The reviews are unanimous in their approval. Most critics describe a gentle, small-scale comedy about grief and small-town life that never tips into sentimentality, and nearly all of them put Bridget Everett’s performance as Sam at the centre of the praise, admiring how much she does with restraint before her singing lets something bigger out. Jeff Hiller is named almost as often, and the friendship between Sam and Joel is repeatedly picked out as the reason the show works: honest, warm and funny without straining for it.
There is little to report on the other side. The spread is narrow, running from an enthusiastic A to a solid B, and no review is mixed or negative. The coolest notice, from The AV Club on the third and final series, still calls it big-hearted; its reservation is one of degree rather than kind. Reviews of the later series suggest the show holds its quality, with Paste finding the second series answers larger questions through small moments.