Matt LeBlanc Makes Sitcom Return in 'Man with a Plan'

Former Friends star Matt LeBlanc returns to a network sitcom next week with the debut of his Man With a Plan on CBS. That might, at first glance, seem like good news for all those Friends fans who've been longing to once again see LeBlanc in a regular sitcom role. Critics say, however, that this new series is not likely to please anyone.

In Man With a Plan, LeBlanc plays a working-class dad who finds himself spending more time with his family when his work/life balance changes. The jokes are built around the tried-and-true sitcom premise of a lovably clueless dad who is baffled by the way his family's home life works.

If that sounds familiar, it might be because it's been the premise of dozens of sitcoms through the decades, and it's also the premise of Kevin Can Wait, the new sitcom that's also on CBS' Monday-night schedule this fall. Like Man With a Plan, Kevin Can Wait pins its hopes not on a fresh premise, but on the stature of its familiar star, in this case Kevin James (The King of Queens). For Kevin Can Wait, at least, the plan is working.

The problem, critics are saying virtually unanimously, is that Man With a Plan doesn't even achieve the formulaic mediocrity of Kevin Can Wait. Reviews have included the descriptors "uninspired," "bland," "dreadful," and, simply, "Why?"

Dreadfulness aside, Man With a Plan will benefit from a lead-in on Mondays from Kevin Can Wait, which is currently the top-rated new comedy series of the season.

Man With a Plan debuts October 24 at 8:30pm ET on CBS.