A new sitcom that reteams Matthew Perry with NBC and “Friends” writer Scott Silveri (“Joey,” “Perfect Couples”), “Go On” launches with an odd premise.
Perry plays a sports-talk radio personality whose wife dies. His employer (John Cho, who plays both Harold and Sulu in the movies) forces him to go to grief counseling, which he is loath to do.
Are employers really forcing their employees to attend grief counseling to keep their jobs these days?
No matter. I find Matthew Perry and “Friends” funny. Guiding comedy out of grief therapy makes for a tough path, but the “Go On” pilot has its moments – and is certainly much stronger than its promos suggest.
The “Go On” series will eventually nest in NBC’s most coveted timeslot (on Tuesdays right after reality smash “The Voice”) but feels like it would fit effortlessly (and garner much lower ratings) between “Community” and “The Office” on Thursdays.
The leader of the grief group is played by gorgeous “Playboy Club”/”SVU” vet Laura Benanti, whose character reminded me a little of both Annie and Britta from “Community.”
In tonight’s pilot there’s a solid joke referencing Megan Fox; it made me laugh aloud.
“Go On’s” wacky tacked-on conclusion, designed to prevent the pilot from ending on a serious note, was perhaps funnier on paper than on screen. I say watch the pilot anyway.
... a moderately entertaining ensemble comedy built around a star, something that works well on a schedule that also features the likes of "Parks and Recreation" and "Community." With "Go On," the network doesn't resist its generally laudable comedy legacy and doubles down on the part of its DNA that has won it critical praise and cult audiences but iffy (if not career-ending) ratings. …
... The best thing about "Go On" is, not surprisingly, Perry, who, like Sheen over at "Anger Management," knows what he does best on TV. If Chandler Bing had lost Monica, he would be Ryan King, instantly light and dark, funny and sad, a comedic version of a thousand Broken Men who have followed the gimpy footsteps and acidic mutterings of Hugh Laurie's"House." …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... "Go On" deserves to keep going. The characters on "Go On" are engaging and varied. … the show also has heart and in the right dosage to temper Perry's arch one-liners. …
... you could (and will) do a whole lot worse with this fall’s crop. … Perry and his supporting cast appear to be having great fun, which is often the hardest thing to convey in a pilot episode. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... a pretty strong pilot episode …
... isn’t really a cynical comedy or an easy slam on the usefulness of group healing. It’s better than that. …
... tonight, at least, the show is so dour, the humor gets lost. … weekly grief is a tricky subject for a sitcom, particularly when the comedy turns squishy, as it does tonight. And those problems are magnified when the grief turns nasty, as it also does tonight. We want to like Perry. We're primed to like Perry. Go On just has to make that a little easier to do.
... relies heavily on Perry's inherent appeal and droll delivery. His ease with a line has always made him the most natural sitcom stalwart among the "Friends" alumni, inasmuch as he can give even so-so writing (the pilot's courtesy of another graduate from the show, Scott Silveri) a breezy spin. …
... the pilot is largely appealing until the final minutes, which are as broad as the 405. … It’s not Parks and Recreation, but then again neither was Parks and Recreation for a long time. …
11 p.m. Wednesday. NBC.
