‘Extended Family’ TV Review: Jon Cryer, Abigail Spencer and Donald Faison Go Back to Basics in NBC Throwback Comedy

The sitcom has evolved over time, and the age of the laugh track hit its peak in the 1990s before giving way to a new form exemplified by The Office. While certain hits like The Big Bang Theory have endured with the canned audience reaction, such series are much harder to find on television today. NBC’s first scripted comedy of the season, Extended Family, is a throwback to that era that wants to feel current but can’t escape the trappings of its all-too conventional look at what it believes is an unconventional family.

Consensual breakups have been the subject of sitcoms before, in series like Splitting Up Together and Happily Divorced. NBC’s latest has its two protagonists – Jim (Jon Cryer) and Julia (Abigail Spencer) – introduce themselves before panning over to show that Trey (Donald Faison), Julia’s new boyfriend, is just outside the frame. Those mockumentary moments don’t dominate or guide the show, but instead serve as a way to ensure that audiences are fully aware of what’s going on in case anything feels too subtle, which it doesn’t.

Jon and Julia share a sizable apartment but have an arrangement that allows their two teenage children, Grace (Sofia Capanna) and Jimmy Jr. (Finn Sweeney), to have their lives remain largely undisrupted, as much as that’s actually possible given that their parents aren’t married anymore. They now purport to be happier than ever, finally able to air their grievances without worrying whether they’ll piss the other person off, and their separation has been meticulously crafted, including a laminated constitution which Jim eagerly references when he notices a potential violation. Their “reverse wedding” ceremony ritually walks them backwards through the mistakes and commitments they shouldn’t have made, and Jim notes that, if they were Jewish, they would have glued a glass back together. Their marriage, they insist, was in the way of them getting along.

There is, of course, trouble in paradise, which is the premise for this show that relies heavily on the emergence of manufactured situations from which to milk comedy. They’re hardly sophisticated, like Jim accidentally swallowing then spitting out his daughter’s dead goldfish, and predictably lead to ample banter. Cryer and Spencer do seem to enjoy spitting lines at each other and managing to get in a good dig in the middle of an argument that they know will only prompt an even more aggressive quip in response. What they’re saying isn’t quite as relevant as the demeanor they have and the joy they seem to get from feeling free to say something offensive without the typical marital consequences.

Cryer is very familiar with the sitcom format thanks to twelve years spent on Two and a Half Men, which earned him seven Emmy nominations and two wins. While that series was hardly the height of sophistication, this one feels slightly more mature, and with that, Cryer’s role finds him playing something more self-confident, even if it hasn’t been entirely earned. Jim is an eager know-it-all, which isn’t usually a good look, but Cryer plays it in a way that acknowledges that he knows how people perceive him, and it’s hard not to at least feel like he deserves a cheerleader in this situation.

Spencer has plentiful TV experience, and, at first, this part doesn’t offer her much to do. Julia is tightly wound and talks quickly in a way that’s very reminiscent of her Grey’s Anatomy character, and she comes out of her shell when she realizes she’s done something wrong. Spencer leans wonderfully into those moments and Julia’s frenetic attempts to cover her tracks since she is so used to being in control. It’s hard to imagine Spencer will again get a role as impactful as she had on Rectify, and it’s nice to see her try comedy like this after feeling out the genre in some elements of her performance in a past NBC show, Timeless.

If there’s one person who’s having the most fun on this show, it’s Faison. While Trey, the owner of the Boston Celtics who doesn’t mind mentioning the many luxuries he affords himself, is more of a grownup than Faison’s signature TV character, Dr. Chris Turk from Scrubs, he does enjoy the chance to celebrate a small victory. He also has a great repartee with Cryer, and it’s especially rewarding to see how Jim and Trey, despite trying hard to dislike each other, actually get along quite well, often to the chagrin of Julia, who would rather have to side with just one of the two men in her life in any given argument.

Having these three familiar faces at the head of this familiar-feeling show is fitting. Even if its characters would like to think that their situation is entirely unique and fresh, that’s not the case since this setup, both in terms of the plot and the overall comedic timing, has been done many times in the past. For those craving a slice of nostalgic sitcom sentiment from creator Mike O’Malley, himself a veteran of an archaic comedy series, Yes, Dear, Extended Family may prove to be just the right amount of light entertainment. Like its unmarried characters, this isn’t a cutting-edge concept, but it’s one that’s fun enough with the proper expectations.

Grade: B-

Extended Family premieres on Saturday, December 23rd at 8pm ET and will return Tuesday, January 2nd at 8:30pm ET/PT in its regular time slot, streaming the next day on Peacock.