Comedy? 'Motherhood' is tragically unfunny

In theory, comedies are supposed to be funny. They're supposed to make you laugh. Or, at the very least, smile.

Apparently, this theory was never explained to the writers and producers of "In the Motherhood," a thoroughly unfunny, rather unpleasant half hour. It will only make you feel better if you think about how lucky you are that you're not any of the characters in this new ABC show (7 p.m., Ch. 4).

Basically, this is a show about people who may love their kids but mostly seem to hate having them.

Executive producer Jennifer Konner said that, when meeting with network president Steve McPherson about the show, he asked how her vacation was.

"And I said, 'It was great. I didn't have to see my kids at all,' because my in-laws took care of them," she said. "So it was a true vacation."

Not that that kind of stuff can't be funny. But the tone of "In the Motherhood" is pretty much unremittingly negative, so it's not.

"I think what's great about this show is that it's, like, showing that underbelly that nobody talks about. Like, you'd only say to your best friend what you did," said Jessica St. Clair, who plays one of the three mothers in the show. "And I don't have a child, but I have friends who have these newborns. And they'll call me from, like, a linen closet, like, 'I don't know what I'm doing. And this thing's crying, and I guess I'm supposed to do something about it. But maybe I made a mistake.'

"And it's like you just wouldn't want to ever share that with anyone, but it's nice to feel like you're not alone. You know what I mean?"

Well, like, not really. But then I actually have children. And I like them.

(Cast members, by the way, proudly proclaimed that they improvised many of their lines.)

"Motherhood," which was developed from a series of online shorts (with an entirely different cast and different writers), revolves around three mothers. Rosemary (Megan Mullally of "Will & Grace") is the much-married mother of a teenager, Syd.

(He doesn't appear in either of the episodes screened for critics.)

She's kind of a tramp. And Rosemary amuses herself in the premiere by pretending to be pregnant. Ha, ha. Sigh.

Jane (Cheryl Hines of "Curb Your Enthusiasm") is a recently divorced mother of two — a preteen daughter, Annie, and a baby, Sophie. She's trying to balance her job, her kids and her social life.