NBC gave viewers a sneak peek at their newest comedy entry, "1600 Penn," before the holidays. The series stars Bill Pullman and Jenna Elfman as the President and First Lady in a fictional White House. Despite its auspicious setting, this preview made it pretty clear that the show is going to try and be first a family comedy.
To help that along, the First Family has four children, including Skip (Josh Gad), who has spent the last seven years goofing around in college. He's easily the most outrageous thing about the show, but then this episode focused almost entirely on him.
Eldest daughter Becca (Martha MacIsaac) was given a secondary storyline where it was revealed that she was pregnant. She reluctantly shared the secret with her stepmother, Emily (Elfman). Other than that, she plays the typical moody and sullen young daughter role on the show.
The family is rounded out by two younger children, who were introduced in a scene after they'd been sent home from school for fighting with one another. The reveal there was that they were both pining after the same girl.
The series is certainly ambitious, but is it funny? EW thought not, but holds out hope that Pullman and Elfman can bring the laughs. Vulture is less confident, though, saying the show isn't delivering on its promise to be NBC's answer to "Modern Family."
"1600 Penn" returns to NBC's lineup on its regular night on Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 9:30 p.m. EST.
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