Fox's Outmatched has some potential, but it needs to overcome its obvious jokes

Variety

The family sitcom starring Maggie Lawson and Jason Biggs, premiering Thursday, features too many jokes that are too dumb to keep, says Caroline Framke. "For the most part, Outmatched leans on the most obvious punchlines in order to sell itself; there’s rarely a joke that doesn’t end up exactly where you expect it to the second someone tees it up," says Framke. "And even though Biggs and Lawson are both able comic performers who can sometimes find new gears in the oldest setups, they keep getting stuck in lines that land with a thud no matter how much they try to keep them afloat with sheer charisma. There are decent bones for a more unique sitcom lying underneath all the clichés, but Outmatched will need to lean into its own potential for strangeness in order to find them, and hopefully, won’t take its time doing it."

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• Outmatched's jokes aren't funny, and the actors deliver them in an unnatural cadence that calls attention to how unfunny they are
• Jason Biggs wanted to play dumb on Outmatched, but not "too dumb"