| 50 |
Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm
Potential pours from the screen, but the premiere has plenty of problems. People seem to be uncomfortable and trying too hard, just as they do on their first day in school or on the job. |
| 50 |
PopMatters Marisa Carroll
This is dicey subject matter (especially for those viewers who have struggled to become pregnant or know someone who has), and at times the tone seems blasé, even offensive. |
| 42 |
Entertainment Weekly Alynda Wheat
Sherman-Palladino forces the sisters on each other out of an almost crippling sense of joint self-interest that's as painful as it is illogical. |
| 40 |
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
Plaudits to Ambrose for her effort to bring some honesty to her scenes, but it isn't enough to keep the show from imploding. |
| 40 |
Washington Post Jennifer Frey
There is too little Ambrose/Posey interaction in the pilot, but in the second episode--when Coco moves in and the two start haggling over the surrogacy contract--Sherman-Palladino's knack for chick dialogue shows some of its old promise. |
| 30 |
The New York Times Ginia Bellafante
Everything about Jezebel feels too broad. |
| 30 |
Time James Poniewozik
It's a weird, tone-deaf mismatch of talents, styles and genre. |
| 30 |
Los Angeles Times Mary McNamara
All evidence to the contrary, the show has the potential of being very funny, but only if the writers can choose subtlety over shtick even a quarter of the time. |
| 30 |
Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall
It's a very special, frustrating kind of bad, one with the power to actually change history. |
| 30 |
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
Sadly, although Jezebel is packed with Sherman-Palladino’s trademark snappy banter, it’s a cold, brittle misfire. |
| 30 |
TV Guide Matt Roush
Even without a death slot on Fridays, this strained story would be a tough sell. |
| 30 |
Variety Brian Lowry
Jezebel James might have fared better shaped into an hourlong dramedy, instead of being shoehorned into a lightly serialized sitcom format that plays poorly to her strengths as a writer. |
| 25 |
New York Daily News David Hinckley
Everything feels forced, right down to the dialogue, wherein the characters all talk the way writers write when they're stretching to set up a joke. |
| 25 |
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
Not many women will want to come back after seeing it because the first 30 minutes are a complete and utter mess. |
| 25 |
New York Post Linda Stasi
Even rousing viewers to stay awake would be a big accomplishment. |
| 25 |
USA Today Robert Bianco
Even if the performances were better and the scripts were funnier, Jezebel would still be saddled with one of the most preposterous, off-putting setups in sitcom history. |
| 20 |
San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum
Somewhere, things went very wrong, and the comedy turns out to be a flat, unappealing mess. |
| 20 |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
Miscast and only intermittently funny, Jezebel James misfires on all cylinders. |
| 20 |
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
Despite the cast, Jezebel James is not a momentous arrival. |
| 10 |
Newsday Diane Werts
Our mouths may be open, but more likely agape than laughing. |
| 10 |
Miami Herald Glenn Garvin
As for the lack of laughs, you're just going to have to take my word for it, unless you want to risk serious brain damage. |
| 10 |
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
The show is a full-fledged Fox flop. |
