Dinner with the Parents (2024– ) User Reviews

Pales in comparison.

[NullUnit · 4/10 · 23 April 2024]

Was destined to fail due to casting.

The actor playing "David" is completely wrong for the part. He looks like a peer to the parents, not their child. He also is not a great comedic actor. The ENTIRE point is that the boys give each other "trouble" not that one of them is a punching bag for the other. They've turned a sibling rivalry into basically just bullying by one brother.

Michaela Watkins - Decent actor but... Same as she ever is.. unfunny and overly nervous. Her demeanor is just off for this. She comes across as someone overly worried, and riddles with anxiety about EVERYTHING around her.

Dan Bakkedahl - great in some rolls but far too "goofy" to be the dad in this - at least that's how he's playing it. Dad isn't supposed to be "goofy". He's just supposed to be odd. There IS a difference. Dad here comes across as "stupid", the "dolt", the "moron". Not the well-meaning, but accident prone, nature of the original character.

Carol Kane - great skills, but the character, with the accent is just wrong. Is Ladka around? It's her Taxi character 40 years later. Sure audiences may not know Taxi, but that's the character.

.. overall this is VERY "try hard". So much clear effort to try and get to something funny. It feels exceptionally forced and unnatural. I mean the use of "sissy" is quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

This is a very typical US remake.. they complete ignore the "tone" of the original and just rewrite the scripts with a US twist without paying attention to the overall atmosphere.

The original Friday Night Diner was so much, much, much better.. and the AU (or is it NZ?) remake.. Roast Night.. is also better. This show is the worst of the international bunch.

Just stream Friday night dinner

[actuallyjessmarie · 4/10 · 19 April 2024]

This is based off of the brilliant Friday night dinner but lacks any of what makes Friday night dinner a great show. The original is one of my favorite shows and one I've watched several times and this version is criminal. Some things don't need to be remade especially if not done right and this is one of them. It lacks the dry humor and fun of what the original one was. Also there's no way either of the boys are anywhere in their 20s or pass for 20s whoever did the casting needs a career change. All this made me do was wish that prime hadn't taken the original off their free streaming. Nothing good I can really say about it.

Immediately dislike, but some will like it

[EyeSeesMovies · 4/10 · 3 May 2024]

As stated in the title, immediately disliked this unnecessary remake. I have watched Friday Night Dinner many many times and will rewatch again in the near future. Seasons -one through four are my favorites (in case you wanted to know.lol).

The opening scene was already out of place...actually the first few minutes were out of place...in how they introduced the family. It seemed like a rush to get to the "funny" with no actual build up. Another commenter gave this show a detailed comparison and reasons why this remake does not work and I couldn't agree more (actually many viewers broke it down, but one reflected my opinion the best).

For true fans of FND this will miss the mark, but the show might find a new fan base. The dad is goofy instead of odd and well meaning. The brothers on FND have a solid bond, but played pranks on each other - the remake has them in a sort of a bully versus victim essence and that doesn't translate well for me. Not to mention how old they look. LOL.

Edition: Overall, this show lacks character development. Every episode has each character play the exact antic...Greg gets embarrassed, mom is high strung, etc. And why does the neighbor (I like him though) just walk into their house??? IMO, the fans of The Middle will enjoy this show.

What a disaster

[thespy8 · 1/10 · 18 April 2024]

As a fan of the REAL Friday Night Dinner, I had to give this one a try.

Unfortunately, I lasted a little more than 10 minutes, though I could immediately tell, actually from the first scene when one of the sons arrives, that the acting is sub par, it is not funny or even amusing. The neighbor was way off, even his dog was not as funny as Wilson. Unfortunately, a few of the original show members passed away, including the father. The great Paul Ritter (who was sick for a long time) and both Grammas, so that was the end of the show.

So, if you want true comedy, look for Friday Night Dinner wherever it's available and laugh your heart out.

I think the only other reviewer here was truly generous giving the show 2 stars.

