Based on the Kim Gatlin novel "Good Christian Bitches," “GCB” was created for ABC by sixtysomething screenwriter Robert Harling (“Steel Magnolias,” “Soapdish,” “The First Wives Club,” “The Evening Star”). It’s executive produced by Darren Starr, who developed Candace Bushnell’s “Sex and the City” for HBO.
I don’t see myself watching “CGB” on a regular basis, but I will say I like it a good better than “Desperate Housewives,” the show it seems destined to replace.
It’s about a Santa Barbara-based former mean girl named Amanda who has to move in with her rich mom in her old (shudder!) Dallas neighborhood after her Ponzi-scheming husband leaves her in financial ruin. Yes, it’s another series employing – like “Damages,” “Charlie’s Angels” and “Two Broke Girls” before it – a Bernie Madoff surrogate. TV writers love that guy.
Though Amanda’s mother is loaded and generous, Amanda ends up waitressing in a Hooters-esque establishment as the former objects of her torment look on.
The series stars a clutch of swell actresses, among them Leslie Bibb (“Zookeeper”), Annie Potts (“Designing Women”), Kristen Chenoweth (“Pushing Daisies”), Miriam Shor (“Swingtown”) and Marisol Nichols (“24”).
Potts’ character is the best thing about the pilot, and the real reason to watch. If every character on the series was as entertaining I could count myself a fan -- but too much of the enterprise is sillier than it is funny.
… supplies a tedious array of shrieky moments, dumb stereotypes and unearned sentiment. …
… I'm still not sure how much I would enjoy those early "Housewives" episodes if I went back to watch them today, but I know that I cringed through nearly every minute of "GCB."
... there are some funny lines and a lot of designer shoes, décolletage and choir practice. ...
... A potentially funny setup, if the women were not such oddly antiquated sendups. ...
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... a welcome heir to "Desperate Housewives" … The humor-impaired and those who are blind to hypocrisy should probably stay away. But for everyone else, "GCB" offers surprisingly clever dialogue and winning comedic performances. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… Really, ABC? Really? … one reason it's not good is that it's not really very bitchy - just annoying. …
… Even as a work of harmless vapidity, “G.C.B.” has a difficult time enlivening its oversimplified premise. … The “Sex and the City” moment overstayed its welcome, and with any luck it accidentally offed itself with a dreadful 2010 movie sequel, which critic Lindy West, writing in Seattle’s Stranger newspaper, compared to watching “a home video of gay men playing with giant Barbie dolls.” … just another sorry exercise in watching allegedly adult women behave horribly toward one another. …
... Truthfully, a little bit of this fun farce may go a long way. (As someone who hasn't been a "Desperate Housewives" regular for many seasons, I can predict my own short-term fascination with "GCB.") …
... Oh, there’s hugging. And life lessons learned. Ugh. Please, not on a Sunday night. Makes me want to watch a marathon of Starz’ bloody “Spartacus: Vengeance” On Demand to wash the treacle out of my eyes.…
… Alas, it doesn’t add up to the most entertaining result, given the promise of the cast and creative minds involved. …
... the show pushes so hard to be wacky and fun, you end up feeling more bruised than entertained. ...
... Yep, there’s not a whole lot of subtlety in GCB, but there isn’t supposed to be. Created and written by Robert Harling, the show mixes the Texas lifestyle, Christianity, sex, riches, envy, revenge and sass into a sprawling, larger-than-life drama. ... here’s nothing held back. The sex jokes are over the top, the Bible-quoting and church-related issues are prevalent, and every character but Amanda seems like a stereotype …
… will need a lot more meat on its bones if these 'horns are going to hook 'em.
10 p.m. Sunday. ABC.
