Rick McGinnis reviews ‘another dreary fall TV lineup’

Rick McGinnis writes:

My other prediction is that whatever breakout hit emerges this year, the network behind it and the industry in general will be as unprepared for it as they were with last year’s hit: Duck Dynasty.

I’ll even go so far as to make a recommendation: If something is described as a family comedy, it will likely showcase the family as the earth’s gravitational centre of dysfunction. That’s the only conclusion I can get after watching teasers for shows like Welcome to the Family, Mom, Dads, The Millers, The Michael J. Fox Show, Back in the Game and The Goldbergs.

This is the point where I’m supposed to say something like “I’m not saying that we should return to patriarchal complacency of My Three Sons or Leave it to Beaver,” as that’s the standard issue qualifying weasel line that TV critics are issued when looking back at the family sitcom, whose history lies at the centre of TV comedy. At this point, though, that’s exactly what I wish we could see again…