I am – Hercules!! It’s an hourlong mostly comedic comedy-drama, from writers David E. Kelley (“Ally McBeal,” “Boston Public”) and Jason Katims (“My So Called Life,” “Roswell,” “Friday Night Lights”), about a trio of hot sisters who operate a wedding-planning business. The tall one (Teri Polo) is married, the dark-haired one (KaDee Strickland) is single, and the short one (Sarah Jones) might be slightly nympho. I’m candidly a little shocked by how much I like “The Wedding Bells.” The pilot is of the strongest hours I’ve seen Kelley or Katims – two of the most talented and celebrated men in the TV game, mind you - produce in years. Almost everything works, the pilot numbering among its assets a nice wide streak of cynicism, fabulous female leads, unusually witty characters, a handful of laugh-out-loud moments and a rare and welcome broadcast-network dose of full-frontal nudity. But what matters Herc’s opinion? The New York Times says:

… a series about three sisters who run a wedding business is bound to have a satirical edge. In the hands of David E. Kelley, the creator of “Ally McBeal” and “Boston Legal,” the conceit teeters on the edge of misogyny. “The Wedding Bells,” on Fox tonight, is Mr. Kelley’s knockoff of the sex-and-romance drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” But that hit ABC show about young surgeons in heat was written by a woman for women, and despite all its absurd excesses, there is no doubting the sincerity and intense partisanship of its creator, Shonda Rhimes. Mr. Kelley’s offering is wittier, but it comes with an ill-disguised sneer — a man’s take on women who are engrossed in the one occupation that men really can’t take. … Mr. Kelley is a gifted television producer, and “The Wedding Bells” has funny moments, but this series is not a labor of love. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… it's about the fresh hell of trying to segment-produce marriages among the neurotic entitled class. The schadenfreude is an easy hook, and confident of this, "The Wedding Bells" lurches between outright farce and outright sentiment. …

The Washington Post says:

… The show is not only cute but also kind of sweet, essentially affirmative (all the more remarkable considering the vulnerability of the target, the great American wedding) and philosophically sanguine. … the overall effect is pleasing, light, cheerful -- Kelley in a mood not to debunk or trash but to celebrate, gently lampoon, and wave the white flag in the traditional symbol for "I surrender."

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says:

… I haven't been a David E. Kelley fan since the early days of "Ally McBeal" - sorry, all you "Boston Legal" lovers - but his latest comedy-drama looks good enough to make me consider renewing my membership. The pilot of "The Wedding Bells" has just about everything that Kelley excels at: strong characters, great guest stars and enough romantic complications to float a revival of "The Love Boat." It also boasts a setting designed to make the most of those strengths…

The Philadelphia Inquirer says:

Everybody loves a wedding, but not everybody is going to love David E. Kelley's uneven The Wedding Bells … The comedy/drama, very loosely based on the Long Island "wedding factory" called Leonard's, can inspire outright laughs … Only two members of the core cast appear even slightly interesting. The other five, including the three sisters who own the business, Annie, Jane and Sammy Bell (thus, the title) are bland stereotypes. … Like many an arranged marriage, awkward at first, it could blossom. At a wedding, after all, optimism rules.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… it's a shame that after tonight's preview, Fox will ship this cute wisp of a series to the death zone of Friday night. … My only gripe with "The Wedding Bells" is that the guest characters are more interesting than the series regulars. Delta Burke plays the mother of a bride. Her daughter, Amanda (Missi Pyle), who is marrying a Jewish man, is a bridezilla who steals the premiere episode with her overly negative, demanding ways and wedding jitters. …

USA Today says:

… Granted, The Wedding Bells hardly is the worst show you've ever seen — or, for that matter, the worst you've seen from super-producer David E. Kelley. (That title is still held by Snoops.) … It does, however, rank with the most tedious, a show so empty that you get the feeling it's being thrown away even as you watch. …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… Kelley and Katims took their first run at the premise with "DeMarco Affairs," a pilot ABC rejected a few years ago. Kelley thought it wasn't funny enough. After Fox asked him to make it better the second time around, Kelley and Katims overcompensated. This time there's more than enough yuks but too little dramatic heft. …

Variety says:

… even with an attractive cast and tart moments, the whole remains less than the sum of its parts. Like the pilot's runaway bride, Kelley's heart doesn't initially seem to be in it … Although mostly uninspired, there are embers of potential here -- perhaps foremost in the talented Polo, who flirts with the chef and threatens to punch out a big lug who comes onto her. Landes, too, has a nice comic touch, even if the David-Annie relationship feels tired almost before the premiere reaches its first commercial break. …

9 p.m. Wednesday. Fox.

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