Spring TV Roundup, Week 1


The Olympics are over, and networks are shuffling out more new options hoping something will stick. For the next few weeks I'll be reviewing pilots and second episodes of our spring offerings.

Monday Nights:
Star Crossed, Mondays at 8 p.m. on the CW
About: This is the latest teen romance drama. Let's face it, if you're over 25 the CW isn't really aiming for you. Since I fall outside that age range and am a male, I know I'm not the target demographic for "Star Crossed." And there might be a legion of teen girls that get sucked into the romantic drama of the show, but either way this one feels DOA. The show premiered opposite the Olympics, which is harsh, but will now air opposite "The Voice," which isn't a lot better. Hardly anyone checked out the pilot — even by CW standards — so that's not a good sign. There are some decent performers in the show but it felt VERY slow, and it didn't work. It mixes aliens and teen romance, but there just wasn't anything to latch onto here.
Pilot Grade: C-

Tuesday Nights:
About A Boy, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC
About: As they did with the London games in the summer of 2012, NBC used the last week of the Olympics as a launch pad for its new scripted comedies. In this case, "About A Boy" was out of the gate first on Saturday night. It premiered on a Saturday night, at 11:05 p.m. to mediocre numbers. It was an odd slot to launch a new comedy, particularly one that seems to be aimed at the 18-34 crowd. This is an adaptation of the popular Hugh Grant film, and I had reservations about how it would work as a show. But, surprisingly, I liked the pilot. David Walton and Minnie Driver are good in this show, there was some heart and some laughs. This felt like one of the better NBC comedy pilots and — after canceling "Sean Saves The World" and "The Michael J. Fox Show" prior to the Olympics — NBC needs some comedy help. I remain cautiously optimistic about this show.
Pilot Grade: B

Growing Up Fisher, Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on NBC
About: This was the other comedy that got the Olympic treatment, this time premiering after the closing ceremonies at 10:36 p.m. on Sunday night. An odd time, but NBC will take all the eyeballs it can get while they are there. I thought this would be the better of the two comedy pilots, but I didn't love the first episode. There are some good elements here, but tonally this show felt a lot like a lesser version of the type of family comedy in "The Goldbergs" and "The Michael J. Fox Show," neither of which have thrived this fall. As my wife said, if I never saw this show again I don't think I would miss it. Sure, there are pieces that could help this improve, but these comedies will need to step it up in that timeslot.
Pilot Grade: C

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