I'm really rooting for Kelsey Grammer to return with another lovable, memorable TV character in a show that best utilizes his singular talents — but "Partners," I'm afraid, won't do the trick.
Grammer, best known as Dr. Frasier Crane from "Cheers" and then "Frasier," is so identified with the small screen and with a particular TV persona — pomposity and arrogance mixed with a touch of humility, which combine for a touch of vulnerability.
If he was a complete jerk he'd be unlikable, and he's not, but he needs strong writing to underscore those on-screen traits —something he didn't have in a string of post-"Frasier" disappointments (the short-lived sitcoms "Back to You" and "Hank"). He admirably switched gears for the gritty Starz drama "Boss," but alas, that lasted only two seasons.
Grammer doesn't have that strong writing base here, either, at least in the first two episodes of "Partners," in which he's paired with Martin Lawrence, marking his comeback to series TV after a successful run on the '90s sitcom "Martin."
They play mismatched Chicago lawyers who end up working together (don't ask), a sort of legal-eagle "Odd Couple": Grammer's Allen Braddock, on his second wife, is a pompous, self-serving windbag who's been fired by his own father; Lawrence's Marcus Jackson — who lives with his stylish mother (Telma Hopkins) and teenage daughter (Daniele Watts) over his storefront law office — is a kind-hearted schlemiel who's OK with being fleeced by his ex-wife.
She's moved out and, we think, is sleeping with her priest.
We're supposed to believe that, beneath their bickering, Alan and Marcus really do like each other, and have much more in common than they think. But the standard-sitcom format of "Partners," with its forced laugh track and cookie-cutter supporting players — Alan's spoiled step-daughter (McKaley Miller), Marcus' bow-tie-wearing gay paralegal (Rory O'Malley) — makes it difficult to really invest too much time in the "Partners" premise.
Grammer is good, as usual — he's one of those performers (like Sean Hayes) who was tailor-made for the sitcom genre. He fires off the few good lines he has in his trademark huffy delivery ("This would kill my mother … we should tell her" or "Nothing says 'I made it halfway to the American Dream' like a storefront office"). Lawrence, for his part, just looks tired and bored. They don't have much on-screen chemistry together, and the laughs are few-and-far-between.
"Partners" is produced by Debmar-Mercury, which made its deal with FX based on the "10/90" model it originated with Charlie Sheen's "Anger Management" — namely that if "Partners" reaches a certain ratings level after 10 episodes, it will automatically be renewed for an additional 90 episodes.
If that does happen, maybe they'll have more time to fine-tune this creaky comedy.
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