"Payne" did have some supporters in the media. In his assessment in "Variety", syndicated entertainment critic Ray Richmond described it as an 'agreeably over-the-top farce' with performances that make it 'more than just another Brit-inspired rip-off'. He also referred to Larroquette as 'one of TV's comedy treasures' and noted that he and JoBeth Williams displayed 'a surprisingly tasty chemistry' as wise-cracking spouses. After watching a preview of the series on March 11, Richmond observes: 'Subsequent episodes, screened from a review tape, slide somewhat in quality and level of laughs, but not enough to dampen the enthusiasm for a sitcom that so enthusiastically embraces its own sense of stupidity and refuses to let go., Manuel Mendoza, of the "Dallas Morning News", was also a fan of "Payne", at least of Larroquette's performance after seeing the series' initial broadcast: 'John Larroquette strikes just the right balance between Mr. Cleese's unreconstructed near-sociopath and the typical American-sitcom bad boy.' Additional positive comments about the show could be found in the "Detroit Free Press", the "New York Daily News", the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch", "The Tampa Tribune", and "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Still, most of those supportive comments registered as mild compliments, not avid endorsements. For example, the "Detroit Free Press" reported on March 15 that 'in moments..."Payne" can be lightly enjoyable'; while Walt Belcher, of "The Tampa Tribune", admitted in his review that the series was "not as hilarious as "Fawlty Towers"" but 'it shows potential'.