User Reviews (38)

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  • Unfortunately this show is getting dumped on from all sides. Christians are offended because it makes light of their religion (it doesn't). Anti-religious are annoyed simply because it's about religion. Big Bang Theory haters are annoyed because it's a very similar style of humor produced by and featuring Big Bang alumni.

    First off I'll just say that this is NOT a vulgar comedy, at all. At least the first episode (which is all I've seen). This isn't 2 Broke Girls... this isn't even BBT-level crassness. If anything it's almost wholesome, a 90's broadcast sitcom throwback.

    Judging by the pilot alone: It is very simple "canned-laughter" style sitcom that seems to be starting slow while laying the foundation of it's promising premise.

    If you like standard sitcom-style humor, and aren't offended by the mere presence of religion in a comedy I'd say give this one a try. If you're a devout, easily offended Christian and/or hater of canned laughter... I'd say give this one a miss.

    Personally? I want to see which direction they go once they get up to speed with the story. Until then I'm not ready to jump off.
  • Having read 'The Year of Living Biblically,' When I heard they were coming out with a TV Show inspired about this very book, I was very excited and I was sure to watch it the day it came out. Finally, February 28th, the series premiere of 'Living Biblically!' After all that excitement and hype-up, I soon realize that some books are meant to stay just books. I was so disappointed, the acting is just terrible, and the humor is just unbearable, and like many of the reviews mention, the laugh track is just so unfitting for this show. I thought to myself that it would surely get better as the season went on, but boy, was I so wrong on that. With that being said I highly recommend the book but don't even waste your time with this CBS comedy.

    4/10
  • The canned laughter is extremely disruptive and unnatural. People say a line, wait for the canned laughter, say another line, etc, etc. The show dynamics would be completely changed if the canned laughter would disappear. I love Jay Ferguson, the lead, & I love AJ Jacobs, the author of the book, but this series needs to be a lot of tweaking. It is annoying and preachy as it is. Surely with such great components, awesome actors, this could be made good. I hope they are able to fix it. Start with that horrible laugh track!!
  • This show has been so disappointing. With a refreshingly new plot and a pretty stellar cast, you'd think this would've been a slam-dunk from the beginning, but...no. The dialogue is so forced and predictable it's really hard to watch the actors attempt to make something of the lines without cringing.
  • I did not last four minutes. It's offensive, not to faith but to the ears. Do they have a surplus of canned laughter they need to use before the end of Spring? Love Big Bang Theory so much I'm able to overhear the canned laughter, however with Living Biblically they keep coming, 8 EIGHT times within the first minute. It's simply not possible to watch unless I mute the tv and read the subtitles instead. The concept and the idea is great, but the manic, mechanic laughter ruin it all. ANd why are they needed anyway? Its like they think people are too stupid to know when a thing is funny and need some help from the studio to drive it in. to quote Blackadder, about as subtle as a rhinoceros horn up the backside! Door!
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Ok so this is not really a review of the show but a review of the reviewers .. which is to try and point out/explain the weird stuff going on here. I'm doing this because I think these reviews are seriously biased by people with blocked views I suppose. I don't know how many times I've heard or read someone saying "This show is the worse, I should have stopped after reading the book" or something along the lines ... I get it, but there is more to the story, lets get real for a second, in almost any book to movie/tv show, its almost never the case that the story is followed as is and its been like that for a while so basically whats happening is, "based on xyz book" that term is used rather loosely in terms of book to media conversion but average people with their average mind can't seem to accept it or the fact that its someone else show and they can do whatever they want, all viewers such as these are doing is, sticking to their pretentious prospective where one must follow their idealism of perfection .. which happens to be "Follow the book to the letter" and I think this is just plain dumb. Now why I'm thinking that way, let me explain this way, humans are creatures of habit and we happen to like patterns and we expect everything to follow/be in a pattern in most cases and this is case this happens to be "follow the book" but hold your horses, lets think for a second ... how many times ANYONE did anything exceptional or great by following a pattern or doing what others want them to do? anyone with half a brain knows how that goes, with that being said when we throw the show off the window just cause "It didn't follow the pattern we wanted", we're not going it a chance ... I know some may think, hey I watched it, thus gave it a chance but did you really? think again .. you already have a strong biased prospective, what you did is watch and hate/dislike it based on that prospective(with a high probability).

    Now regarding humor, this story is about a book thats been read, preached and researched and what not from the beginning of time probably (just saying, don't need to be precise here, we all can google the exact time). So when something is read so many times, ok hold on, when you eat the best sushi everyday or the best chicken for every day .. do or do you not want something different eventually? you do because simply put, who likes same stuff on and on and on, right? well, now think what if you had life of thousand years and you had this one great food ... that you eat like say every random moment of a day for this whole thousand years, now after thousand years, would you still like it? even if its the best? Hell we can't stand the best for maybe weeks or months at most ... thousand years, no way. Now this book which happens to be in the core of this drama ... it''s just that ... no wonder people are complaining.

