Gad, along with Jason Winer and Jon Lovett jointly created the central characters (the Gilchrist family).

Rotten Tomatoes gives the series a rating of 43%, based on 35 reviews, with the site's critical consensus reading, "Broad but likeable, 1600 Penn unfortunately doles out its jokes unevenly and lacks the cutting wit necessary to meet its satirical aims.

[4] David Hinkley of the New York Daily News gave the series 1 out of 5 stars and said "[it] was clearly designed to be good silly fun.

He called the First Family "annoying... sitcom stereotypes" and said that it "mines none of the more subtle and satisfying possibilities of poking fun at a staid institution.

"[3] Tim Surette of TV.com said that the show is "what happens when network executives think a screeching buffoon equals laughs" and that the jokes elicit responses of "mostly tumbleweeds and cricket chirps".

[11] Paste's Ross Bonaime also criticized the characters and said, "please, oh please, make the show actually funny... maybe it should just be put out of its misery.