Generally, I don't write television posts often. There are few shows I watch on a regular basis, and fewer I've become obsessed with enough to call myself a superfan. For the past decade or so, I've devoted myself to the trifecta of Six Feet Under, Big Love, and United States of Tara, only to see each one get knocked off, and in the past year or so, my cable get downgraded. I've never watched a ton of network tv not because I'm a snob, though I guess that's a part of it (but I can't willingly watch six seasons of Bad Girls Club and call myself a person of taste, can I?), but because it always interferes with something else. Unless I can't catch it on a weekend marathon, chances are I haven't seen it.
Anyway, here are a few shows I am excited about:
The New Normal
I wanted to like this, but the combination of the wooden acting and reliance on racist tropes, I think I'll pass. One thing I do like is seeing a gay couple acting being affectionate with each other. Yes, Mitch and Cameron from Modern Family broke a lot of ground, but you rarely see them touching and not much else. It's a good start.
Modern Family
Speaking on which, I was a latecomer to MF, but it does live up to its hype, its acclaim, and its awards. If I have any complaints it's that it's almost too traditional, like the template used for The Cosby Show or Family Ties was overlaid onto this "non-traditional" family.
Suburgatory
One of my new favorites. Where did this oddball little show come from? A great female lead, funny supporting cast, and surreal enough without actually trying too hard.
The New Girl
I hated the pilot, but it got better. Zooey Dechannel has proven herself to be a good comedic actress, but a lot of the jokes still rely on the same tired old gender essentialism television has been exploiting for the past fifty years.
The Mindy Project
I'm looking forward to this, and I'll write a longer review when I actually see it, but Mindy Kaling great, and I'm happy to see fronting her own show. While there are a lot of female-led shows cropping up in the past few years, so many of them rely on quirk over substance, though sitcoms aren't exactly known for the latter. I'm hopping this one makes up where others have failed.
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