( CNN ) -- There 's no question that Maya Rudolph is supremely talented . The real question is whether the best home for those talents is on her own variety show . The `` Saturday Night Live '' alum tested that theory on Monday night with the hour-long NBC special `` The Maya Rudolph Show . '' Critics were n't bowled over , but the ratings were nothing to sneeze at with 7.2 million tuning in . ( It probably did n't hurt that `` The Maya ... Show '' premiered after `` The Voice , '' which had 11.5 million watching the first part of its season finale . ) The concept for `` The Maya Rudolph Show '' is a callback to the variety specials of yore , with '70s programs like `` The Carol Burnett Show '' and `` Donny & Marie '' serving as inspiration . Monday 's hour included song , dance , sketches and plenty of `` SNL '' cameos , but unlike Rudolph 's former gig , the variety show was n't live , late night TV . `` I always really responded to the familial aspect of it and how much fun they were having , which is what I miss more than anything about 'SNL ' -- my friends and laughing , '' Rudolph previously told Entertainment Weekly . According to critics , Rudolph 's special was n't too short on laughs -- but it did lack cohesiveness and timeliness . `` To be honest , it was a bit of a mess -- albeit a wildly entertaining one , '' said The Daily Beast 's Kevin Fallon . `` It was a sometimes too-corny , sometimes too-raunchy , scattershot hour that was as gut-bustingly hilarious as it was completely baffling . '' So while `` it 's certainly admirable that NBC is attempting to bring the variety show back -- and they 've made a genius decision in entrusting Rudolph to lead the way -- the question is whether anyone will follow , or even if they 'd want to . '' With audiences accustomed to watching entire networks devoted to precisely what they 're in the mood for -- music , comedy or otherwise -- the variety show necessitates the sort of patience the average TV viewer may not have , argues NPR 's David Bianculli . And with critics divided on whether Rudolph was magnetic enough to hold viewers ' attention for an hour , it 's unclear if she can single-handedly revive the retro format . ( Bianculli , for one , thinks Justin Timberlake or Neil Patrick Harris would be able to do it better . ) Slate 's TV critic Willa Paskin agreed that `` The Maya Rudolph Show '' was `` pleasant without being particularly funny or memorable , odd without being urgent or edgy , scattershot without taking any big swings . '' `` On the strength of last night 's pleasant , listless example , maybe ( the variety show ) needs reviving even less than pop-up video . '' New York magazine 's Margaret Lyons , too , was n't quite sold that `` variety is a format that makes sense on American TV in 2014 , '' but she did think the first airing of `` The Maya Rudolph Show '' had its strengths . `` I hope this is n't the series ' only outing because I have almost infinite positive regard for Rudolph , and I 'd rather see a show like this find itself than watch another second of some hate-soaked but competent sitcom , '' Lyons reviewed . `` But I kept wondering what the mission of 'TMRS ' is , what tone it aspires to , how it sees itself , how it 's supposed to feel . ... Mostly , though , the show just needs to be more . ''
Maya Rudolph 's variety special aired on NBC Monday . The show was taped in New York City and featured a number of celebrities including Will Smith, who performed his hit song " I Can See Clearly Now" with the help of an animated version of himself. The ratings were nothing to sneeze at . But critical reaction has been more mixed .