Michael Richards appears to be less than aggressive in fending off the bad buzz surrounding his sitcom, The Michael Richards Show, which debuts next week on NBC. "I think I'm doing a decent show here. We'll see how it goes. But I can take it on the chin," he told today's (Wednesday) New York Daily News. In the same article, Richards appeared to be bracing for just such a blow.

"My biggest concern is that I may not be given the time to develop the show because expectations are so high," he told the newspaper. "The critics will be merciless. They'll expect it to be the 130th episode of Seinfeld."

Source: Studio Briefing