I was very excited to hear that TV One had picked up Tatyana Ali’s new sitcom “Love That Girl” which has Martin Lawrence as its executive producer. Bentley Kyle Evans produced, wrote and directed this series without any studio support and for that alone the brother gets props. But I am sad to say that so far I’m more ‘in like’ than ‘in love’ with this new sitcom. For the record I really want to love this show. One of the reason I haven’t been won over yet is the show is more like “Martin” and less like “Girlfriends” or “The Game”. (Even the title sequence reminded of a vintage “Martin” opener sans the wassup voiceover.) In other words, the comedy is not subtle or sophisticated it’s in your face. And some of you may love that more than I did.

I saw the first two episodes of the show, which centers around Tyana (Ali) a young divorcee who’s starting her life over with a new career in her Daddy’s (Phil Morris’) real estate office—where the receptionist reminds you of the loud sister with an attitude that makes you want to cringe every time you see her. Tyana’s freeloading brother Latrell (Alphonso McAuley) hangs out on the couch between his stand-up comedy gigs (and trips to the strip club) and her flaming gay neighbors drop in often. Her best friend, Nefertiti (Kendyl Joy) runs a salon and is as likable as Ali but the assorted characters that round out the salon staff may have come straight from central casting under ’stereotypes’.

But even with that said, there was a definite improvement of the show from the first episode to second. Perhaps because the second installment was firmly focused on Tyana and her love life—with a guest appearance by a more grown-up Wesley Jonathan thrown in to boot. I am hoping that the third and fourth episodes will have more opportunities for Ali to shine. In other words a little more story a little less gimmick would be my hope for the show. Plus I think there’s a lot to mine in getting her groove back in both her career and her love life.

I think Evans should be given the chance to make it better. In the “Jaime Foxx Show”, which he worked on, there was a nice mix of broad comedy and good storytelling. And even shows we love like “Girlfriends” had to work out some quirks after its initial season. Remember when they thought it was a good idea to have Joan speaking directly to the camera in an inset? Once that got dumped the show found its rhythm. Maybe “Love That Girl” can too.

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