Most critics come away pleased. The reviews lean positive, with eight of thirteen recommending the series as a good-natured family adventure that keeps the spirit of the original. The praise clusters almost entirely on Lisa Kudrow, whose deadpan, grumpy Penelope is named again and again as the reason to watch; several reviews also enjoy the playful historical settings and the bumbling new gang around her.
The reservations are about pace and nerve. More than one critic finds the opening episodes slow and routine, and some say the show never recovers the anarchic energy of the film. Empire goes furthest, faulting the gang’s flat chemistry and an overcomplicated plot, while Digital Spy finds the comedy too subdued and the characters too thin. The spread is wide, from the Guardian’s near-rave to Empire’s dismissal, though the Hollywood Reporter and Paste both say it finds its feet in the later episodes.
