Clear Your Schedules! Fall TV is Upon Us

August 29, 2012 Leave a Comment

So “30 Rock” and “The Office” are leaving the airwaves. A lot of your favorite cable shows are signing off, too (sorry, “Breaking Bad” fans!) You want to check out some new shows this year, but you don’t know where to start. Don’t worry, Kate’s done (some of) the work for you! Here’s my comprehensive list for 5 new shows you should check out. Come on! Give them a shot.

NASHVILLE (ABC, Wednesdays at 10 p.m., premieres Oct. 10)

Nashville

You Better Watch.

Okay, I’m not just saying this because I’m a proud Nashville native and I’m basically pissing my pants because they film this in my hometown. I’m saying you should watch it because it looks awesome. The plot seems very similar to another Nashville-set country music drama, the 2010 film “Country Strong,” only with more believable actors playing the lead two roles – Connie Britton as the aging superstar and Hayden Panettierre as the young, Swiftian ingénue. (Can you believe anyone tried to pass Gwyneth Paltrow and Leighton Meester off as country singers? Blech.) It’s got drama, it’s got songs, it’s got Hayden Panettierre in the superbitch role she was born to play.

Watch it if you liked: Friday Night Lights, The Good Wife, Smash

GO ON (NBC, Tuesdays at 9 p.m., premieres Sept. 11)

Go On

I think this show won't suck. Almost sure.

Yes, I liked the pilot for “Go On.” Sue me. I, Kate, with a heart of stone, found it to be quite touching. And pretty funny, too. I liked Matthew Perry (Chandler always was my favorite Friend), I really liked Tyler James Williams, and I just loved that old lady taking home her donut box crown and the whole crew chasing the Google cameras at the end. It was a surprisingly sweet show with characters I took to immediately, with the exception of the therapist/group leader lady. The “kooky, diverse misfits” ensemble reminds me somewhat of “Community,” which is a very good thing. I think this show needs to work out some kinks, but it has great potential, and could also bring in some big ratings if NBC times its inevitable sports star guest spots correctly. I mean, the biggest program on television is NBC’s Football Night in America… they’re going to milk that for all it’s worth on a show with a sports motif, right? Also, if you blinked you might have missed him, but John Cho’s in the cast!

Watch it if you liked: Sports Night, Community, How I Met Your Mother

LAST RESORT (ABC, Thursdays at 8 p.m., premieres Sept. 27)

You know the show is serious business when everyone's doing the power-pose.

In a somewhat appropriate slip-up, I first typed “Lost Resort” as the show’s title – clearly, ABC is trying to fill the void left by “Lost” with a suspenseful, tropical-set drama, only without the sci-fi elements (I assume?). The story is as follows: a U.S. submarine crew goes rogue after they decide to disobey orders to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age. They are then attacked by their own countrymen, leading the crew to declare their own nation on a remote island. I am interested in this drama (which as readers know would not be my usual cup of tea) for a few reasons: 1.) The plot involves turning against the U.S. government, which is pretty daring for primetime. (IT IS OF COURSE SOMETHING THAT I DO NOT CONDONE, SECRET FBI INTERNET-WATCHERS.)  2.) I’m a little impressed that they cast a black dude, Andre Braugher, in their lead role as the Captain. Of course, they put a white dude on all of the posters… but progress is progress, right? 3.) Dichen Lachman, former “Dollhouse” hottie and thief of my heart, is also in cast. Possibly in a role that would require her to wear a bikini. Hey-oh!

Watch it if you liked: Lost, Dollhouse, Terra Nova

THE MINDY PROJECT (Fox, Tuesdays at 9 p.m., premieres Sept.25)

I truly believe that Mindy Kaling is the spiritual successor to Tina Fey. She has a lot of the same sensibilities, the same ability to be a writer, producer and actor all at the same time, and, like Fey, she’s fucking hilarious. Both women are truly funny, not just “funny, for a girl.” However, those who aren’t familiar with Kaling should not expect her to be anything like Fey in style. Kaling’s strength comes from playing off an essential girlishness that she embraces about herself, a girlishness that Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and others rarely exhibit. In “The Mindy Project,” the Mindy Lahiri character is obsessed with romantic comedies and finding her true love (“I’m Sandy Bullock!” she drunkenly yells in the pilot episode), but she is more than just unlucky in love – there is an inherent loneliness and desperation to her that Kaling is okay with exploring. Mindy, the character, should be a powerful, self-possessed woman – she’s a successful OB/GYN – but because she’s been fooled by society into believing in the lie of movie romance, she feels incomplete. I’m really excited to see where the show takes her character.

Watch it if you liked: New Girl, The Office, 30 Rock

THE NEW NORMAL (NBC, Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., premieres Sept. 11)

The New Normal

They've already banned this show in Utah. SO IT MUST BE GOOD.

