There were some dull and awkward spots during the premiere, which is the eternal price of variety, but I laughed through much of it, and through some of it I laughed a lot. Really a lot.
The old-school sketch comedy veterans pulled it off. They could help pass the time on a hot summer night. No rush. You could wait and catch a moment or two online.
I completely disagree with some of the reviews on this show. First of all, I don't see it as a Variety show. This is a sketch comedy show similar to SNL which is obvious as its produced by Lorne Michaels. That however is where the similarities end though, as this show is genuinely funny and smartly written. This is the show that the extremely (overly) politicized SNL as of late, should be. To be fair, it seems like an odd pairing hit there is a nice chemistry between Maya and Marty and it especially shines through at the end of the show which always closes with a song between the two. Give it an honest shot, you might be pleasantly surprised.
The word I'm looking for is... bland... dry, drab and perhaps even dreary. Which is terribly disappointing because for me, Maya Rudolph on Saturday Night Live was the comedic goddess!
If you want to know the truth, she and Marty don't have a lick of chemistry.
Other than the disorienting night and time period, Maya & Marty was disappointingly easy to pigeonhole. What audiences were treated to in the premiere was basically a not-hugely-funny episode of Saturday Night Live, an hour that occasionally made use of its gifted stars, but more frequently left them in sketches that fizzled out before reaching a real crescendo.
Two very talented hosts are squandered in this worst of SNL tribute variety show. Not quite "The Best Time Ever" bad and not quite the worst variety show ever but holy crap this is bad. Not sure why NBC continues to show faith in variety shows since no one under 50 has any interest but the grandma and grandpa crowd might be entertained. Maya and Marty and the cancelled Best Time Ever can make one really, really appreciate The Carol Burnett Show
Throughout the entire time watching an episode I did not laugh once. I couldn't believe a show that has gotten some general praise throughout some of my social circles is so awful. This might be the first variety show I have experience where I remained reactions. The hosts are genuinely funny so I was expecting some sort of entertaining comedy; however, all attempts of humor just fall flat. The show would be my least favorite ever if it wasn't for the celebrity guests to come save the day. What's really interesting about the comedy sketches is that they are really good ideas. The set-ups for jokes are there - its just that the punch lines are weak and go nowhere. In fact most of the routines walk the line between lame and obnoxious, which is something you do not want for any variety show. This might win the worst new show of the year....well at least it has that going for it. I would stick to SNL if I were you. That's right, even modern SNL is better than tis garbage. All you will find is **** gags and dull humor.