Dads is a multi-camera situational comedy on Fox that premiered September 17, 2013. Starring Giovanni Ribisi (My Name is Earl, Lost in Translation) and Seth Green (Family Guy, Robot Chicken), Dads follows two video game developers, Warner Whittemore (Ribisi) and Eli Sachs (Green), whose lives are drastically affected when both of their fathers move in with them. Martin Mull and Peter Riegert star as the paternal newcomers Crawford Whittemore and David Sachs, respectively. Each episode examines a new scenario where Warner and Eli’s dads interfere with their careers, families, and friendships with much of the comedy being notoriously brash, absurd, misogynistic, and racist. Dads was created by Family Guy writer/producer alums Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild.
Also starring are Brenda Song as Veronica, assistant to Warner and Eli; Tonita Castro as Edna, Eli’s maid; and Vanessa Lachey as Camilla, Warner’s wife. The show’s ratings prompted Fox to order a full 22-episode first season order before trimming it to 19 on December 6, 2013. In spite of its popularity, Dads is notable for its nearly universal critical panning; it currently holds a 0% on popular movie and television ratings site Rotten Tomatoes and a 15 out of 100 on critical aggregate site Metacritic. Robert Bianco of USA Today comments, “If the two whiny sons and their equally unlikable fathers aren’t enough to push you away, the boorish childishness of the show’s obvious efforts to offend should do the trick.” The show, currently eleven episodes into its first season, airs Tuesdays at 8:00/7:00c prior to Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, and The Mindy Kaling Project.
