“Like a fish out of water” is as tried and true a premise as a sitcom gets, which means two opposing things. One the one hand, the setup has a proven track record of success. On the other, it gets harder to innovate with every new iteration. “Bless This Mess,” to both its credit and detriment, doesn’t especially try to reinvent this particular wheel.

ABC’s new comedy, co-created by Lake Bell and Elizabeth Meriwether, takes a yuppie New York City couple (Bell and Dax Shepard) and throws them headlong into an ill-advised adventure taking over a farm. Neither...