ABC will premiere "Mr. Sunshine," a comedy set in the fictional Sunshine Arena in San Diego, at 9:30pm ET. The series, which was co-created by Matthew Perry and produced by Jamie Tarses and Thomas Schlamme, features Perry starring as Ben Donovan, "a self-involved manager of a sports arena." The cast includes Allison Janney as Crystal, the arena's "pill-popping" owner that is "a significant source of many of its legal problems," and Andrea Anders, the venue's marketing dir and Donovan's "friend with benefits" (THE DAILY).
The N.Y. Daily News' David Hinckley writes tonight's pilot does not "feel like it's setting up a story we're really going to care about." The L.A. Times' Robert Lloyd writes Perry "works hard in this unwieldy but promising workplace comedy." USA Today's Robert Bianco writes tonight's episode is "a little frantic," but when Perry "pits his deadpan against Janney's rising hysteria, 'Sunshine' truly sparkles." The Contra Costa Times' Chuck Barney writes Janney's character "spews un-PC zingers and ... makes a truly fresh impression."