Some titles cannot be adapted to the US market

[semen-02666 · 2/10 · 18 April 2024]

Don't waste your time on this pile of soft sh**e, just watch Friday Night Dinner. In the middle of the first episode and I didn't laugh once. No charm, no acting or, I suppose just impossible task - adaptation of almost perfect British comedy. Miscast on almost everyone, great otherways actors just don't "work" here. It will not be the next "Office", I honestly doubt it will become something like US version of "The Bridge ".

Why the hell they put grandma on the 1st episode?

Why people behave "normal"? .... and so much other why's.

Really people, it looks like it was made for Netflix, dumb and bland.

Sorry to disappoint.

Decent Remake of a British Classic

[stacey-willard · 7/10 · 19 April 2024]

The first episode started off kind of awkward and unfunny, but halfway through it started coming together and the characters started clicking. We laughed a few times. The second episode was definitely better. It's definitely not as good as the original Friday Night Dinner, but I knew it was going to be hard to recreate those characters. Carol Kane is pretty funny as the grandma and I like the actor who plays the father. I wasn't sure he could pull off what Paul Ritter could, and while he isn't as funny and cringy as Paul, he is still pretty funny. The actress playing the mother started growing on me in the 2nd episode. We enjoyed it and it's better than I expected.

I definitely recommend watching the original series, especially if you find this one enjoyable. The original is definitely irreplaceable but this is a decent attempt.

Yet another failed attempt at adapting a British show

[mitgarand-48879 · 1/10 · 18 April 2024]

Looks like yet another failed attempt by us Americans to remake a British comedy. And this is like the third or fourth attempt at remaking Friday Night Dinner for American audiences. I didn't laugh once during the first episode. Cringed and rolled my eyes the whole time. People should just watch Friday Night Dinner instead. Damn shame Paul Ritter died and there won't be any more episodes.

This show just not funny. It was a chore to get through the first episode. The characters are more like caricatures, there is no real humor, and there is nothing promising better times to come in future episode. Harder than hard pass.

This show has true promise!

[browamel · 10/10 · 19 April 2024]

I haven't watched the British version of this show, so I'm judging solely on its own merits. I'm a big Daniel Thrasher fan, and Carol Kane is one of my all-time favorites. They both pulled through and gave strong performances, along with the rest of the main cast. (Again, I haven't seen the original series so I can't compare.)

I'm really glad Amazon released the first 4 episodes at once, because it's so hard to judge an entire show based on just a pilot (with a few exceptions over the years.) I don't know if I would have been so excited about this series if I had had to wait a week after just the first episode. There was a lot going on with the characters and little to no back stories from the get-go. But by episode 4 I was very engaged and can't wait for the next release.

The cringey chaos and crazy actions of this family are SO funny! The bizarre decisions made by the characters for problem-solving are ridiculous and borderline insane. It just got crazier with each episode. But through it all you can already see the love and ride-or-die commitments they have for each other. It's hard to avoid spoilers, but if you're struggling through the first couple episodes, skip right to Episode 4. I promise you'll be hooked! The unique storylines of each installment in this series makes it easy to skip ahead without getting lost just yet.

Decent but obviously pales in comparison

[brian_spence_ni · 7/10 · 18 April 2024]

People are slating this, partially due to some miscasting (the dad) but really also by comparison. Friday night dinners was just superb so it was always going to be a hard-ask to live up to.

The actor playing Gregg is good, the neighbours are all so cringe, but the storylines are awkward enough to offer (me, at least) some entertainment value. It's not going to set your world alight. It is very much just another american remake of a far superior british show but if you find yourself with a bit of spare time and nothing else to do, it's honestly okay. Episode 4 of those released at the moment was actually quite entertaining.

