The Neighbors: Is ABC's bizarre new alien sitcom actually worth watching?

When a trailer hit the web this summer, no one liked it. It looked like TV's worst new fall series had been identified. But the first real episode is changing minds...

The Neighbors
(Image credit: Facebook/The Neighbors)

When, earlier this summer, the networks released trailers for their upcoming fall shows, no series was more scathingly received than ABC's offbeat new sitcom The Neighbors. (Watch the trailer below.) The Neighbors follows a dysfunctional family that moves into a new home and discovers that their seemingly human neighbors are, in fact, Zabrovnians from the planet Zabrov who do things like shake thumbs instead of hands, keep llamas as pets, and throw dishes out the window instead of washing them. Many pegged The Neighbors as a sure bet for early cancelation. But after the series' first episode aired Wednesday night, something stranger than thumb-shaking happened: Some critics admitted that they actually like it. Why are so many people changing their tune about ABC's bizarre new alien sitcom?

The Neighbors has heart: "It is with mild trepidation that I admit that I didn't hate The Neighbors. In fact, I'm sort of rooting for it," says Jill Slattery at Zimbio. The series' silliness and penchant for slapstick humor was clear from the trailer, but surprisingly, The Neighbors "also shows potential for real heart" as it draws parallels between the problems of the humans and the aliens to show that "we're really not that different." At a time when most sitcoms seem interchangeable, The Neighbors is courageously attempting true novelty. Its oddball charms won't work on everyone, but "give it a try before you dismiss it entirely as the worst piece of crap ever to besmirch your televisions screens."

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