Sullivan & Son

You should give this show a chance. There are harsh critics, yes, there are those who are downright haters, but they are not me and doubtfully, you! I know that some say that it reminds them of Cheers, even calling it a Cheers ripoff, but this is a new decade and many that will love it never even knew Cheers! Besides, I love it, and Cheers was a TV icon so what would be wrong with that?! It is a very decent show! I love when new shows are funny! Give it a try, you might love it, too! Pittsburgh, where this show is produced, is a very underrated city, at times. They have a fantastic city to share with the world. TBS is giving the USA an opportunity to see some of what Pittsburgh has to offer. Watch it and see for yourself.

This is a very good and funny TV show, you just need to give it a chance. I think a lot of people just watched the pilot episode and came to conclusions based on that.

You'll need to watch at least 3-4 episodes before making a conclusion on it and I'm more than positive most people will like it and find it amusing like me once you do give it the chance.

I wasn't too much of a fan of the pilot either although it was alright to me, but all the other episodes have been very good.

I also like the fact that this show takes place in Pittsburgh which isn't too common in TV shows. Most shows either take place in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, main stream cities but this show takes place in an overlooked city in Pittsburgh which gives it originality. I know that a lot of people have criticized this show for not being original but I think it has a decent amount of originality in it.

I really hope TBS renews this show for season 2.

Just watched the pilot and second episode and we really enjoyed them! We've always found Steve Brynes' standup funny and thought he did really well in a sitcom role as well. Steve's mother, played by Jodi Long, steals the show. She is flipping hilarious and had us cracking up the entire time she was on screen. As a child of the 80s, I was thrilled to see Dan Lauria as his dad (I always loved him as the dad in the Wonder Years!!). Christine Ebersole is fabulous as the slutty, drunk mom of one of Steve's friends. Rounding out the cast is his neurotic, jealous sister and a group of loser friends from his past ;) everyone's got some of those, right? Really looks like it has some potential to be a good new show!!

I was in Austin and saw an advance screening of the pilot. And it's hysterically funny, and it's nice, it's a family run bar, so it has real emotions and laughs. Found myself rooting for all the characters, laughing, and even teared up a little in the end. Great show.

Steve Byrne as the lead, is charming, and one of the better stand-up actors I have seen, when he says, "I want a good life," you believe him and it's moving, rare for a sitcom these days. It has Dan Lauria, the father from Wonder Years, who is great in this, he's the dad you'd want, if he ran a bar. The mother, Jodi Long, is priceless as the Korean mother. Her and the sister Susan get some of the best laughs.

Valerie Azlynn is so cute, sweet, and tough, nice strong woman combination, and she's hysterical. The jokes are funny, and it's daring comedy with the barfly Christine Ebersole as the former groupie, and Brian Doyle-Murray as the old white racist.

All of the friends and patrons of the bar are great too, can't wait to see more.

I grew up on Cheers and Sullivan and Son seems like a failed attempt at that. The only focal point is centered on what's going on in the bar, the character that's always there until closing, the dim-witted character, the guy that knows everything, etc). It has all the makings of Cheers without any of the pizazz and well-thought out characterization.This show would be fine if it was a carbon-copy because Cheers is an iconic show and having a modern version would be great, but there's something severely lacking in this rendition. It's either the fact that we have to be reminded of Steve Byrne's biracial identity (literally each episode, the mother or father will say, "oh but you're half"), the flat punchline, the obnoxious laugh track, or the bad line delivery/bad timing that make this show mediocre at best. Bad timing especially is the show's weakest link.

With other shows you get to know the characters and so when they're suddenly forced into a new situation, it's hilarious because it's so alien. In this show however, they skim the surface of every character and then force them into a situation as if we've known them for years (for example, Owen, the not-so bright character does these amazing things when the bar closes down, but it happens all in one episode. It'd be more witty and satisfying for the audience to see him in each episode come in in different attire. Like, one day he's dressed in a suit and says, "I work for the bank now." or another day he's a post-man, another he's working at the homeless shelter, etc. While I appreciate a show that has an interracial setting (the first of its kind, I think), the script seems rehashed and flat.