I’m recommending this show hesitantly. The premise, in my opinion, is delightful – a woman agrees to be a surrogate for a gay couple, and her daughter and wacky mother tag along for the ride. The cast is brilliant – Ellen Barkin is a powerhouse, and I must admit to a huge crush on Andrew Rannells, who shot to fame staring in the Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon” but who was known before that as a voice actor for cartoon series like “Pokemon” and “Yu-Gi-Oh” (thereby sealing his place in my heart forever). However, this show is produced by Ryan Murphy, creator of some of the weirdest shows ever – “Popular,” “Nip/Tuck,” “American Horror Story” – and one of the greatest burnouts of all time, “Glee.” That means this show could be amazing, or it could be so laughably terrible and preachy that we’ll all want to stab our TVs, and our brains. He also cast a former Real Housewife in the show, in a role I have yet to understand the purpose for. So there’s that. But I’m really holding out hope that this show takes off, because as Georgia King’s character so adorably puts it in the pilot episode, love is love – and who doesn’t want to watch a show about love?

Watch it if you liked: Modern Family, Glee, Arrested Development (Barkin gives me a Lucille Bluth vibe)

 

1600 Penn

Bill Pullman should always be the President, right?

Wait For It: 1600 PENN, another NBC comedy starring a “Book of Morman” headliner, Josh Gadd, doesn’t premiere until midseason, but the dysfunctional-Presidential family story has me interested already. Also, I’m not sure what CULT, a CW midseason drama, is about – is it about a cult, or about a TV show about a cult? I dunno, but it sounds kind of unique, so I’ll give it a shot.

What shows are you looking forward to? What did I miss?

Filed Under ABC, Featured, FOX, Lady Power, NBC, Recommendations Tagged With 1600 penn, abc, Arrested Development, cult, dollhouse, fox, glee, go on, last resort, lost, modern family, Nashville, NBC, New Girl, The CW, the good wife, the mindy project, the new normal, the office

Best New Bitches

March 5, 2012 Leave a Comment
Kristin Chenoweth on GCB

Plottin', schemin', and up to no Good.

GCB (aka “Good Christian Bitches”) premiered last night on ABC, and for every cowgirl (or cowboy!) that loves a good country-fried cat fight, this is where you need to be every Sunday night. No joke. This show is great.

GCB tells the story of Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb… remember Popular??), a Dallas-bred Californian whose Ponzi-scheming husband just died in a rather spectacular and unsavory fashion (I won’t spill the exact details; it’s too funny not to enjoy the surprise). She’s got to move back to Texas, where she previously ruled the roost as the resident Mean Girl, and deal with the Good Christian Bitches she used to torment.

The story starts off quickly and, like many pilots, the setup is a little rushed and formulaic. But the second the script shifts to church and we meet the Bitches, the good stuff starts!

First up is Carlene Cockburn (oh lord yes that is her name), played by a delightfully evil Kristin Chenoweth, who has had more surgeries than Meg Ryan and bends the meaning of Biblical quotes a little too liberally. Next is Cricket (Miriam Shor), who’s married to a hot piece of smokin’ gay cowboy (played by Mark Deklin – seriously, this guy is charming as hell). Then there’s Sharon (Jennifer Aspen), who used to have the best body in school and now…. doesn’t, and Heather (Marisol Nichols), who is the town gossip but perhaps the only nice one of the bunch.

I can see so many ways that the premise of these Jesus-loving hellraisers could go wrong or get stale, but I’m seriously hoping that doesn’t happen (for at least four seasons or so). This show mixes the perfect cocktail of over-the-top ridiculousness (what else could you expect from the likes of Darren Star?) and Southern realness (same to be said for Robert Harling, writer of my favorite story of the South, Steel Magnolias). I’m definitely hooked – for now, at least.

What did you think of GCB? If you missed the show, watch it here at hulu.com!

Filed Under ABC, Hulu, Recaps Tagged With abc, GCB, good stuff, Kristin Chenoweth, new shows, the South, women

TV Babe and Bro of the Week

February 29, 2012 Leave a Comment

Our very first TV Babe of the Week is comedy nerd’s dream Lizzy Caplan, who starred as Casey on the beloved Rob Thomas series Party Down, which I was lucky enough to watch last year on Netflix.

 

Lizzy Caplan

Let's not forget Matthew Perry has tapped this.

 

She’s currently appearing on Fox’s New Girl (unfortunately). It is my secret desire that she be cast as the titular Mother on How I Met Your Mother, because that would be awesome.

 

Our first TV Bro of the Week is (drumroll)…. John Francis Daley!

John Francis Daley

Sam Weir turned into this - whoda thunk it?

