Backhanded compliments, 101: I like James Van Der Beek and Zoe Lister-Jones in “Friends With Better Lives” — but that’s about the most enthusiasm I can muster for this new CBS sitcom, premiering Monday night after the one-hour series finale of “How I Met Your Mother.”
The set-up here finds Will (Van Der Beek) — a wisecracking pediatrician (who apparently never shaves) going through a rough patch in his marriage. He’s living with his best friend/medical partner Bobby (Kevin Connolly) and Bobby’s wife Andi (Majandro Delfino) in their suburban home. Bobby and Andi are your standard bored-with-each-other married couple — the type we’ve seen on sitcoms 10,567 times before. Their only mutual attraction is their shared passion for “Homeland” (which, wink, wink, airs on CBS sister network Showtime). Andi uses two breast pumps to feed their young child (are you laughing yet?) and the couple forgets their own anniversary. Oh, and their sex life, or lack thereof, is discussed loudly and often. You’ve seen and heard it all before. Many, many times.
The group also includes snarky, judgmental single friend Kate, played by the aforementioned Lister-Jones, who gets the best lines and knows how to fire off a zinger. And then there’s Jules (Brooklyn Decker), the blond, busty, perpetually-in-love ditz who thinks she’s finally found “The One” in New Age-y Australian boyfriend Lowell (Rick Donald).
If anyone considers “Better Lives” the heir apparent to “HIMYM” — as a cornerstone of CBS’ Monday-night comedy lineup — I would seriously disagree. “Better Lives” lacks the ensemble chemistry and clever writing of “HIMYM,” and seems content to rely on a non-stop barrage of sophomoric sex jokes and double entendres:
Bobby: “How do you sleep with somebody ‘by mistake?’ ”
Andi (sheepishly): “I accidentally sat on a carrot once.”
That, combined with a noisy, hyperactive laugh track, results in an annoying 22 minutes.
Consider yourself warned.
(“Friends With Better Lives” will move to its regular 8:30 p.m. timeslot on Monday, April 7.)