PLAYING HOUSE:  Tuesday 10PM on USA – If Nothing Else Is On… Created by and starring real-life best friends Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham, PLAYING HOUSE is, as sisterhood comedies created by and starring real-life best friends go, less edged and genuine than HBO’s recent Doll & Em (which was the work of […]

>   See A Word About Busted Pilots SMOTHERED, which was produced for ABC by Warner Bros Television, falls into the category of “not as bad as you’d think.”  The concept is Predictable Sitcom 101:  a young couple (Kyle Howard and Brooke D’Orsay) whose daughter is about to celebrate her first birthday, is invaded by […]

  TIMELESS:  Monday 10PM on NBC – If Nothing Else Is On… NBC’s TIMELESS is strictly B-movie escapism.  That’s a bit of a surprise considering that its creators are Eric Kripke of the densely mythologized (if not altogether workable) Revolution and The Shield‘s Shawn Ryan, but undemanding genre storytelling seems to be the preferred space […]

  SATISFACTION:  Thursday 10PM on USA – If Nothing Else Is On… Sean Jablonski’s new series SATISFACTION is a rarity for USA Network:  a drama that isn’t built around a familiar procedural franchise or fast-talking, quipping heroes.  Instead, it’s a story about midlife angst and marriage–there’s a namecheck of “Updike” at one passing point in […]

> Premieres Wednesday 10PM on USA:  Change the Channel NECESSARY ROUGHNESS departs from the USA Network formula in several ways:  our heroine Dani Santino (Callie Thorne) is the mother of teenagers, she doesn’t work undercover or take on wacky identities, she has no extraordinary abilities other than empathy, and her wise-cracking best friend isn’t around […]

  MARRY ME:  Tuesday 9PM on NBC starting October 14 – If Nothing Else Is On… PLAYERS:  Series creator David Caspe, of the late and lamented Happy Endings.  Stars Casey Wilson and Ken Marino, but especially Wilson, because while starring in this comedy about an engaged couple, she’s engaged in real life to Caspe.  Pilot […]

  BETTER CALL SAUL:  Monday 10PM on AMC – Potential DVR Alert Spin-offs used to be an regular part of the TV landscape, even for the most celebrated shows–Norman Lear created a virtual tree of comedies originating with All In the Family, from Maude and The Jeffersons to Archie Bunker’s Place and Good Times, and […]

  ONE BIG HAPPY:  Tuesday 9:30PM on NBC – Change the Channel Have you heard the one about the guy who makes a pact with his lesbian best friend that if they’re not with anyone else when they turn 30, they’ll have a baby together?  Have you heard the one about the guy who meets […]