Review: 'The Robert Irvine Show'

There are very few times where I look at the first episode of a show and think "What the F&*% is this?" But I certainly had that reaction after watching the series premiere of the new daytime talker "The Robert Irvine Show."

Irvine is best known for hosting Food Network shows such as "Restaurant: Impossible." I've interviewed him a couple of times and despite his on-air bluster, he's a smart and thoughtful guy. But while part of his role on "Restaurant Impossible" was parsing out the personal problems that interfered with the success of each business, it was hard for me to see imagine what a daytime talker would look like with Irvine as the host. I wished him well, but had no clear idea of what to expect once the show premiered.
As it turns out, "The Robert Irvine Show" looks a lot like "The Bill Cunningham Show," which ended its run last spring after five years on the air. Tribune Media produced the Cunningham show and through its affiliate deal with The CW has the right to program the 3:00 p.m. slot on the CW affiliate stations. They needed a new show and apparently Irvine had the name recognition necessary to get the job.

Reviewing any talk show based on a single episode is tricky, but it does at least give a sense of the show's point of view. And so far, the POV of "The Robert Irvine Show" seems to be that uneasy mix of paternity discussions, bad parenting, casual prostitution and dissatisfied friends that inhabit the genre of daytime television topped by "Maury" and "Steve Wilkos." The premiere of Irvine's show included a dysfunctional family with a troubled teen, two large African-American women who loudly argue over which one is the biggest tramp and two sisters who hadn't spoken in three years. After a few minutes of anger and bitterness, Irvine wrapped up each segment with his "advice." Which is basically along the lines of "Hey, you need to try and get along."

I won't say that daytime television deserves better, because I've seen the type of show that can do well during the day. But Irvine certainly deserves better than a show promising future segments this season such as "DNA Dads."

Come back, Robert. We miss you already.

Update: 12:09 P.M.

Irvine quickly responded to my review on Twitter:

@aysrick sorry you don't like it Rick , people didn't like Restaurant impossible the first three seasons either, you came to that judgment

— Robert Irvine (@RobertIrvine) September 13, 2016

@aysrick after one show , it's okay , I love saving people judge it after one week and then see if you feel the same

— Robert Irvine (@RobertIrvine) September 13, 2016