There’s surely nothing more basic a critic could possibly do than describe a show with “basic” in its name as basic. But it’s difficult to come up with a more fitting word to describe Fox’s Universal Basic Guys, a cartoon that, at least initially, seems rooted in all the hoariest sitcom clichés of the ’90s.

The series, created by Adam and Craig Malamut, does reveal occasional glimmers of a potential to become something more distinctive — typically in moments when it ditches the road well-traveled for stranger, more outlandish and often downright fantastical detours. But such moments are spread too thin over the course of a 13-episode first season better described as fine than fun.

The “basic” in that title actually refers to the concept of Universal Basic Income, which ostensibly drives the plot. As explained in the theme song that opens each episode, South Jersey brothers Mark and Hank Hoagies,...