So it's premiere week for television where all of our favorite TV shows return and networks try out their new programs. While I'm not watching every new show, there are a few that have caught my eye. With each review, I'll let you know whether or not the show is good enough to gain a 'season pass' on my DVR or not.
New Girl: This actually premieres tonight, but a free preview of the pilot has been available on Time Warner On Demand for a couple of weeks now. This stars quirky Zooey Deschanel as a girl who gets dumped and ends up moving in with three young guys. Most will make the argument that your enjoyment of the show rests on how appealing you find Deschanel. For me, she runs hot and cold. At times, she can be charming and sexy in that nerdy kind of way, but at other times I feel she tries too hard to be zany and it becomes annoying. My bigger issue with the show was the three guys who had zero charisma or appeal. They were combined a big bunch of nothing and I had no interest in seeing her interact with them on a continued basis. I also feel as if the show would have been better served with a small town location rather than the big city where everyone including the extras in the background come off as pompus douchebags. Zooey may have star power but this show does her no favors. Verdict: Deleted from DVR
Up All Night: The pilot for this sitcom aired last Wednesday and has been replayed throughout the week before it settles in to its regular Wednesdays at 8:00pm timeslot on NBC. It stars Will Arnett and Christina Applegate as a couple who have a baby later in their life. The show centers around the upheaval the new addition causes them and their way of life. Maya Rudolph is also part of the cast as an Oprah-like talk show host that Applegate's character works for. The first episode had some legitimate laughs thanks in large part to the three funny actors. My biggest concern is relatability. Being a single guy I question whether I'll enjoy baby and parenting humor on a regular basis. There is definitely a large part of the country that should really enjoy this however. I'm not totally sold, but I'll stick with it for the time being. Verdict: On a week-to-week basis
2 Broke Girls: They are not really breaking new ground either comedically or stylistically with this sitcom about 2 Brooklyn waitresses trying to make ends meat. That said, the two leads, Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs, have already shown that they have great rapport. Thus far, they've been able to raise up the quality of the writing through their performances. I'm not sure if this show has legs from a storytelling perspective, but being nestled between How I Met Your Mother and Two and Half Men on CBS' Monday lineup ensures that it'll be given plenty of time to find its voice. Verdict: Receives a season pass
The Playboy Club: It would seem as if all the kerfuffle that religious groups made about this show were either very successful or completely pointless as the first episode bombed in the ratings last night. I gave it a look to see if it was scandalous and/or appealing and it turned out to be neither. The Playboy Club setting turns out to be mere window dressing for a bloated, uninteresting mob story. It was clear that the show was made in an attempt to sponge off the success of another 60's period drama, Mad Men. However, that aspect failed to hook me either. The male chauvinism that was on display was more eye-rolling that poignant and their attempts at addressing other topical issues of the era (racism, closeted homosexuality) fell flat. There was absolutely nothing here that gave me a reason to stay, so if it ends up being the first show cancelled, you won't see me shed a tear. Verdict: Deleted from DVR
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