Looking for love on Lifetime

According to Shakespeare, the course of true love never did run smoothly -- especially for clients of Lovespring International.

OK, the Bard never mentioned “Lovespring International,” the zippy and largely improvised new half-hour sitcom premiering at 11 tonight on Lifetime. But the show’s dysfunctional “relationship counselors” are pompous misfits right out of a farce.

With a six-member cast made up of well-regarded improv players, the series is set in the offices of a dating service that pretentiously bills itself as “an elite Beverly Hills company” (which is really located in Tarzana).

The company is owned and managed by Victoria Ratchford (Jane Lynch). Her staff includes two bickering relationship consultants (Sam Pancake, Wendi McLendon-Covey), a psychologist (Jack Plotnick), a videographer (Mystro Clark) and a receptionist (Jennifer Elise Cox).

The Lovespring crew oozes supportive concern and rapport with every client who comes through the door, but it quickly becomes apparent that these matchmakers don’t care for their clients. In fact, they hate them. A lot.

“Lovespring International” marks the producing debut of former “Will & Grace” star Eric McCormack, who makes a guest appearance in the second episode. McCormack says he and fellow executive producer Michael Forman had been looking for a comedy that felt fresh and innovative.

“The first thing we fell in love with was ‘Lovespring,’ which at that point was just a lot of footage that Guy Shalem, the director, had shot to show that this thing could really work,” McCormack says. “Guy and Brad Isaacs came up with the concept, and we helped them assemble it into a 10-minute piece and took it out to show everybody.

“A lot of people loved it, but it was really only Lifetime that really got behind it and said, ‘This is exactly what we want for our new seal.’ Two years ago, you wouldn’t have thought of an improvised comedy as the next Lifetime show, but they really are interested in broadening their audience with some new and surprising thing.”

Lifetime recently expanded its original six-episode order to 13, and McCormack is keeping his fingers crossed that viewers will find and embrace the series.