Is don't trust the b---- in apartment 23 too raunchy?

Is don't trust the b---- in apartment 23 too raunchy?


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If the title alone of ABC's new comedy, _Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23_, isn't enough to scandalize viewers, the show's overtly sexual humor seems calculated to


scare off the squeamish. In the new sitcom, which premieres Wednesday night, Krysten Ritter plays Chloe, an apartment dweller who concocts a scheme to chase away new roomies and pocket their


security deposits by walking around naked, conversing with a masturbating neighbor, and even having sex with one roommate's fiance. Is the show's humor too randy for its own good?


IT'S GREAT... AND NOT _TOO_ RAUNCHY: Despite its button-pushing title, _Apartment 23_ is actually "the least raunchy of this year's super-sized batch of female-centric


comedies," says Mary McNamara at the _Los Angeles Times._ It's certainly not "G-rated," but the biggest laughs come from Ritter's wry delivery and James van deer


Beek's unexpectedly delightful performance as an embellished version of himself. Striking a fine balance between shock and humor, _Apartment 23_ is one of the season's funniest new


shows. "TV review: You can trust roomies of _Apartment 23_ to be funny" SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple


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to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. IT'S GREAT... BUT _VERY_ RAUNCHY: _Apartment


23_ is "blatantly risque," says David Hiltbrand at the _Philadelphia Inquirer_. It's also hilarious. Ritter's Chloe is so sordid, amoral, and ruthless that she


"makes the Borgias look like the Waltons" — and the crackling dialogue reflects an "antic, absurdist sense of humor." The show's "extraordinary secret


weapon" is James van deer Beek's genius skewering of his late '90s _Dawson's Creek_ persona. Let's just hope this enjoyably filthy show avoids "the sitcom


crutch of moralizing" in future episodes. "Do trust new ABC show to be quick and quippy" HUH? IT'S LOUSY, RAUNCHY, AND MEAN: If the coarse content doesn't turn off


viewers, the show's unapologetic cruelty will, says Hank Stuever at _The Washington Post_. Exhibit A: The scene in which Chloe attempts to infuriate a new roommate by having sex with


her fiance. Chloe's meanness "wears itself out the minute we walk into Apartment 23." Anyone who doesn't find cruelty amusing can't relate to it. Result: This


would-be edgy show ends up being "shrivel-hearted and limp." "_Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23_: Don't watch her, either" A free daily email with the biggest


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