CBS' Fam is what happens when a great cast meets a tired sitcom premise

The Hollywood Reporter

"Like CBS' fall sitcom slate, Fam boasts an almost outrageously good cast, one plugged into the most hollow and familiar of premises and then fed with a broad assortment of reheated multi-generational punchlines," says Daniel Fienberg. "There is a great comedy that could be made with this cast and, despite the game efforts of said cast through the first three episodes, Fam is not that comedy." He adds that the "show already is a hodgepodge of many of the greatest not-hits of recent CBS sitcoms past." The Vampire Diaries alum Nina Dobrev, he says, is left with the hefty lifting. "Given that Dobrev's background includes teen soaps and supernatural soaps, it isn't at all an unfair attempt to play to her strengths," he says. "She isn't bad at the brief serious stuff, even if it never feels earned within the show, and she brings a high energy when the comedy requires it."

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