TV Reviews : ‘Princesses’: Common Sitcom Fairy Tale

There’s nothing very royal about “Princesses,” the CBS comedy series premiering at 8 tonight on Channels 2 and 8. Nonetheless, this is a pleasant little trifle with sufficiently likable characters and enough comedy juice to get you through the first half hour with a minimum of discomfort.

A swanky Manhattan penthouse overlooking Central Park is about to become home to three distinctly different single women: the ditzy Tracy (Julie Hagerty), the brassy Melissa (Fran Drescher) and the penniless English princess Georgina de la Rue (Twiggy Lawson).

Logic is a stranger here, and just how this odd trio winds up sharing such a posh place rent free is the product of a script convenience that is far-fetched, to say the least. The cast glides across this material effortlessly, with Drescher the most fun.

Beyond introductions, however, not much happens tonight except for Tracy bailing out from her own wedding after learning that her fiance has had previous wives whom he didn’t tell her about. With him out of the way, she and her roommates can live destitutely but adventurously ever after.

“Princesses” sounds like exactly what it is, at once watchable and pretty much of a yawner.