Parents' Guide to Indebted

With its intrusive laugh track and wan jokes, this sitcom is heavy on the situation and unfortunately light on the comedy, despite the expert cast members. It's fun to see Fran Drescher again, working the oblivious nasal-voiced character she perfected on '90s classic The Nanny, and Steven Weber can still make a joke land, as those who have seen his recent turns in shows like Drunk History, Ballers, and Mom (as well as dozens of series and movie roles ranging back to the early '90s) can attest. So why aren't these two old pros given better lines? The studio audience seems eager to laugh at whatever it's thrown, particularly anything clueless from Drescher. When she refers to going to stay in an AirBLT or how she taught elderly neighbors to use "The Tweeter" they sound like they're all collectively laughing themselves into a hernia. For his part, Weber gets the biggest laughs when he says something out-to-lunch, like when he informs his daughter-in-law that the fundraising video he put online accidentally featured her "ass hanging out."

Wringing laughter from jokes that portray seniors as clueless seems a little regressive, and the "intrusive parents who stomp all over their kids' privacy" setup is a stale cliché. But the real shame here is that Indebted misses its chance at topical humor that could have some real bite. Debbie and Stew's financial situation floundered after their retail business went south, and Debbie needed a knee operation but didn't have insurance to cover it. These are serious generational problems that deeply affect real people Stew and Debbie's age and would have been welcomed onto the show, instead of hacky gags about closet space and Dave and Rebecca's sex life. Weber and Drescher are the best things about this show -- now get some sharp writers on the job.