Thomas Storai 
“Dinner with the Parents is a genuinely hilarious sitcom with a great cast of characters who keep getting themselves in embarrassing and ridiculous situations.”
Dinner with the Parents is a new single-camera comedy series produced by CBS with Big Talk Studios. It stars Michaela Watkins, Dan Bakkedahl, Henry Hall, Daniel Thrasher and Carol Kane. The first four episodes will be available to stream on Amazon Freevee on April 18. Two additional episodes will be available each Thursday until the finale on May 9. The series is composed of 10 episodes.
THE PREMISE
Dinner with the Parents follows David (Henry Hall) as he goes to his family’s house for a get-together every week. Every Friday evening, the Langers find new ways to embarrass themselves. The younger brother Gregg (Daniel Thrasher) is a real prankster. While the parents Jane (Michaela Watkins) and Harvey (Dan Bakkedahl) are overdoing it all the time. And then, there is Rose/Nana (Carol Kane), the crazy grandmother.
THE RETURN OF THE GREAT AMERICAN SITCOM
I love American sitcoms, when done well they can be hilarious. However, in recent years I haven’t found any new sitcom that made me laugh out loud. It changes with Dinner with the Parents. Indeed, this one is genuinely hilarious! It reminds me of the great sitcoms that I grew up with like My Wife & Kids and Malcolm in the Middle.
Each episode tells a self-contained story while also taking into account what happened in the previous episodes. It’s basically one episode, one Friday night. Honestly, it doesn’t disappoint, each episode is incredibly fun. The Langers are as ridiculous as they get. All the characters constantly put themselves in embarrassing situations and keep doubling down on the ridiculousness. Sometimes, it start from one bad decision that leads to another and another. Or, it can be a lie to avoid being judge by their neighbours but it turns into another lie and another and another until it ends in a humiliating way. Add to the Langers, unwelcome neighbours and you have a full deck.
There is never a dull moment, you will always be laughing, I sure did! I was laughing out loud almost the whole time. It is one embarrassing or ridiculous situation after the other. We absolutely need more sitcoms like this one.
Even though David is supposed to be the main character, and he is a funny character, for me the best characters of the series are the parents. Harvey and Jane always make fools of themselves in a way the other characters can’t compete with. It’s off the charts. Nana is a close second as my favourite character. She is crazy but it’s a different style than the parents.
CAST
Undoubtedly, the series has gathered a great ensemble cast that is talented at comedy. Michaela Watkins and Dan Bakkedahl have a sweet on-screen chemistry that really works for their characters. These two are absolutely hilarious. In whatever she is in, Carol Kane will always be the scene stealer. She is an American icon of comedy. And she absolutely nails it as the crazy grandmother that we all love!
VERDICT
Dinner with the Parents is a genuinely hilarious sitcom with a great cast of characters who keep getting themselves in embarrassing and ridiculous situations. Carol Kane is a scene stealer as the crazy grandmother.
Dinner with the Parents premieres April 18 on Amazon Freevee.
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