You know that saying, “Looks good on paper”? Everything about The Return of Jezebel James looked good on paper. Bring together the original Queen of the Indies Parker Posey, Six Feet Under darling Lauren Ambrose and Gilmore Girls mastermind Amy Sherman-Palladino and, on paper, the result should be sheer genius. But, in reality, oh dear no.

The show's two-episode premiere last Friday showed us the sad reality of potential unmet as set to the tone-deafening clatter of a laugh track. The setup is pretty simple. A pair of estranged sisters reunite when the older sister Sarah (Parker), an uptight children’s book editor, asks her younger sister Coco (Lauren), a directionless slacker, to be her surrogate. At this point you might be thinking, hey, the whole surrogacy thing worked for Juno. At this point, you would be wrong.

Jezebel James fails to work as either a zany odd-couple comedy or a touching sister-bonding story. The characters feel flat and forced, the dialogue is smug instead of snappy. Were there funny moments? Sure; this is still Amy and Parker and Lauren we’re talking about here. But the potential was so tangible, it makes the show's inevitable weaknesses even more glaring. … continue reading