Everybody Hates Chris

Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman

[A] rare work of brilliance.

Detroit Free PressMike Duffy

Blends Rock's signature, whip-smart irreverence with richly humorous, character-driven stories of his own adolescence to create the rare family comedy that is both hilariously honest and filled with heart.

Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin

Sweet but never treacly, nostalgic but never dishonest, startlingly frank about race and always painfully funny, Everybody Hates Chris is the sitcom for which the networks have been yearning for the better part of a decade.

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

It's one of the best new shows from any network this year, and is a total, almost giddy delight from start to finish.

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

With elements of "Wonder Years," "Cosby" and the "The Jeffersons," but also a spirit all its own, "Chris" is a sitcom that finally makes the family funny again.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

It is, in short, a show about real life, as seen through the eyes of one of the funniest men in America.

Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker

A hugely likable sitcom is born.

PopMattersMichael Buening

The networks have been wondering how to compete with the no-holds barred nature of cable programming. This is it.

VarietyPhil Gallo

It could be a "Wonder Years" for a new generation.

Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith

What makes it uniquely entertaining are Mr. Rock's and co-creator Ali LeRoi's humorous insights into the terrors of adolescence and their tart observations about harsh realities of the wider world.

New York MagazineJohn Leonard

The best of the new fall sitcoms.

The New RepublicLee Siegel

"Everybody Hates Chris" is something more than the wise, tender, funny portrayal of the evolution of a gifted mind. It's actually something very rare on television, even rarer in the movies, and almost non-existent in contemporary fiction. It's the wise, tender, funny portrait of a poor kid.

The Onion A.V. Club

Comparisons to The Wonder Years are inevitable, but Everybody Hates Chris scrapes away much of that golden nostalgia by putting a funny spin on frequently painful times.

SalonHeather Havrilesky

The kid is funny, the mom is funny, the dad is funny, the stories are funny, and Rock's voice-over is fantastic.

San Jose Mercury NewsCharlie McCollum

[It has] a rich mix of sharp observant humor and a sure feel for the family dynamic.

Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland

Real and relatable, "Chris" may be the best new comedy of a season filled with sitcoms worth viewing.

SlateDana Stevens

Unexpectedly sweet-spirited.

Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart

“Everybody Hates Chris” is one of those rare nostalgia shows that doesn’t patronize childhood.

Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron

Much of the charm in this show, as well as the humor, comes from Rock's ability to vanquish political correctness in favor of a candid but affectionate look at the past.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

Every bit as good as the advance praise has made it out to be.

Cleveland Plain DealerMark Dawidziak

It easily lives up to its advance billing as the best new show of the fall season.

Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik

Rock deals with a harsher teen reality than Cosby did in his Fat Albert days, but he is hitting the same universal notes of conflict, love, weirdness and strength found in close-knit families.

Houston ChronicleMike McDaniel

There's a lot to love about Everybody Hates Chris.

Flak MagazineTamara Watkins

"Everybody Hates Chris" is family-friendly, but it doesn't detract considerably from Rock's usual profanity-drenched style of (brutally) honest comedy. Rather, the scope of the show's humor is broadened, and allows the coming-of-age tale to speak to the general experiences of growing up.

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

If Rock and co-creator Ali LeRoi can continue to bring depth to the characters without succumbing to cliche or sentiment, they will be on a promising path.

Los Angeles TimesPaul Brownfield

The show thus far feels more observational than story-driven; it relies on our desire to listen to Rock talk. And we do want to listen, because Rock is hilarious.

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

"Everybody Hates Chris" is the first show in a long time centered on a teenager whose main problem is not adolescent angst, but real life. And Mr. Rock makes it funny, not maudlin or mean.

The New YorkerNancy Franklin

Rock is able to find humor in every aspect of his childhood.

LA WeeklyRobert Abele

So far, Everybody Hates Chris has felt like a textbook example of how you fold a comedian’s sensibility into a familiar TV genre.

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

Let's get this straight. Everybody Hates Chris is not the Second Coming. But it is one of the season's best new series.

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

Should appeal to fans of Rock and to viewers who long for a family comedy reminiscent of "The Cosby Show" (albeit with a sharper edge).

New York PostLinda Stasi

What's missing here are the big laughs, despite Rock's clever narration.