    But I for one think this is a fresh change but yes ofcourse it has cliches and common lines that's been around/used for thousands of years but hey no complaining ... this show is about following a book's guidelines that's been around for thousands of years.

    Basically what I'm saying is the idea of "follow the book" is just, meh! and well this show deserves better rating/reviews than it has and hopefully this will get better.
  • Not really worth going out of your way for, but not particularly bad either.
  • I really really really wanted to love this show. Camryn Manheim is a goddess and truly the only solid actor in this show. Everything else just lacks.....well.....everything! The dialogue is cheesy and much of the acting is wooden. But the canned laugh tracks are the straw that breaks the camel's back -- just horrible. They overuse the laugh tracks and even manage to misuse them in spots that should be without.

    So very very very disappointed. Hopefully, the producers will see the divine Ms. Manheim and give her a show of substance.
  • cliffritch12 June 2018
    This show is about religion. It shows religion in a good, decent way, where it does not put faith in a very negative nor a preachy light. Religion is shown in a very diplomatic way. Despite that, there are many people who are giving extremely low reviews. I believe that many of them are either very anti-religious, trying to destroy the show simply because it is about Christianity, or they are Christian, wanting to kill the show because it does not follow what they want to be shown as the 'perfect' faith.

    The other group of people are upset because it does not follow the book on which it is based to the letter. This show is not supposed to do that. It is based loosely on that book, in that it is based on the idea the book follows. Therefore, it was never supposed to follow it exactly. The ratings have been dropped by many people with strong biases without actually giving it a chance.

    This series shows religion and the idea of living 100% by the bible in a very interesting and positive light, without forcing Christianity on anyone or forcing anyone away from Christianity. It deserves very good reviews, but since it is about religion and very loosely based on a book, there are many reviews that do not base it on the actual series and instead on their own biases.
  • 'Living Biblically' had the potential to be funny. There's no other show like it on TV, so it didn't open itself up to comparisons ~ like every medical, law and police drama out there. So how did 'Living Biblically' fail so miserably? The atrocious writing followed up by a horrific canned laughter soundtrack. It explains to me why this show wasn't filmed in front of a 'live studio audience'. Unless the chairs were filled with crickets chirping, there would be complete silence...or snoring.

    This review wasn't based on just the latest episode, but every one up until now, hoping ('praying') the show would improve. My truth here is that there won't be another episode of 'Living Biblically' watched in this house. Gave the show a VERY generous 1* out of 10.
  • I hope they give this show a chance. I thought it was awesome. Something new for a change. I actually laughed out loud when he hit that guy in the head with a rock. I think it could be as good as Big Bang Theory of it is on long enough to develop.
  • Forget the awkward subject matter, forget the forced agenda, forget the stereotype characters...this is the worst written, acted, and edited Chuck Lorre knockoff fecal display that any idiot has ever been responsible for greenlighting for production.

    Avoid.
  • The book is funny, infornative and thought provoking and when I read it was being turned into a TV show I thought it may be a documentary. But no, it's a sit com with the worst additive to sit coms invented - the laugh track. The show is not awful, but doesn't work as the subject isn't fit for light relief - it needed to be sharp and witty and clever - a la Curb Your Enthusiasm, or a documentary - a Tim Allen style sit-com simply does not work, oh and did I mention? Its 2017 and it has a laugh track!!! A laugh track which drives you mad! I can't think A J Jacobs would be happy with this - as affable and easy going as he seems. I'm going to stick with it though - maybe they will iron out the negatives as it goes along - hopefully starting with getting rid of the laugh track!!
  • Having read "The Year of Living Biblically" and that they converted it to Christianity is very disappointing. It's supposed to be him living the rules and laws of the Old Testament.

    The series chronicles a married film critic and expectant father's decision to become born again by living his life according to the Bible after the death of his best friend.

    LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME.

    Read the book folks, it is hysterical and amazing. A.J. Jacobs is awesome. Disappointing because I do like the lead.
  • Such a promising premise from a rich and subtle book, spoiled with burlesque execution. Producers, please watch "The Good Place" for inspiration on how to treat deep topics in a funny way with believable characters. I so want to love this show as much as I did the book. Give more control to the author, AJ Jacobs. His lines are FUNNY without being cheap. Let me feel what Chip is wrestling with as he decides how to live out a particular scripture. Have faith that this show will draw thoughtful people. I'll be praying for you.
  • It's great to have a comedy with a little bit of ethics inside it. Those who are upset that our protagonist isn't starting wars or shedding blood should remember that the Bible is not just a book of rules but also a history of the Jewish people. Like most history, it's not meant to be repeated. Even many of the Old Testament laws were only intended for the locale. Cooking rules for a hot climate before refrigeration (no shellfish for example) don't apply today.

    I read the book and enjoyed it and although it only covered the Old Testament, I'm glad the show has included both Old and New so as to have more scope. I hope people give this a chance. It's is a great way to have a few laughs, but it can also be an interesting look at where and why we first got some of out ideas about wrong and right.
  • chickory74 April 2018
    I posted a very low rating earlier mainly because I hate hate hate the very loud laugh track & how it affects the acting, timing, etc. I have to rethink the rating i gave because a 1 implies that it is among the worst. It is not. There are several truly awful shows that are very popular and get renewed many seasons. This show has some really enjoyable actors. I loveJay R Ferguson & think he makes everything better. I so enjoy David Krumholtz and Ian Gomez. I think their acting is great and they function as the voice of reason that is just not grasped. There are many great elements to the show. I just feel the show could be so much better and that it really needs to start with losing the loud laughtrack.
  • rosiesgarden28 February 2018
    I truly enjoyed this first episode. It shows us the good side of life, with normal feelings for friends and family, The jokes have predictable timing and some are quite unexpected. I can understand some negative reviews. After all, it does not have gallons of blood, nudity, swearing , gross references and such. However, to a family that stays together, it is fun to watch. There is nothing wrong with good clean living, with healthy family values. The wife of main character is having a baby. Great. He really misses his friend. How many of has have lost a good friend, and they are forgotten in a short period of time? There is religious freedom and tolerance for all forms of faith. People! It is right there in the title! It is Biblically! If you think that Bible is boring or worse, then do not watch it!! It is very simple.
  • kay-laura25 March 2018
    The idea really seemed funny, there's a lot you can do with the idea...but the canned laughter, the forced jokes, the unrealistic conversations. Pretty disappointing. Writing is horrid, acting is pretty close to horrid.
  • One of the best casts I have seen - in the worst show, ever.
  • After the death of his friend Ray, Chip Curry (Jay R. Ferguson) is struggling. Like Ray, he had faded from his religious attendence. His wife Leslie (Lindsey Kraft) reveals her pregnancy and he decides to live biblically for the nine months. Co-worker Vince (Tony Rock) is his friend. He seeks counsel from Father Gene (Ian Gomez) and Rabbi Gil (David Krumholtz). His boss Ms. Meadows (Camryn Manheim) gives him a column to write about his new experiences.

    It's very simple. I didn't laugh. The question becomes why. This is a traditional network sitcom based on a non-fiction book of how A.J. Jacobs spent a year living strictly by the bible. I don't think this high concept idea fits easily with the laugh-track infused network sitcom genre. Dealing with religion is tricky. Mostly, I don't find these characters compelling. The actors are mostly functional although they are missing the wacky friend character. Maybe Gomez and Krumholtz are set up to be a comedy duo but it's hard to laugh at a rabbi and a priest. At least make them walk into a bar. Oh yeah, they do that. While I'm fine with the actors, I don't find their characters that appealing. This is not a good show and it didn't get much of an audience. I would have pitched a bet between the devil and god about Chip living biblically in the form of a single camera dramedy.
  • I gave this show a shot because I like a lot of CBS... but no this. The first few episodes are dry and boring. I agree with the top-rated reviewer that this is like a less funny version of Big Bang Theory with religion. The acting is okay, not bad. The writing, and the plot development only happen in a few locations. Like they ran out of sets at CBS and this show got the shaft.... mediocre sitcom at best, total waste of your time at worst.

    And what is Christian about it? The idea maybe? Not much. The avoidance of difficult or relevant issues. I imagine the crappy writers met each other at a retreat and dreamed up this little disaster in ten minutes.
  • govedavid6 March 2018
    I only gave it a ten because of the homophobic person who gave it a one. Have to balance things out.
  • This isn't the worst sitcom I've ever seen (that honour would probably go to the deservedly short-lived "Work It") but it is a pretty generic one-liner-based show. There are moments that may make you smile, but I'm fairly sure you will rarely laugh at the cardboard characters and contrived situations.
  • The bible is quite boring, and overused in movies and tv show, I think it is time for something with more action it.

    This is tagged as a comedy, the jokes are lame, uninspired and plain unfunny, is like watching an Amy Schummer special, stolen jokes that are not even funny.

    Yeah 20 minutes wasted that I am not getting back
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