I genuinely don't know if it's comedy snobs or what that's giving this show a low rating. It's immediately an immersive experience of the era. Each character has a strong voice, which is exceedingly hard to do so early in a series. It pays homage to the difficulties of playing the game with your friends (mostly) jokingly rooting for you to fail so they can succeed. It's sincere. I don't know if someone thought a drama about the early world of comedy was supposed to have them in tears the whole time, but the jokes and comments on hand aren't lazy and conversations are funny and feel real. I haven't read the book, but even after 2 episodes I think I want to. Rarely has a new series made me want to perk up and look forward to each episode so quickly. American Gods was the last one if you want to talk about worlds apart style and drama wise. Already it's got great casting, great pacing, great dialogue, and a great ability to embody the material. If the show starts to disappoint, I'll come back and change my rating, but I think you'll be out on more than a few spurious limbs trying to justify an average of 40%.

edit: Oh, I get it. Jim Carrey being a producer on a show means it's supposed to make you feel like you did at 13 when you saw Liar Liar. Grow up.

On IMDB someone compares this to Vinyl. The anti-hero experiencing the same problems every day in a world with no particular plot is precisely opposite of this world. This isn't centered on one person and their problems. This isn't meant to beat you over the head with "just how 70's things are." This is a romance. This is about being in love with comedy as a profession and its roots. If you don't feel like you identify with comics...no shit...that's why you're in the audience. The themes and personalities and conversations are still perfectly human and translate well. I'd hate for unfair naive maligning of this show to get it cancelled after one season before anyone can discuss something wrong with it besides, "But I thought Jim Carrey...!"