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Jesse Bradford plays lawyer Chris, who’s newly divorced and sharing custody of his baby. On another floor, Nick (Zach Cregger) co-parents another adorable infant with his wife (Jamie-Lynn Sigler). And on some other floor — and fully prepared to lift the entire enterprise out of sitcom hell — are Gary (Anthony Anderson) and Marny (Tempestt Bledsoe), a squabbling couple who have twin babies plus a couple more kids. In their brief, cacophonous scene together in the pilot, Anderson and Bledsoe are a delight. The rest of the gang, including the other babies, should just get out of their way. Then we’d magically have that thing no major network seems capable of ordering: a funny comedy about black people. Grade: C

— Hank Stuever

8Coming this week in Sunday Style: Reviews of 22 new shows and more about the fall TV season.

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