Friday, September 9, 2011

New Fall Shows: A Second Opinion

S.E. already provided you with his list of new Fall shows he's excited for. While I agree with some of his choices (New Girl, Up All Night, Once Upon a Time), there are some shows I'll be watching that were not included. Below are more new shows to consider.

Pan Am (ABC: Sunday at 10 pm)

Inspired by former Pan Am stewardess Nancy Hult Ganis's work, this period drama, starring Christina Ricci, follows a group of Pan Am flight attendants in 1963. It seems the show will revolve around Laura Cameron (played by Margot Robbins) who begins working for the airline after ditching her finance just before their wedding. She joins her sister, Kate (played by Kelli Garner), who's already a stewardess. Kate, meanwhile, has been acting as a go-between for the government as working for one of the largest airlines in the world allows her to go where others can't.

Many are calling Pan Am ABC's answer to Mad Men, but I think it's more. While I love Don Draper and the rest of the crew, I think Pan Am will be able to stand on its own. For one, the shows seems to be focusing on its female characters, rather than being a boys' club like Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce tends to be. Actually, the only similarity one can see for now is the time period and the fact that both shows are dramas. 


 

Whitney (NBC: Thursday at 9:30 pm)

NBC struggled last year to fill its 8:30 pm time slot. Perfect Couples turned out to be not-so-perfect and the Paul Reiser show was gone faster than you can say "Bye Bye, Love." Luckily, they've moved Nerdy Pop's favorite, Parks and Rec into the slot, giving Whitney a chance at 9:30. A smart move if you ask me.



Inspired by her stand-up, the half-hour comedy series stars Whitney Cummings and Chris D'Elia as Whitney's live-in boyfriend. The two are not married, but tackle many of the same issues married couples in sitcoms face and then some. I'm looking forward to seeing many of my favorite Whitney jokes come to life in this series and hope it can fit in with the rest of NBC's comedy-night-done-right lineup.



Heart of Dixie (CW: Monday at 9 pm)
This drama starring Rachel Bilson wasn't really on my list until about two weeks ago. Once I learned the show is another off-spring of Chuck and Gossip Girl co-creator Josh Schwartz, I was intrigued. Then Entertainment Weekly described it as Gilmore Girls meets Doc Hollywood and Sweet Home Alabama; that's when I was in.

Bilson plays Zoe Hart, a young doctor who is forced to leave NYC for small town life. Hart is mysteriously and luckily left a general practice in Bluebell Alabama where the people are friendly, boys are charming and the pace is a lot slower than she'd like. Yes, the city girl in the country plot can get overdone, but I have faith that Schwartz and his team have created something worthwhile. Here's hoping Hart of Dixie doesn't disappoint.


HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Free Agents (NBC: Wednesday at 8:30 pm)
Hank Azara and every romcom's best friend, Kathryn Hahn, star in this new comedy adapted from the British series. Free Agents focuses on the drama and awkwardness that comes with inter-office romances.

Suburgatory (ABC: Wednesday at 8:30 pm)
A single dad (played by Jeremy Sisto) and his sassy Olive Penderghast-like teenage daugther (played by Jane Levy) move from the city to the suburbs.







1 comment:

  1. Haha I figured you'd want to watch these (although I am surprised by Whitney).

    ReplyDelete