Nat Faxon, the Ben in “Ben and Kate” (7:30 p.m. Central Tuesdays, Fox) is a mix of Ed Helms from “The Office” and the more likable side of Adam Sandler. He’s a complete goofball, but — like Mindy Kaling of “The Mindy Project,” this fall’s other exciting new sitcom — he’s also a writer, and he has impeccable comedic timing.
The preview for the show is essentially a trimmed-down version of the pilot, so I don’t have a whole lot to add after seeing the full episode. I do think it has a better idea than “The Mindy Project” of what it wants to be. Brother Ben has trouble with being mature, but he’s really good at being carefree. Sister Kate (Dakota Johnson) is pretty good at being mature, but she’s not great at being carefree. Both are clutzy and awkward, but Ben is comfortable with this and Kate isn’t.
Ben — who moves in with Kate and her daughter by episode’s end — is jobless, whereas Kate works as a bartender. He sometimes smells bad, whereas she wears a fanny pack. So it’s hard to say which one of them is more put together, but generally they are boosted up a notch with each other’s assistance.
In addition to Faxon, Lucy Punch (playing a decidedly different character than she did in “Bad Teacher”) is a breakthrough as BJ, Kate’s best friend who knows how to use her sex appeal, but goes over-the-top with it, as in the scene where she shows Kate how to draw attention to her mouth by putting various items in it. Echo Kellum plays Tommy, Ben’s best bud, whose characterization so far consists of the fact that he’s in love with Kate (who won’t give him the time of day for some reason; hopefully she won’t become one of those cliched women who keeps dating guys that are wrong for her while ignoring the perfect guy).
Maggie Elizabeth Jones plays Maggie, Kate’s 7-year-old daughter (the good thing that came from Kate’s one mistake in life, as Ben notes). The editors make good use of Maggie; most notably in the scene where Ben awkwardly does a tight U-turn with a minivan and she just sits in the back observing the whole thing. In another good scene, Ben sees his ex in a wedding dress, but he’s in the van with Maggie and so he can’t swear: “Why are you so young right now!” he laments.
Because all the funny scenes were in the preview, I wasn’t blown away by the pilot, but it did confirm that this is the best new sitcom of the season. Upcoming episodes, when we get to see fresh material, should be even better.
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