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Summer is unequivocally behind us now, meaning, among many things, that we are in the thick of television's newest fledgling season. Undoubtedly, there will be previews for shows that seem obscenely stupid from the get go, worth not even the effort of focusing your eyes on the screen (note: this is directed at you Cougar Town - a shameless snatching of 30 Rock's MILF Island which was a JOKE show for a reason). Yet, amid the muck of missteps and downright insulting media creations will be those nebulous new creations that capture our imaginations. They will make us laugh in ways previously unimagined. They will have a fantastic soundtrack that will quickly storm our Top 25 Most Played playlist in iTunes. If they're really good, perhaps we will forget to keep noshing on the snack we've prepared in order to keep our hands busy. Now that the iffy pilot territory has been traversed by some of these brand new shows, it's time to see which series look, in our humble opinion, like they'll have staying power. Put the peanut butter dipped Oreos down long enough to watch these promising new series. Embrace the inherent pleasures of being able to critique the culmination of years of toil (a.k.a. these new shows) from the comfort of your own standard issue bed in your dorm. If you find yourself without a television, a majority of these shows are available free online on their respective network's web site.
Cougartown
You say, what could possibly go wrong with a show named Cougartown? Well, almost everything. Courtney Cox, the star of the show, is the recently-divorced-single-mother-turned-cougar whose little charades drive the plot. Some may find her portrayal of a newly independent, middle-aged woman refreshing, and to be sure, it isn't the stereotype that is overdone. Instead the show is unable to capture any tone for more than one scene before switching over to another branch of humor in a meager attempt at laughs. One minute, Cox is caught in the act by her son and the next minute she is giving a diatribe on her front lawn about the woes of a women her age. None of it flows. Jumping from club to work, single best friend to married best friend, womanizing bachelor to eager young pup, the show has yet to find its voice. What are viewers supposed to come back for every week - the clever little quips from Courteney's single best friend played by Busy Philipps (Kath & Kim, He's Just Not that Into You)? Please.
Modern Family
The one keeper in ABC's new Wednesday night, sandwiched between the awkward Courtney Cox vehicle, Cougartown, and the typical ABC dramedy, Eastwick, Modern Family is the perfect mix of awkward jokes and laugh-out-loud, slapstick comedy. The show revolves around three branches of one extended family: the typical mom, dad with three kids clan, the gay couple, and a remarried grandpa and his young, hot Latina wife. Reminiscent in tone and style, it is everything that Parks and Recreation could have been for The Office. Instead of relying too heavily on the mockumentary formula, the show reinvents the style by bringing it into a dysfunctional yet endearing home setting. With actors like Ty Burrell and Ed O'Neill, the potentially stereotypical family clichés instead work to give the show a light-hearted vibe worth loving. And if that isn't enough, just watch the pilot's "Circle of Life" homage featuring two gays and their newly adopted baby. You might even cry - from laughing so hard.
Glee
If you took the island of misfits from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, turned them from claymation figurines to actual people, and kept the kitschy voices, you'd get the cast of Glee. It is the television show with the omnipresent a capella music soundtrack and renditions of popular songs from the past and present. Mixed with a fantastic pinch of naivety and an even heavier dollop of sarcasm, Glee is a show that you can't help but be obsessed with. As fun as it is to live vicariously through Manhattan's Upper East Side or the kids of Beverly Hills, Glee has taught us that it's even more pleasurable to root for Kurt as the newest kicker for the football team, and the budding Ross/Rachel romance for the socially inept (Rachel and Finn). For once, there is a show that doesn't have to throw gratuitous alcoholism or even fashion to get by. In fact, the show's "Cheerios" never ditch their cheerleading uniforms. Glee strikes viewers like a cane on a bare buttocks, and therefore comes as highly recommended.
Bored to Death
Leaking with star power, Bored to Death brings Jason Schwartzmann (Darjeeling Limited), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) and Ted Danson to HBO comedy. Set in the bitter ghettos of New York City, Bored to Death builds off of the legacies of pessimistic Jewish writers like Woody Allen and Larry David to create a show that relies on a bleak postmodern landscape filled with childish yet jaded characters. The show thrives on the hilarious undertones of a generation of inherently devoid bourgeois drones and their own attempts to make their lives more interesting. The comedy pursues the film noir pursuits of the central character, writer Jonathan Ames, a self-denying alcoholic stoner who decides to entertain himself by moonlighting as a detective. Eerily similar to the written works of Paul Auster, the HBO comedy thrives on the relatively petty commentary of its humdrum characters to create dry wit that only leads one to think, where in the world did we go wrong and why is that just so funny.
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