Lifetime has gotten a bad name recently. For the most part it’s well deserved, especially if you tune in during the Amish abortion movie or one of the films about serial killers with a lame pun title. Every so often, they get something right though, and that something is Sherri: The Complete Season One.
Sherri Shepherd stars as Sherri Robinson, a paralegal and single mother of six-year-old Bo after her husband Kevin (played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known as Theo on The Cosby Show or “guy getting gas from Paris Hilton” in the CBS series I Get that a Lot) leaves her for a younger woman. It’s like watching Reba, except the Reba-esque character in this show, Sherri, actually has a job. Quite a concept there. Her co-workers are there to offer support when Sherri learns (much like Reba did) that her ex-husband knocked up the barely legal girl he cheated on her with.
Along with Sherri, the rest of the cast members are quite amusing, and you’ll remember most of them from 90s sitcoms. James Avery, a veteran of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, plays Sherri’s father Redmond, while Michael Boatman of Spin City fame is one of her potential love interests. Even her strange but entertaining boss Summer will be recognizable to many fans of 90s television, as she guest starred on several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Halfrek, a vengeance demon, and Cecily, the cold-hearted bitch that wouldn’t go out with Spike before he became a vampire (bet she was sorry about that later). Tammy Townsend and Elizabeth Regen also star as coworkers of Sherri’s.
While the 90s nostalgia abounds, at times the show could be more humorous. Yeah, it’s a bit repetitive and predictable, but it’s Sherri! And if we know anything about Sherri at all, it’s that she can make even repetitive and predictable funny if she wants to. I mean, we’ve all seen The View, right?
The best parts of the show are when Sherri performs her stand-up comedy. If this is what you’re tuning in for, though, you may want to skip it. Out of the thirteen episodes in this season, Shepherd only performs her comedy in two of them. However, there are some cute episode plots, such as when Sherri must cope with her son Bo’s first custody visit to see his father and must figure out what to do with a weekend all alone, as well as when Sherri hosts a game night/blind date free for all. Unfortunately, the show ends with a cliffhanger that may never come to pass, as it is unclear at this time if Sherri will be optioned for another season.
The bottom line is this: if you are someone who likes Sherri Shepherd, The View, her stand-up comedy or television shows that come right out and hate on men, then this show is definitely for you. But if you don’t fit into any of the aforementioned categories, then you are not going to enjoy this show at all. All it’s going to do is remind you why you are against all of these things, so you might as well just forget it.
DVD Bonus Features
There are some clips of Sherri’s stand-up comedy (that were originally webisodes) which are pretty entertaining and worth checking out, but these are the only extras.
"Sherri: The Complete Season One" is on sale April 27, 2010 and is not rated. Comedy, Television. Directed by Andrew Weyman, Ellen Gittelsohn, Gil Junger, Sheldon Epps. Written by David Flebotte, Cynthia Caponera, Scott King. Starring Brandon Khalil, Elizabeth Regen, Kali Rocha, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Michael Boatman, Sherri Shepherd, Tammy Townsend.
