"Back to You" Review: Finding An Excuse

In my Picks of the Week post, I said there was no excuse for “Back To You” to not be funny.

I guess I underestimated the show’s creators since they managed to come up with one…

If you missed it, “Back To You” begins with the rise and fall of anchorman Chuck Darling (Kelsey Grammer). Chuck left his job in Pittsburgh to go to bigger markets, eventually ending up in Los Angeles, where he was fired after an on-air outburst that became a YouTube sensation. Now he’s back in Pittsburgh with his old co-anchor, Kelly (Patricia Heaton), trying to adjust to his failing career.

And Kelly tries to adjust to having Chuck back as her partner…

Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer have instant chemistry and all of their scenes crackle. But apparently that’s not enough as the writers throw in a twist that threatens to bring the whole thing down—a twist I admit I saw coming from the promos and magazine articles, but I hoped wasn’t true…

Chuck is the father of Kelly’s 10-year-old daughter, which he discovers during his first newscast back.

I guess the writers felt that the constant bickering between Chuck and Kelly would get old, so they needed to give their relationship more substance. But a child? Sorry that just doesn’t work for me…

Because I don’t know about you, but I just don’t find irresponsibility funny…

I would prefer the show stick with the workplace and the comedy that can be mined from TV news—although that would work a lot better without the annoying 26-year-old news director. He’s young and stupid. We get it already. And weathergirl Montana’s constant flirting and emphasis on her Latina background gets old really quickly.

The show would do better to focus on Gary (Ty Burrell), the veteran reporter who was passed over for the anchor spot, and Marsh (Fred Willard), the obnoxious sportscaster.

I will give “Back” another shot to see if I’m wrong about the whole twist ruining the show, but I’ve got a bad feeling that this fall’s sure thing is about to come up lame…

“Back to You” airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. on FOX…