• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, January 6, 2016

“Angel From Hell,” a comedy series about a guardian angel who insinuates herself into the life of a stressed-out young woman, sounds like a concept someone might have dreamed up in the 1960s, in the era of “Bewitched” or “I Dream of Jeannie.”

But if it had been on TV back then, “Angel From Hell” would not have been permitted to traffic in jokes about a host of pungent topics, from an orgasm fart (I’m not making this up) to pooping in one’s pants -- two subjects that come up in casual conversations in the premiere of “Angel From Hell” Thursday night on CBS.

The “Angel From Hell” in the title is named Amy, and she is played by Jane Lynch, who should be regarded by now as one of the funniest women alive. Her comedic skills save the show, which is no mean feat. No matter how juvenile the line or adolescent the topic, Lynch finds a way to put it across and, in the process, steals every scene she’s in.

And she’s in just about all of them, which makes the show not only palatable but, dare I say, enjoyable -- at least sometimes. At other times, not so much -- especially when someone is making yet another tired sitcom joke about penis size (why do comedy writers cling to this subject?) or in one instance in this week’s premiere, about the irony of one young woman having had her first period at a Red Lobster restaurant. It was an awful line -- and if Red Lobster paid for this “mention,” then the company should demand its money back.

The object of Amy’s efforts is a dermatologist named Allison (played by Maggie Lawson). One of the challenges for a show like this is the question of how you get Allison to accept that this strange, wisecracking woman who keeps turning up everywhere she goes and insists she’s Allison’s guardian angel is, in fact, her guardian angel. The show addresses this dilemma by letting Allison’s acceptance unfold slowly.

And that’s not easy because for the most part, Amy comes across not as an angel, but as some sort of stalker -- if not an outright mental patient. “The line between angel and stalker seems really thin,” Allison observes drily during one encounter with Amy in the series’ second episode airing next week (CBS provided the first two episodes for preview).

Where Amy is concerned, Allison’s observation is spot-on. Not only does Amy behave like a stalker, but in almost every encounter they have, Amy the angel seems more like Amy the alcoholic. In scene after scene, she whips out a hidden flask, takes a swig and then tries to force Allison to take a swig of her own or add some to her morning coffee or orange juice.

Alcohol is such as a primary feature of this angel’s life that the show itself threatens to become a promotional vehicle for reckless alcohol consumption. In one scene in the second episode, Amy even spritzes Allison with a trick buttonniere not filled with water, but with vodka.

The point of “Angel From Hell,” if there is a point, is that everyone deserves to be happy (or, if not happy, at least tipsy). “You don’t just deserve to be happy and to be loved, it’s your birthright!” Amy the drunken angel informs Allison in one scene. Her birthright? Really? 

For Allison to realize this birthright of happiness, Amy preaches selfishness. “Do you know what your problem is?” Amy asks her in the premiere episode. “You take care of everybody but yourself and that attracts people who take advantage. … Living for others never ends well.”

Pearls of wisdom from an angel/alcoholic/stalker.

“Angel From Hell” premieres Thursday (Jan. 7) at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS.