TRAIN WRECK

By Universal Decree, Work It Is The Worst Show On Television—Possibly Ever

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The reviews are in for ABC’s Work It, and, yes, they’re as horrible as we all expected. In fact, the show has such a train-wreck quality that some critics are rooting for it in that perverse “it-sucks-so-much-it’s-good” way. Hopefully GLAAD and the HRC can join us in watching it slowly die, although they urged ABC to cancel the show ASAP on the basis that it’s harmful to transgender people.

We don’t want to get too deep into the plot—we’re scared of getting post-traumatic stress disorder—but it ran like a misogynistic, misanthropic of Bosom Buddies. Straight man Lee is broke and unemployed—he can’t even pay his proctologist bill because he doesn’t have insurance (ooh social relevance!). Then he overhears how pharmaceutical reps make big bank and decides that’s his new dream job. Only you gotta be a lady so you can flirt with all those dumb, sexist doctors. Because all MDs are hot for ugly, broad-shouldered men in bad drag (see photo above).

Lee decides cross-dressing is the solution and, after roping in his pal Angel, quickly lands a cushy gig at a firm populated by a variety of female stereotypes: the slut, the lunatic, the girl next door, etc.  Hilarity does not ensue.

Overall, Doesn’t Work scored a pitifully low 20 out of 100 on Metacritic, the Rotten Tomatoes of  the small screen. That’s the rock-bottom lowest Metacritic score of any show on television right now.

We collected some of the reviews below. Enjoy the schadenfreude:

*“While [Graydon] Sheppard’s harmlessly amusing [Sh*t Girls Say] may have made you say, ‘That’s so true!’ the new sitcom Work It, which debuted last night on ABC, instead probably made you scream, ‘That’s not even remotely close to resembling any sort of reality as a female or a human person in the history of time!’ ” [Aly Semigran at EW]

*“No one is claiming that this show was ever supposed to be capital-G ‘Good,’ or that there’s anything wrong with a little goofy, not-very-cerebral fun. But while intelligence may not be a necessary condition for a funny comedy, stupidity is not a sufficient condition for it. Work It is simple network anti-intellectualism, daring you to reject it based on its brainlessness and be branded a no-fun enemy of everyone’s good time.” [Linda Holmes at NPR]

*“Wanted to tweet something funny about the new show ‘Work It,’ but if they can’t be bothered to be funny why should I?” [@BettyFckinWhite]

*“If you want to call it insulting to men who dress as women, you have to also call it insulting to men who don’t, and to women. (Sample lines: ‘Have I gotten drunk and slept with a random guy yet?’ ‘I’m Puerto Rican—I’d be great at selling drugs.’) Yet it is not actually ill-willed, just ill-witted.” [Robert Lloyd from the LAT]

 

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