Wanda Sykes has officially solidified her place on TV as the “only person on Fox not picking on President Obama.” The Wanda Sykes show debuted Saturday night and the bawdy boisterous comedienne delivered exactly what was expected. She’s sarcastic, funny, crass, leftist and [insert adjective here]—basically—everything else wonderfully quirky that fans love about her.

She opened her show with a skit poking fun at conservative political pundit Ann Coulter’s huge eyelashes, followed by a stand up routine that also jabbed at former president, George W. Bush and Republicans in general, who heavily criticize Obama for the mess that W left behind. The routine was funny but toned down—even for Sykes (I guess that’s to be expected with her type of show on airing on Fox). It also dragged. That’s my biggest complaint about the show. Certain jokes could have ended a lot sooner than they did.

The show was peppered with comical vignettes throughout, but the meat of it was her featured guests. Saturday’s episode featured Darryl “Chill” Mitchell, Mary Lynn Rajskub (from 24), Keith Robinson and Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race). They sat at a desk (think The Insider) and talked about pop-culture. Some of it was random, where they talked about people who would spend 4.5 million dollars to travel to space and some of it was relevant, like methods of child discipline—but all of it has potential.

I like her format but my major complaint is the rambling jokes which made the show drag in some spots. My favorite quote of the night was from when Sykes said she was a fan of “beautiful ignorance.” So am I—hence the excessive reality TV that I watch—and I think we’ll be just fine (thanks Wanda).

I’m nervous about the show coming on Saturday night but then again, it might work to her benefit since her competition clutters the week night TV spots. Overall, I give The Wanda Sykes show a B and I’m looking forward to a better, funnier and snarkier season. I think she will deliver. Check out the first episode below:

You can catch The Wanda Sykes Show Saturday nights at 11pm on Fox.

TAGS: The Wanda Sykes Show

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