Universal Basic Guys review: Honestly, what was FOX thinking?

FOX pushed back The Simpsons season 36 and moved Family Guy season 23 to the midseason to promote its new Fall 2024 Animation Domination drop, Universal Basic Guys. I get it. Networks practice this method to give stamina to their premieres and attract audiences. However, FOX sidelining two of their popular shows that made Sunday's Animation Domination block the TV Highlight of the Week was a horrendous error.

I gave Universal Basic Guys the benefit of the doubt ahead of the pilot that dropped on Sept. 8, as it was a new show revolving around the average middle-class American trying to make the best out of life with the familiar circumstances we all periodically face. Unfortunately, I'm afraid this animated comedy won't make it past one season, despite an early second season renewal ordered in May.

Or maybe I'm getting ahead of myself by judging prematurely, but after seeing the first two episodes, the show doesn't hold much promise for more illustrative storylines. Not that the series had strong and structured ones, but in order for Universal Basic Guys to succeed with an audience and find its footing, it must improve on the narratives.

Universal Basic Guys' Mark and Hank better look for a new line of work

Created by the Philadelphia writers and brothers Adam and Craig Malumet, Universal Basic Guys centers on two recently laid-off brothers, Mark and Hank Hoagies, who receive $3,000 from a new government UBI assistance program to keep afloat. Now, one might bear common sense and use the supposedly temporary funds for living expenses or pay off debts. $3,000 isn't a lot, but it's something to hold one over until a new employment opportunity opens.

Not Mark or Hank, though, when seeking a new job, as they would much rather spend their new given fortunes on doing the unthinkable and wasting it. I'll elaborate on my point regarding the frivolous spending of the UBI. Mark purchases a sick but intelligent chimp from a "sketchy" zoo in the pilot episode titled "Pet Projects" as a birthday present for his wife Tammy to try to upstage the Spa certificate her co-worker gifted her. If only Mark would've listened to her and got her the puppy she wanted instead of bringing home an endangered chimp in dire need of medical attention.

Mark faced some disfiguring repercussions following the purchase of the chimp (he got his face ripped off), and Tammy ordered Mark to send the chimp back. Hank filled in as Mark couldn't return due to his accident. So, Hank takes it upon himself to bring the chimp back, which we find out is named Monkey, to the zoo. It's revealed that Monkey can communicate through an iPhone with text-to-audible speech, and while he knows his time is limited, Monkey got to do what he always wanted: go to a theme park. Hank grants his request, and they spend the day having fun. It was the humane thing to do as the zoo had a darker plan for Monkey. He peacefully passed away, and Hank spent the rest of the day at a spa.

Elsewhere, the neighbors have an issue with an exotic snake, getting nearly constricted together. Somehow, for reasons unknown, I found this scene funny as it's idiotic, but the plotline was done before in a different show. One of the neighbors has a small dog, and for me she drew me in as animated dogs seem to fix everything magically. She saved the guys from the snake and did the trick her "dad" was pushing her to perform. All in all, that was the highlight of the Universal Basic Guys pilot.

The second episode, "Sunset Cruise," wasn't much better. It carried the same inane plot but with a different setting. The Hoagies go fishing, and there's another husband-and-wife dispute between Mark and Tammy. Still, nothing special or significant will pull Universal Basic Guys into a fan-crazed motion that I've seen with The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob's Burgers over their continuing prosperous reigns.

Other than the animals being the unintentional stars of Universal Basic Guys, my final verdict is that you should skip this one entirely. Instead, I suggest you wait until The Simpsons season 36 premiere or tune into Bob's Burgers season 15 when the shows begin airing on Sept. 29.