• Network: CBS
  • Series Premiere Date: Feb 5, 2007
  • Season #: 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7
Metascore
28 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 27
  2. Negative: 19 out of 27
  1. It may be seen as a kinder, gentler, funnier cousin to Fox's bitter " 'Til Death."
  2. Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    60
    Two of the first three episodes [reveal] an assured, risque, semi-cynical air that should dovetail nicely with "Two and a Half Men."
  3. You might not remember to record it every week, but if you stumble upon it, you might stay.
  4. Pity Patrick Warburton whose dour delivery is the brightest spot in this half hour. He clearly feels trapped, but not by his marriage.
  5. Rules is similar to Fox's grimly unamusing comedy 'Til Death, but it has one major advantage: deadpan, rubbery Patrick Warburton.
  6. 40
    At no point will you feel like scratching your own eyes out rather than sitting through an episode. So there's that.
  7. It's not a groundbreaking new series by any means, but it has some redeeming virtues.
  8. 37
    Rules is one of those sitcoms that makes people who hate sitcoms hate sitcoms.
  9. When it isn't slamming bedroom doors in a high-rise apartment house in ostensible Manhattan (just like Mad About You except without the charm) or meeting for heavy innuendos at the corner diner (just like Seinfeld except without the writers), Rules reiterates Til Death's take on marriage.
  10. Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    30
    Rules would be more engaging if it weren't so familiar, but there is at least one consistently hilarious performance: Patrick Warburton.
  11. Having two nearly identical, equally mediocre sitcoms on the air at the same time isn't exactly a crime, but it seems an awful waste of someone's time and energy.
  12. 25
    "Rules" and "'Til Death" bear exactly the same ups and downs. The ups: essentially a good cast, plus sporadic funny lines. The downs: many un-funny lines, plus rehashed storylines from a thousand episodes of married-life sitcoms dating all the way back to "The Honeymooners."
  13. 25
    Everything has the familiar mechanical deadness of a sitcom assembled from old ideas. [12 Feb 2007, p.39]
  14. 25
    A ho-hum traditional sitcom filled with formula banter and cliched cuteness.
  15. 20
    The series quickly begins to resemble one of those fake sitcoms you'd see in a snide movie that likes to take easy potshots at low culture.
  16. Besides making every aspect of dating and mating look depressing, it's hard to come up with a reason to spend time with any of these characters.
  17. 20
    Let's hope Rules is just a misguided piece of fluff that disappears after a dozen episodes - and not a bellwether series trying to tell us something about how our lives have changed for the worse.
  18. Reviewed by: Diane Werts
    20
    This one isn't David Spade's fault. Really it isn't.
  19. There isn't a single new comedy idea in any of the upcoming episodes, and in some scenes, you practically can yell out the punch line before the characters get to it.
  20. "Rules of Engagement" is no more believable than it is amusing, and it's never amusing.
  21. 10
    No one in the cast is likely to be your new favorite actor.
  22. 10
    The story lines are every bit as insufferable as the punch lines.
  23. Besides being uninspired, "Rules" isn't all that funny.
  24. 0
    Everyone involved in creating this show should be forced to immediately seek other forms of employment. This business is not - repeat, not - for you.
  25. 0
    While TV comedy is getting good again, the network has decided it's time to resurrect the groan-inducing cliches of stinky sitcoms to remind us of just how truly rancid the genre can get.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 92 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 58
  2. Negative: 7 out of 58
  1. David Spade and the rest of the cast have absolutely no comedic talent at all. And boy does it show in this cliche, superficial, artificial, piece of .... one of the worst shows on television. Full Review »
  2. Thank goodness for Metacritic, I love this show, patrick warburton, david spade are hilarious, the critics don't like it because it is not a politically correct sitcom, the males are like grown college men, Spade routinely uses women for nothing more that sex, there is no central character that is gay, many of the jokes are smack downs, insults about girly men, women, etc. I LOVE IT! Obviously the fans have it right, I hope this show rockets up the charts in its 5th season because my old favorite "Two and a half men" stinks without crazy Charlie Sheen, Ashton Kutcher is a wuss! Full Review »
  3. 10
    I love the show even as moved to Thursday night. My only rub is DAvid Spade's character. He has the mentality of a 8-year old. He treats his "firends" accordningly. Who writes for him? Full Review »