Wedding Bells, The

Washington PostTom Shales

The overall effect is pleasing, light, cheerful.

Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker

The madcap action turns repetitive in the premiere.

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

[A] cute wisp of a series.

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

The pilot looks dangerously flawed and seriously underwhelming.

Detroit Free PressMike Duffy

There are moments of dizzy, semisweet fun to be had on the premiere. But the honeymoon could be short.

SalonHeather Havrilesky

As annoying as Kelley can be, I can't really think of a better writer to take on an even soapier, wedding-themed version of "Grey's Anatomy," which is about where this one lands, tonally.

Los Angeles TimesPaul Brownfield

Stale.

New York MagazineJohn Leonard

The show’s not awful, but not Robert Altman, either.

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

Only two members of the core cast appear even slightly interesting.

VarietyBrian Lowry

Even with an attractive cast and tart moments, the whole remains less than the sum of its parts.

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

Even the best home run hitters can swing and miss badly, though - and on "The Wedding Bells," all of them do.

Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman

An anemic, unfunny romantic comedy.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

Unfortunately, the comedy is Kelley at his most forced and artificial.

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

Mr. Kelley is a gifted television producer, and “The Wedding Bells” has funny moments, but this series is not a labor of love. It’s a labored effort to simulate romance.

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

It abandons all of Kelley's strengths, like the legal setting and male bonding, and drowns itself in his weaknesses: women discussing their feelings, women flirting with men, women acting body-conscious... basically, anything involving the female gender.

Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron

"Bells" needs to be about more than pacifying that week's psycho bride (or her demanding mother), or it risks being an updated version of "The Love Boat."

TV GuideMatt Roush

All together now: "I don't!"

San Jose Mercury NewsCharlie McCollum

A joyless and certainly unromantic mess.

Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland

This is the skin of a David E. Kelley show with none of the usual muscle, brains, spirit or cheek behind it.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

I wouldn’t rush to clear space on the old DVR for this muddled marital mess.

Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart

A familiar mishmash of David Kelley formulaic elements.

Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin

Somebody on The Wedding Bells is always saying ''We need to talk about it,'' to which the reply is invariably something like "I'm not big on dating men I've slept with.''

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

A painfully lightweight collection of stock comic wedding situations... that Kelley could have written on his PDA at the gym.

Entertainment WeeklyGillian Flynn

Wedding Bells' pilot concludes with a bride literally catching fire, a suitably ugly ending for a truly grotesque show.

NewsdayVerne Gay

It is awful. It is truly awful. It is awful in ways that make the word "awful" seem inadequate.