The slogan for the new CBS sitcom could well be, “Breaking Absolutely No New Ground Every Week!” and that’s just fine, as there’s still room these days for a pleasant, mildly amusing, occasionally touching 22-minute sitcom that’s pure comfort viewing, in the mode of “The King of Queens” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
We’ve got all the classic, multi-cam situation comedy ingredients here, starting with the likable Pete Holmes (HBO’s “Crashing”), who looks like a 6-foot-6 stuffed animal come to life, playing the low-key and non-confrontational but good-hearted Tom, a working-class Midwesterner who is laid off from his assembly-line job and ponders pursuing his dream of becoming a professional bowler. (“How We Roll” is based on the life of Saginaw, Michigan, laid-off-GM-worker-turned-bowler Tom Smallwood.) Holmes, a former Chicago comedian, is one of those actors we couldn’t possibly imagine playing a real jerkalito, and he’s squarely in his comfort zone as Tom, a loving husband and solid father. Who wants to bowl.
