Nearly two months have passed since I last talked about new series premieres, but that only means there are a number of new shows for me to talk about. In fact, there have been so many mid-season premieres that I have found myself unable to keep up with them all. (Among those still to try out: Fargo, Black Box, Salem, Silicon Valley, Working the Engels, Penny Dreadful, Turn, Signed, Sealed, Delivered…now you see why I have not caught all of them yet.) But rather than focus on all the shows I’m missing out on, let’s focus on the shows I have had an opportunity to take a look at.
For the broadcast networks there have not been as many new shows, but among them are:
Bad Teacher (CBS)-
When this project was announced, I could not understand who thought it was a good idea. The movie wasn’t very good (Read: terrible) for so many reasons—Cameron Diaz’s gold-digging character was so unlikeable that at no point did I root for her to end up with Jason Segel’s significantly more charming gym teacher, the comedy was subpar, Justin Timberlake’s character was just…fine, and the resolution was unsatisfying. Needless to say, going into the show I had very low expectations. I found Ari Graynor’s Meredith to be much more likable as the titular character, she’s self-centered and obnoxious but she also very obviously steps in to stop bullying in her own misguided way. Joel, on the other hand, is infinitely less charming than Jason Segel’s character was. The rest of the cast has not made much of an impression yet.
Verdict: TBD.
Friends with Better Lives (CBS)-
Following a group of friends in a varying of stages of their relationships (from single, newly divorced, engaged, to married), the series theoretically shows a group of friends who are jealous of what everyone else has. True, we get an occasional moment where a character wishes for the excitement of a new relationship or the stability of a marriage or the freedom to be single, but overall, that’s not really what the series seems to be about at all. I don’t particularly love the show, but the cast is full of familiar faces—James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek), Majandra Delfino (Roswell), Kevin Donnolly (Unhappily Ever After), Kate Lister-Jones (Whitney)—and there have been some good moments that show promise. I’m not convinced yet but who knows how it will develop?
Verdict: Not a must just yet.
The 100 (CW)
Leaving aside that the plot itself makes no sense, I am finding myself enjoying the series (you just have to remind yourself to go with it). Almost 100 years after a nuclear war made the earth inhospitable, the survivors of earth find that the spaceship they have been living on, known as The Ark is running out of oxygen. The Ark has a stringent justice system in place—adults are killed for any infraction and teens are locked up. To determine if it is safe to return to the planet, the leadership decides to sent the 100 teenage prisoners to earth to check it out. Why anyone thinks it is a good idea to send a bunch of unsupervised convicts to earth to determine something so important is anyone’s guess, but it does enable a sort of Lord of the Flies-style world that is exciting to watch. It seems like this show has a better chance of sticking around than some of the other new CW fare.
Verdict: Cautiously optimistic.
NEXT: What’s new on cable?
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