Notes on Notes from the Underbelly

If it is true that comedy is tragedy plus time, then the problem with the new pregnancy-themed sitcom Notes from the Underbelly is that not enough time has passed for me. The disruptive effect that pregnancy and the results of pregnancy hae on one’s life are a mite too fresh.
On the other hand, if that isn’t true, then maybe the problem is that the show is just not that funny. It seems to trace the path of the usual pregnancy cliches, as though the writers had not experienced pregnancy but merely heard about it in standup routines.
Pretty people, smoothly made, but not amusing for me at this point. And I question it is a long-term concept… unless they want to do a very different sort of show, they can’t keep her pregnant forever (and even if they did, they can’t have the couple discovering the effect of pregnancy forever.) So is it supposed to grow into just a standard family sitcom? (This is actually a good artistic argument for intentionally short-run sitcoms, although there are plenty of economic arguments against that.)

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