Grade: 55/100
In what has become a dynasty of comedic disappointment, ABC’s newest multi-camera sitcom “Cristela” is the latest to inherit the throne.
Comedian Cristela Alonzo, following in the footsteps of equally likable but unimpressive laugh machine John Mulaney, whose show “Mulaney” debuted last week to uninspiring reviews, plays the title character, a woman who’s recently graduated law school and looking for work. Doing so has taken her a remarkable six years, ostensibly because of her work on the side and paying her way through school.
Despite the talent of its starry-eyed leading lady, and a reasonably not-unbearable supporting cast, the show ultimately falls flat for a variety of reasons.
The first, as is usually at least partially the case, is the writing. It just isn’t funny. The chemistry between Cristela, her housemates and coworkers tries its best to be convincing, but eventually the rivalry of sorts between Alonzo and her sister’s husband becomes more stale than a loaf of bread in the freezer.
They bounce jokes off of each other in the usual ways, pausing for a laugh track here and there, but as expected, jokes simper out and die faster than they should. Gabriel Iglesias, he of Comedy Central fame, should be writing his own jokes as cousin Alberto, but he doesn’t. So he simply ends up as one of those familiar sitcom characters who walks through open doors, crushes on the main character and is generally a nuisance.
The second, as has come to be the case with most sitcoms involving minorities, is the racial stereotyping. Cristela’s mother, Natalia, is apparently a typical Hispanic matron, and as such is worried about things like her daughter getting married and what she’ll be cooking for dinner. At one point, worried about Cristela’s marriage prospects, Natalia asks Cristela if she’s “the gay.” Race aside, it’s insensitive from any angle.
All in all, ABC’s “Cristela” proves two things: A downtrodden start for ABC’s fall lineup, and a bright future for Cristela Alonzo.