The simple premise of the show, Call Your Mother, is that a mother in Iowa is worried about her two kids who are now living in L.A. The daughter is the oldest, and Mom isn’t really worried about her, she has a job, an apartment, a boyfriend, etc. No, Mom is worried about the younger son that she’s been calling for 4d and who isn’t calling her back. So Mom flies to L.A. to check on him, and the obvious long-term result will be her moving there. In the opener, she meets the daughter’s gay roommate, son’s girlfriend, and a hot AirBNB owner that she’s renting an apartment from…

Yes it’s a sitcom, and while it isn’t uncommon for pilots / premieres not being able to make me laugh, the complete lack of chemistry for ANYONE in the show is surprising.

Kyra Sedgwick plays the mother, and she’s often hit and miss with me. I confess, I HATED her on the Closer and lasted only an EP or 2 before bailing. But others loved her, and she went 109 EPs. I liked her way back in Something To Talk About, even though the show sucked, even compared to the song. Here? I found her more embarrassing as a character…borderline pitiful as she has her empty-nesting identity crisis. Which is only resolved with her maybe staying because her kids “still need her”. Actually? They don’t. But whatever.

The daughter and son are played by Rachel Sennott and Joey Bragg, and while they may grow into the roles, they have zero chemistry together. Yet that is the second leg of the show — that they grew apart and Mom wants them to kiss and make nice-nice. Yawn.

For supporting cast, Austin Crute plays the gay roommate, with some funny lines, but I liked him better in Daybreak. The son’s gf is played by Emma Caymares, and her role is beyond confused. Confident? Stylish? Worldly? And she’s with the kid who plays video games with no real ambition or charm. Riiiiight. Plus she is just all over the place without him, depending on who she is interacting with … superficial, deep, charming, rude. Weird.

The only real bright spot in the whole show is Patrick Brammall as the AirBnB owner. He seems solid, consistent, right up until he hits on Kyra’s character. She’s clearly a mess, he’s a THERAPIST and can see the warning signs, but he’s sucked right in. Supposedly. Too bad, her pursuing him might be an interesting plot. Not enough to stick around, but interesting.

In the end, it isn’t funny, not great acting by anyone, and there’s almost no chemistry. The third-string apt owner is the only “plus”, so I’m out, and I predict cancellation along the way.