Netflix's new Will Arnett comedy 'Flaked' is one of its worst-reviewed shows yet

Matt Kennedy/Netflix

Will Arnett's new Netflix comedy, "Flaked," is getting a big thumbs-down from television critics.

At the time of publishing, it had earned a 39/100 score on review-aggregation site Metacritic. That's the second-worst score ever for a Netflix original comedy, though it did beat "Fuller House." The spin-off got a 35 score (but it still got renewed for a second season).

For context, Netflix's highest-scoring comedy show on the site is Aziz Ansari's "Master of None," with a 91. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" comes in at a far second with a 78 score.

On "Flaked," which comes out Friday, co-creator Will Arnett stars as Chip. He has carefully engineered a "guru-like" public persona that begins to break down lie by lie as he falls for the same girl his best friend is pursuing.

From a thin story line to a lack of laughs, here's what the critics are saying:

Do we need another indie comedy-style protagonist?

Adam Rose/Netflix

With so many good shows that seem similar in tone and style, there's bound to be some genre saturation for viewers. One critic feels that "Flaked" doesn't quite justify its own existence.

"There’s nothing inherently unwelcome about another portrait of a womanizing, self-hating middle-aged manchild in theory," wrote A.V. Club's Dennis Perkins. "... But for all of Arnett’s wet-eyed appeal (and for all the heavy lifting done by Stephen Malkmus’ score of on-the-nose indie rock), 'Flaked' fails to make the case that Chip’s self-pitying a--holery is unique enough to carry an entire series."

 

There isn't enough story for an eight-episode series.

Adam Rose/Netflix

Critics pointed out that "Flaked" had some inconsistencies in tone and pace, and that story content seems too thin for a series.

"The series gets more substantive and quicker starting in episode six, but overall the pieces — man-boys on the prowl, bromance, occasional forays into seriousness — fit together uncomfortably," New York Times critic Neil Genzlinger said.

Las Vegas Weekly's Josh Bell wrote: "'Flaked' offers up weak jokes and even weaker drama, as later episodes pile on contrived, overwrought plot twists. A feature-film version could have tightened up the storytelling — or at least ended sooner."

It's just not funny.

Adam Rose/Netflix

Clearly when a show is called a comedy, it should produce some laughs. But "Flaked" seems to fall very short on this level.

The Hollywood Reporter critic Daniel Fienberg wrote, "In all of these L.A. neighborhood rom-drams, a running time of under 30 minutes dictates we call them comedies more than the tone necessarily does, so 'Flaked' episodes almost all run just a notch over 30 minutes and offer almost no laughs at all, daring you to change your classifications."

San Francisco Chronicle's David Wiegand agreed: "The new Netflix comedy 'Flaked' asks the question: Can a show be called a comedy if it has zero laughs?"

Watch the trailer for "Flaked" below:

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