Bless The Harts...Because No One Else Will

Viewers shouldn’t waste their time on this brainless, lazily-made cartoon. Fox’s official webpage for Bless The Harts makes reference to “a Southern family that is always broke and forever struggling to make ends meet,” “Jenny, a single mother supporting her family working as a waitress,” and “Jenny’s lottery scratcher-obsessed mother.” This tells potential viewers everything they need to know about the show...except for the tasteless appearances of a beer-swilling Jesus who appears in person to mock Jenny at her restaurant, the Last Supper. In the past, Fox has been the TV capital of adult animation. The Simpsons is a mainstay of television (indeed, now holds the record for the longest-running prime-time series in TV history); Bob’s Burgers is consistently amusing; and even Family Guy, repugnant though it is, manages a clever joke or one-liner once in a blue moon. But Bless The Harts is just plain lazy. It is clear the show’s creators believe that tired “Southern redneck” cliches ripped off from King of the Hill, plentiful profanity, and a little of the absurdity of the late, unlamented Son of Zorn (which, not coincidentally, was produced by the same team as Bless The Harts) are sufficient to entertain audiences, with any effort in the way of genuine characterization or comedy being superfluous. Judging by the first episode, this entire program is a waste of time. The artwork is shoddy, the cutaways nonsensical, and the script is totally lacking in humor. And while the program does boast voiceover talent by the likes of Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, such talent is utterly wasted when the characters are given nothing funny to say. Using talented voice artists on this dreck is like putting a silk bow on a cowpie. If anyone cares, Bless The Harts premieres Sunday, September 29 at 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox.