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Partners’ goes through the motions, corny jokes included

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Martin Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer star in Partners.

One and a half stars

Partners Mondays, 9 p.m., FX.

Created under the “10/90” model that guarantees 100 episodes produced in a short time if the first 10 meet a certain ratings threshold (which previously brought the world Charlie Sheen in Anger Management and several Tyler Perry sitcoms), Partners is every bit the bargain-basement, lowest-common-denominator product that arrangement encourages. Sitcom veterans Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence star as predictably mismatched legal partners (one is a pompous money-grubber; the other is a sensitive do-gooder), and they go through the motions as well as anyone, but going through the motions is about the best that could be expected of a show like this.

Co-creator Robert L. Boyett produced some of the most popular terrible sitcoms of the ’80s and ’90s, including Perfect Strangers and Family Matters, and Partners has a similar corny, desperate tone, with disingenuous life lessons and recycled, outdated jokes. This team could probably churn out 100 episodes of this garbage in their sleep—and they probably will.

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