This new CBS sitcom almost-kind-of-maybe makes the 'DMV' funny

CBS would like to convince you to spend more time in the DMV.

Not literally, of course, because the arduous process of getting anything done at your local department of motor vehicles can truly feel like the Disney parody in 2016's animated film "Zootopia," in which the workers of the government agency are literally sloths. But the network − which has been the home of many a broad, cheeky sitcom in the past few decades − thinks there's funny to be found there, not just frustration and paperwork.

Enter "DMV" (Mondays, 8:30 ET/PT, ★★½ out of four), a new single-camera workplace sitcom based on a short story by author Katherine Heiny, which takes place entirely at a busy Los Angeles DMV branch. The series peeks behind the plastic countertops at the people doling out driver's licenses and car registrations, finding humor in driving tests, angry patrons and office politics. It's reminiscent of NBC's beloved sitcom "Parks and Recreation," which mined comedy out of a boring government agency, but "DMV" utilizes a more sardonic tone like "The Office" or "30 Rock." And it makes sense − the inanity and pain of the DMV requires cynicism and gallows humor.

Judging by the amusing premiere episode, there is some potential to the motley crew of this government service.

But while there is nothing particularly negative to say about "DMV," there also isn't a stand-out spark to it, either. The jokes are funny but not hilarious, and the characters are likable but not memorable. Time will tell if the cast and writers can, well, make things a little more high octane around the cubicles.

So far, it's all a bit surface level.

At the fair DMV at which we lay our scene, Colette (Harriet Dyer, "Colin from Accounts"), is the bumbling everywoman who is dissatisfied with her life and career as a driving examiner. She commiserates with fellow pessimist and evaluator Gregg (Tim Meadows), weird and irreverent Vic (Tony Cavalero) and ambitious Ceci (Gigi Zumbado). Her awkward friend Barbara (Molly Kearney, "Saturday Night Live") has just become the big boss, and there's a hot new clerk (Alex Tarrant) that she's trying to impress.

Oh, and she's trying not to die when giving driving tests to people who should definitely not get a license.

The pilot has moments both sweet and funny, and sets up the possibility of romance amongst the characters, as well as further high jinks from a rotating cast of license seekers and citizens ignorant of the requirements for a Real ID.

The cast, although lacking any household names other than 1990s "SNL" alum Meadows, is charming and cute. It echoes character archetypes from other workplace sitcoms, from "The Office" to "Parks and Rec" to "Superstore": the self-confident buffoon of a boss; the lazy manchild; the old fogey. They're all there, and if "DMV" does something fresh with them, the comedy could take off.

Unfortunately, when watching the first episode, it's easier to think about all the TV shows "DMV" is akin to, rather than get lost in the show itself. Yes, great sitcoms have come from middling pilot episodes, including "Parks and Rec." But so far, the best thing "DMV" has going for it is possibility.

With a setting both familiar and uniquely alien to all of us watching at home, there are few limits to the kind of absurdities the cast could get into. It could, perhaps, become your next comfort watch.

Or it could fail the road test.