Stop Adapting British TV Successes

[jjjamurphy · 1/10 · 21 April 2024]

Unbelievable. Why? If you've watched the British show, Friday Night Dinner, don't even give this show a try. It's horrible by comparison. In the US, we do NOT have the mentality for humor like the Brits do. The Brit wit & open field of comedy is superb. With our US micro-management of what can be said & what can't, the show takes out the best of why Friday Night Dinner works. The scripting is a poor 2nd, 3rd, or 4th sanitized American version. No insult to the US performers, they are not as funny, quirky, cohesive like the original cast. The FND characters of Jackie, Martin, Adam, Johnny, Grandma, neighbor Jim and even Wilson the dog surpass the US counterparts. (You can't do justice to the character of Mr. Morris on American television.) Dinner With The Parents starts & you can't wait for it to end. Just like Call Me Kat's attempt at the British show, Miranda, the script & actors canNOT do justice to its British predecessor. (Ghosts is the only one that seems to work) British television is just more fun & funny than many of our US comedy shows. Try watching Friday Night Dinner on the streaming service, instead of wasting time on Dinner With The Parents.

no stress funny show

[lynnea-85668 · 10/10 · 22 April 2024]

This is one of those shows you can watch and enjoy and actually laugh out loud at. A lot of people here are talking about a british show and i think they went in not liking that someone made another version of it and already thinking they would not like it. But i never saw the british show so i am not thinking about that as i watch it. As someone who doesn't care about that i liked it. The characters are funny and i am going to watch the rest of them when they come out. In times like these you just gotta have some joy in your life once in awhile if you know what i mean lol. I mostly wrote this to say that I don't care about the other show and i like it.

why do americans need to remake great British shows?

[desktopofdeborah · 1/10 · 18 April 2024]

Yet again, another americanised remake of a great British show. Seriously, if you haven't watch Friday Night Dinner. Do NOT watch this trash called dinner with parents.

Tasmin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal and Mark Heap cannot be replaced with these actors.

And the "jokes"? Seriously, nothing was funny. If this is the best those writers who went on strike can do, then, yeah... they should be worried about AI script writers taking their jobs. They surely could not do any worse. Monkeys with typewriters could definitely do a lot better.

Seriously, americans STOP americanising great shows.

Disappointed!

[WJFalls · 3/10 · 4 May 2024]

I'm an Anglophile and I love British TV. One of my favorite shows is the UK gem, Friday Night Dinner, which this show is supposedly based on. When I heard about this show, I was truly excited to see it. Let me just say now, after watching it, that excitement is now totally gone. It's really disappointing when an American version of a show, completely misses the nuance of the original UK versions. Not sure why TV producers and writers don't realize what it really is about the UK show that they enjoyed so much, that they wanted to remake the show in the first place. Maybe they should just shelve the idea for this show.

An actual comedy

[TeddyNimbles · 10/10 · 22 April 2024]

There are so few comedies these days, so I appreciate that this one even exists. The cast is awesome and I snort laugh through the episodes. My favorite so far is episode 3 where Jane pretends to be a Bachelor fan and the two dads compete about having a more moving "dead dad" song. Daniel Thrasher and Henry Hall are both great in their ongoing rivalry. The neighbor, Donnie, played by Jon Glaser is so specific and amazing. And his wardrobe is spot on. The parents and Carol Kane are all so great. I've actually watched the episodes more than once because there are so many jokes I had to hear again. Watch it!

Give it a chance!

[Nelly13 · 8/10 · 8 May 2024]

I'll admit... the first episode was not great, but I actually watched the whole season and really enjoyed it.

I loved Friday Night Dinner and obviously most of the people reviewing did too. I think a lot of them are giving the bad reviews/ratings because they're expecting it to be exactly the same as the original.... Don't do that!

The show does share some similarities to the original.

There are the brothers constantly playing pranks, the neighbor obsessed with their mom, a grandmother, a goofy dad, but they're not the Goodmans.

This is about a different family.

They're not trying to be the Goodmans.

I think that's a good thing.

If you watch this expecting it to be the exact same, yeah you're going to be disappointed.

It really is a funny show and I enjoyed it. I hope others will try actually watching the show before they come here to dump on it.

Again, the first episode is not great... but the show does get way better!