 

Daley currently has a supporting role on Fox’s Bones as Lance Sweets, but let’s be honest, we all still remember him for playing Sam Weir, lovable, adorable geek on ABC’s Freaks and Geeks. In a million years, I never would have guessed that he would have turned into such a squeal-inducing hottie. I mean, right now just typing this, there’s a little version of myself saying “ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod” racing around in my head.

 

And then my head exploded.

 

TV fans, have any suggestions for a Babe or Bro of the week? As always, must be a network (or Netflix) star in some capacity – so no Timothy Olyphant! (Sorry, ladies.)

Filed Under ABC, FOX, Netflix, TV Babe and Bro of the Week Tagged With Bones, fox, Freaks and Geeks, How I Met Your Mother, John Francis Daley, Lizzy Caplan, New Girl, Party Down, Rob Thomas, The Mother, TV Babes, TV Bros

The Oscars Were Really, Really, Really Terrible this Year

February 27, 2012 Leave a Comment

The Oscars were last night – the one night a year where the wonder of Hollywood comes to the small screen. The stars! The Old Hollywood Glamour! The nip slips!

For me, all that I saw last night was more proof that this is a tired, archaic institution that, instead of adapting with the times, has actually become worse for the wear.

For the record, I know that all awards shows are totally pointless and only exist so that rich people can pat each other on the back (and see who can get the most free crap from the swag booth). But there has always been something I liked about them, too – maybe it’s because of the thrill of watching live TV, I don’t know.

Some shows have adapted over the years to suit a new audience. Look at the Grammys – most of the awards are handed out before the broadcast airs, and instead the whole show is like one big concert, with varied acts and elaborate sets and big-name collaborations. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it usually produces moments worth talking about and re-watching the next day. Same with the Golden Globes, the Oscars red-headed stepsister – hiring Ricky Gervais two years ago demonstrated the dangerous and fun element a good host can bring to an otherwise dull affair. Also they serve alcohol. Good choice.

But alas, the Academy Awards are nothing but the same old drivel. While I thought Eddie Murphy would have been a capable host this year, I didn’t see anything exciting about him in particular, and I thought that when he dropped out, the show had a unique opportunity to get someone really out-of-the-box (NOT out-of-the-blue like Anne Hathaway and James Franco, might you). Someone like a Gervais, you know? Or like Joel McHale, or Aziz Ansari, or Tina Fey. Someone who can improvise, someone who can make fun of the room and still get a laugh. Or if you wanted to play it safe, get Neil Patrick Harris! He’s proven himself to be a great host of other shows, he’s well-liked and respected by peers, and just like most of the Oscars viewing audience, he’s gay – instant appeal!

So, needless to say, Billy Crystal was not my first choice. He’s hosted the show nine times, so by now, he’s on auto-pilot, pulling the same shtick as the previous eight goes. Plus, he added nothing to the night with his constant jokes about old people, how things “used to be,” and “what the kids are doing these days” – which is, if Crystal is to be believed, texting and using iPads and liking Justin Beiber. Though I remember Crystal from my childhood as being witty and quick, when I read his pre-Oscar interview in Entertainment Weekly where he made a crack about movie theaters these days “glow” from all the phones that are being used during the movie, I knew we were in trouble.

Additionally, on a note unrelated to the broadcast, I haven’t seen any of these movies that were being honored. Nobody has. It’s hard to get emotionally attached to something that you’ve only been told in a commercial that “critics adore.” It wasn’t THAT long ago that films like Gladiator, Braveheart, Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King were best picture winners. People freaking LOVED those movies, and they made gajillions of dollars, and they were still amazing pictures that all Americans have in our collective consciousness (yes, even Titanic). In 2010, the Academy said they would widen the Best Picture nomination list, partially to make room for animated films like Up or action tales like The Dark Knight. This year there were nine nominees, but only two – Moneyball and The Help – were popular, and neither were near Gladiator levels.

Thanks to my mom, who provided sangria while my family watched the telecast. It really helped me make it through.

Here were the only two highlights of the night:

Dean Pelton strikes a pose.

Jim Rash won for his work on the script for The Descendants, which not only was great for the fan-favorite Community star, but it was also hilarious when he mocked Giada DeLaurentiis’s Angelina Jolie’s ridiculous pose she struck throughout the night.

The Prince of (Oscar) Parties

Flight of the Conchords star and adorable Kiwi Bret Mckenzie pick up a win for his “Man or Muppet” song from The Muppets. His speech was charming. Perhaps he and Jemaine could host next year’s ceremony? Now THAT I would watch.

 

Filed Under ABC, Parental Guidance, Rants, Recaps Tagged With abc, community, Flight of the Conchords, The Academy Awards, The Oscars, total crap