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Across the pond, television scheduling works rather differently to the way it does over here. Where we tend to have new series appearing throughout the year, they have two specific times (September and January, also known as Fall and Midseason) for launching new programs. In advance of the Fall premieres, the main American networks (Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC) recently presented their upcoming slate of new shows for the 2011/12 season. I’d like to talk now about what’s looking interesting and exciting amongst the comedies (next week I’ll discuss the new dramas).
In the wake of shakeups to its flagship comedy, Two and a Half Men, CBS is in a position of transition. They are adding to the multi-camera lineup with Two Broke Girls, which stars Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs as two young waitresses at a Brooklyn diner (Dennings is the only reason I’d be interested in this one). They’ll also have How To Be A Gentleman, which appears to be pretty much exactly what it says on the tin.
Premiering on ABC will be Suburgatory, from Parks and Recreation’s Emily Kapnek. Suburgatory will follow a father and daughter moving to the suburbs and how their lives have to change. ABC also have two fairly standard looking comedies in Last Man Standing and Man Up, which both will explore what it is like to be a modern man (Man Up could still prove interesting, with Better Off Ted’s Victor Fresno as Executive Producer). However, Apartment 23, which is about roommates who don’t get along (and stars James Van Der Beek, as himself) seems like something that could be a hit.
If you, like me, are a fan of the wonderful Zooey Deschanel, then Fox’s The New Girl should be on your radar. The single camera comedy will star Deschanel as a fourth-grade teacher who moves in with four single guys after a break-up. If the trailer is anything to go by, it will rely on her inherent adorableness, and for that reason alone it’s something I look forward to seeing. I Hate My Teenage Daughter, also from Fox, will star Jaime Pressly and Katie Finneran as two women who hate their daughters. I don’t warm to the premise of it, but maybe it’ll work better than it sounds.
One really exciting prospect for next year is NBC’s Up All Night, this is a very high-profile comedy, coming from Lorne Michaels and Emily Spivey and starring Will Arnett, Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph. The plot will revolve around the characters of Applegate (as a working mother) and Arnett (as a stay-at-home dad) as they deal with parenthood. If this is sharply written, it definitely has a good enough cast to be something rather impressive. NBC also have single-camera sitcom Free Agents, which stars Hank Azaria in a show based on the British comedy of the same name.
I think that it’s difficult to assess comedy based merely upon the premise that it has. Whilst it’s obvious that a show has to be sold on its concept, sitcoms in particular will only grow and succeed based on the merits of their characters and their interactions (a good example is Cougar Town, which began with a cringeworthy premise but developed a charming and funny dynamic). It’s worth mentioning that I of course have absolutely no idea which of these will be bought up by UK channels, they simply seem to be interesting based off their promotional material and the people involved in their production.
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