The Saturdays' new reality show debuted over the weekend, but the premiere wasn't as well received as the group hoped.

'Chasing The Saturdays' was picked up by American television company E! and despite a lot of press attention and promotion, the first episode wasn't hugely popular with entertainment sites giving it only decent reviews.

Entertainment Weekly described 'Chasing The Saturdays' and the girls themselves as "like a cross between the Spice Girls and approximately 487 random auditioners for 'American Idol'."

The New York Daily News, meanwhile, was more receptive and understanding of the programme's audience and gave it three out of five stars:

"What seems to come easy is the frilly part of the girl-group thing. They clearly work hard on looking stylish, the way their audiences would dream about. They also lead gossip-friendly lives. We don’t learn a whole lot more about them, but then, most fans aren’t looking for complex biography."

Following the first wave of reviews, UK based boyband One Direction stepped in and the heartthrobs have tweeted about the show from their personal accounts. Harry Styles wrote: "People of America! you should check out our friends from home @thesaturdays in their TV show Chasing The Saturdays on tonight on E! At 10pm."

Niall Horan tweeted (January 21): "America tune into E! At 10 tonight! For the second episode of chasing the saturdays! @thesaturdays!"

Watch a clip of 'Chasing The Saturdays' below: