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Kath & Kim
SERIES: NBC, Thursday 8:30p (30 minutes)


5.3

based on 28 reviews
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based on 40 votes
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Get more information on this show at TV.com.

Official Show Site

Starring Molly Shannon, Selma Blair, John Michael Higgins, and Mikey Day

Molly Shannon and Selma Blair are mother and daughter in this American remake of the hit Australian comedy.

GENRE(S):	Comedy
CREATED BY:	Gina Riley Jane Turner Michelle Nader
FIRST AIR DATE:	October 9, 2008

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Washington Post Tom Shales

As superbly superior as Shannon is (a comparison to Lucille Ball, while inevitable, would not be overreaching), the whole cast shines, and not just in refracted glory.

Kansas City Star Aaron Barnhart

The dialogue is surprisingly fresh, even to someone who's watched way too many MTV reality shows.

Newsday Verne Gay

There's some very funny stuff here, but the serious question before NBC is this: How long can it stretch the joke before viewers go stark raving mad?

Slate Troy Patterson

Ding ding ding went the bell, and up went an agreeing groan, six minutes in. Perhaps this was less a judgment of Kath & Kim's general quality--it was one of the better shows we screened, or at least one of the not-as-bad.

LA Weekly Robert Abele

Shannon has a power-walker approach to the comedy of unearned positivity--not too fast, not too slow, able to suck up disappointment and move on--and it works for her character. But Blair, who can breathe hot snark on any line, hasn’t quite figured out how to make Kim hideously funny more often than just hideous.

Entertainment Weekly Ken Tucker

The core problem with K&K; is that there's no character to root for.

Salon Heather Havrilesky

Unfortunately, Blair's bratty take on Kim is repetitive and not even mildly amusing, Shannon is wonderful at her role (as always) but doesn't have much of a character to work with, and the stories are neither real enough to be relatable nor outrageous enough to flesh out a true farce.

Los Angeles Times Mary McNamara

Kath & Kim needs to decide if it wants to satirize American parenting or popular culture. Because if the first two episodes are any indication, it certainly cannot do both.

New York Magazine John Leonard

Except for a visit to a gay bar for hip-hop, most of the action (tantrums, blubberings) occurs either in the house or a sandwich shop at the mall. This is because the unappetizing Kath & Kim is fixated in the oral stage.

Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm

There is a twinge of fun every now and then in Kath & Kim, even if most critics are so apoplectic at its crass stupidity they can barely write a sentence.

PopMatters Kirsten Markson

The individual performers, enthusiastic as they seem to be, are hardly helped by this approach. Shannon and John Michael Higgins (who plays Kath’s new boyfriend, Phil Knight) are both used to playing lovable buffoons. But their time is largely wasted here.

The New York Times Alessandra Stanley

Kath & Kim should be funnier, and could yet be, but the pilot disappoints.

Chicago Sun-Times Jessica Sedgwick

Satiric comedy only works if it's funny. And in this case, it's not.

Variety Brian Lowry

Whatever lingering debt the show owes to its original template has also resulted in some awkward elements, including occasional internal monologues by both title players that are as empty, banal and unfunny as when they're actually talking.

Miami Herald Glenn Garvin

Kath & Kim originated in Australia, which shares the British affection for slobby class humor, but here it falls about as flat as food-court champagne.

Philadelphia Daily News Ellen Gray

Despite Shannon and Blair's best efforts, Kath & Kim's main characters feel like a compilation of attitudes (and wardrobes), forced into a sitcom format so tired that you'll see the plot resolution in next week's episode (not to mention most of the jokes) coming from nearly a half-hour away.

Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall

Kath & Kim writers, meanwhile, seem to have nothing but contempt for their heroines. Kim is willfully ignorant, rude and obnoxious in a fashion that has no redeeming qualities, and Kath is mainly an unhappy blank who lets her daughter walk all over her.

Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron

It lacks the charm of the original. Worse, the characters in the NBC show are so exaggerated that the whole thing feels like a skit.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen

Kath & Kim is based on an Australian hit series of the same name but this Americanized version is an unpleasant way to pass a half-hour.

USA Today Robert Bianco

Witlessly Americanized by Michelle Nader (King of Queens), Kath manages to waste the talents of Molly Shannon while exposing the limits of Selma Blair's comedy range.

New York Post Linda Stasi

NBC's unfunny adaptation of the wildly funny Australian sitcom, is arguably the worst idea for an import from the Land Down Under since Vegemite.

San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman

It's a complete wince-inducing mess that makes you feel sorry for Shannon and annoyed at NBC and Nader.

New York Daily News David Hinckley

It may remind some viewers more directly of the British sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous," except that "Ab Fab" was hilarious and this one just gives you a headache.

Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan

I feel sorry for Shannon, who nicely underplays her role, but she’s trapped in show that does not work, and, with Blair as her co-star, will never work.

Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert

Shannon and Blair have none of the clueless peas-in-a-pod chemistry of the actresses in the Australian original. Shannon is wound too tightly, and Blair is terribly miscast.

Time James Poniewozik

It's sneering and unwatchably badly written; it shoots at fish in a barrel and still manages to miss.

TV Guide Matt Roush

Dreadful. Worse even than those awful Olympics promos.

Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker

Kath & Kim features Molly Shannon, adapts an Australian hit and joins the NBC lineup at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. The results are simply dreadful. That is all.

The average user rating for this tv show is 5.3 (out of 10) based on 40 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Liza L. gave it a4:
Talented cast with good comic timing that manage to make these unlikable characters fun to watch but the show is not as clever as it hopes to be and there are long stretches of time before someone says something actually worth laughing for. I have hopes for this one, remember, even the American version of the Office started off shaky, but the show better step up soon before I, and others like me, get bored.

Trishy M. gave it a9:
This show will eventually be hugely popular once viewers get to know the characters.

Alison F. gave it a10:
I love Kath & Kim it embraces the idiocy of America, general craziness, and is great at presenting it and adding some heart... The AU version is funny, but personally I think the US version is better because there is character development.

M P gave it an8:
I find myself laughing out loud at this show week after week. Molly Shannon and Selma Blair are brilliant, and the "supporting" cast is equally as talented. The dialogue is inspired and whoever is dressing these women is genius.

Billy B. gave it a9:
I almost checked out after the pilot...I agree it pretty much sucked....but I gave it a chance and by the third episode I'm loving it. The characters have finally become real, knowable and likable. Great shows like 30 Rock and The Office show how great characters are everything. Give it a chance.

Caroline O. gave it a2:
I seldom feel compelled to share my opinion about TV shows, movies, etc. but I was SO astounded by the HORRIBLE writing, casting, and limited acting ability ( Blair, in particular) that I had to research and see if other viewers found it as much of an insulting waste of time as I did. Most concur.

chase u.h gave it a0:
The most excruciating thing i have watched in years. office at the mall? its not workin, the writing is stale, and the actors are just not funny. tina frey isnt even funny but at least she doesnt try, these people try and its painful. how does this stay on the air? the original Kath n kim was funny, calling this shit would be a compliment it does not deserve.

Kath & Kim SERIES: NBC, Thursday 8:30p (30 minutes)

Kath & Kim
SERIES: NBC, Thursday 8:30p (30 minutes)