Starter Wife, The

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

It's hard to imagine better warm-weather fun.

Christian Science MonitorGloria Goodale

Never deep enough to seriously address, well, anything, the show is meant to showcase the comic talents of star Debra Messing.

Entertainment WeeklyGillian Flynn

It has moments of very clever writing.

Hollywood ReporterRay Richmond

"Wife" is entertaining and bitingly irreverent, at once sweet and sour. It ropes you in because Messing is so adept at making us like her neurotic personage.

San Jose Mercury NewsCharlie McCollum

Fluffy, unchallenging, sexy (in a basic-cable way), glitzy and so eminently watchable (and well-made) that it transcends the concept of guilty pleasure.

Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik

Messing is superb in making Molly vulnerable without letting her come off as a victim.

People WeeklyTom Gliatto

Messing is a smart, charming actress, and she keeps stepping lightly even as the indignities and implausibilities pile up. [4 Jun 2007, p.37]

Los Angeles TimesMary McNamara

Cast within an inch of its life and full of terrific Hollywood tear-downs, "The Starter Wife" tries to be good clean mean-spirited fun. For the most part it succeeds, but the chick-lit trend of really sticking it to rich women remains disturbing in its sexism and classism.

Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray

"The Starter Wife" isn't likely to get mentioned in the same breath as "The Sopranos" (unless you read this paragraph out loud), but it's not going to make your trigger finger itchy, either.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

It’s the TV equivalent to a satisfying, entirely inconsequential beach read.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

If it's fluff, it's well-made, well-cast fluff that marks an entertaining union of two oft-dismissed genres: chick lit and TV movies.

Washington PostJennifer Frey

It's talents like Messing (who is more likable and less shrill here than she was in "Will & Grace") and Davis who save this six-hour miniseries from disaster.

TV GuideMatt Roush

A diverting if obvious trifle of chick-lit escapism, Wife rarely becomes as captivating or as hilarious as it thinks it is.

Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith

It's pure fluff.

Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman

The trouble with "Starter Wife" isn't Messing or money. The show just kind of lies there, like the bird poop that fell on our president's face at a press conference the other day. Oh, I mean, his shirt. Sorry. Wishful thinking.

VarietyBrian Lowry

Essentially, it's "Desperate Housewives" with "Entourage"-style namedropping, and not nearly as compelling as either.

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

We've seen these movie-business cut-out characters and foolish plot turn many, many times before.

Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland

A few days is all it takes to plow through Levangie Grazer's book, and it's easy to feel fine about that. Watching six hours of TV spread out over a few weeks is a lot to ask, especially given how disappointing, disorganized and disposable those installments shape up to be.

New York PostLinda Stasi

The problem is that there just aren't enough characters here for real people to really care about.