'State of Georgia' Premiere

State of Georgia has a little more bite than typical ABC Family fare thanks to the efforts of star Raven-Symoné, but it’s still contrived, overacted and cheesy.

The latest sitcom from ABC Family pushes the boundaries of wholesomeness a little, but State of Georgia is still pretty stale and uninspired. Like TV Land, ABC Family seems focused on making sitcoms that seem like they could have been part of a network lineup in 1989 or so, and State of Georgia is exactly the kind of thing that could have aired for one season on ABC’s TGIF. It features grown-up Cosby Show kid Raven-Symoné as the title character, an aspiring actress who moves to New York City to make it big. Georgia doesn’t have a whole lot on the line, though, as she comes from a rich family and gets to live with her Aunt Honey (Loretta Devine) in a fabulously appointed penthouse of some sort. She also has her best friend Jo (Majandra Delfino), a shy nerd who’s hoping to get into a graduate physics program, along with her for moral support.

It’s a solid if generic sitcom setup, and the show’s first episode actually has a couple of genuinely funny moments. Raven-Symoné, who’s spent almost her entire life on sitcoms (from Cosby to the Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven), is plenty charismatic, but she nearly bludgeons her lines to death with her overacting. Delfino and Devine aren’t much better, although Devine at least is playing the saucy supporting role and has an excuse for overdoing it. But it’s hard to empathize with the rich, spoiled Georgia, who assumes she’ll be cast as the lead in a play at her first audition, and is offended when her star qualities aren’t immediately recognized.

It may not end up being a running theme, but the first episode is also weirdly obsessed with Georgia’s weight, building a whole storyline around a casting director’s calling her fat and her subsequent inappropriately erotic efforts to convince him that she’s sexy. Raven-Symoné has slimmed down considerably recently, though, and the whole focus comes off more like insecurity than empowerment. That detour aside, State of Georgia is standard-issue sitcom fare all the way, and it’ll probably fit in really well with the ABC Family brand -- which is just another reason that brand doesn’t deserve much credit.

Disclosure: A review screener was provided by the network. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.