Starring: Casey Wilson (“Happy Endings”), Ken Marino (“Children’s Hospital”), Sarah Wright (“Parks and Recreation”), John Gemberling (“Broad City”), Tymberlee Hill (“The Hot Wives of Orlando”), Tim Meadows (“Saturday Night Live”), Dan Bucatinsky (“Scandal”) and JoBeth Williams (“Hart of Dixie”)
Genre: Single-camera comedy
Premiere Date: Tuesday, October 14, 9:00 p.m., NBC
Direct Competition: “NCIS: New Orleans” (CBS), “New Girl” (Fox), “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (ABC), “Supernatural” (CW)
Premise (in 140 characters or less): Jake and Annie are meant to be, or so they think, before each of their marriage proposals go south.
Initial Reaction: “Happy Endings” was ah-mah-zing, and Casey Wilson and Ken Marino are never not funny, so what’s wrong with “Marry Me?” Well, outside of the actors portraying its central duo, just about everything else.
Conclusion: Wilson plays A-type Annie almost too well. The character, though, is insufferable. When a marriage proposal isn’t going haywire, the show flashes back to a moment in Jake and Annie’s past, such as how they met, and the first time they said “I love you.” But not even those moments feel natural. Annie is far too animated, and that makes it hard to see why the often calm, cool and collective Jake puts up with her behavior. The supporting cast does what very little it can with what little it has to do.
Watch Live, DVR or Skip?: Tough call. Given the caliber of talent involved, I’m setting the DVR, and hope it improves. I don’t know that I’m interested in watching 13-22 episodes of the show presented here, but I wouldn’t have wanted to watch 52 more episodes of “Happy Endings” had it not improved upon its pilot, either.
