Best New Show of the Year

When the year started, we were buried in signs of bad things to come (The Jay Leno Show). NBC was starting to tailspin when long running staples had their curtain calls and they only had another version of the Tonight Show to cover the emptiness. ABC was trudging with low-expectations. Fox was relying heavily on the genius of Seth MacFarlane. And the basic cable channels were going to force feed us In Plain Sight, Dark Blue, and Leverage (with award nominated Timothy Hutton, gasp!). Thankfully, the summer came and we were given some bright new properties to drool over. These are the best shows that still have that new car smell.

• Glee
I’ve only seen one episode of this show so it might not be fair for it in this category, but there were a lot of good things I saw.

1) The music was noteworthy.
2) The cast was delightfully eclectic (Jane Lynch is awesome).
3) It has the hottie from Heroes that Hiro couldn’t save in season 1 (Jayma Mays).

Now, if only they can get over their love affair with internal monologues (a la Dune), this show might get me to buy the DVD or maybe even the soundtrack.

• Modern Family
If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times. Ed O’Neil is a sitcom god! Thanks to this show, I’m willingly watching ABC. I used to think ABC was geared toward women (Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty), but Modern Family made it cool for guys to watch again. From Ed O’Neil’s romp as a remarried (to a young, hot Guatamalan) man to his gay son and his lover trying to take care of their adopted Asian baby. This show has not disappointed me at all.

• Cougar Town
Add the mistress of neurosis (Courtney Cox), a tablespoon of Bill Lawrence, and an all-spice of tasty supporting cast members and you get Cougar Town. This show has been hit-or-miss with me probably because I keep hoping for Chandler Bing to knock on her door for a Friends reunion, although they kind of did that already with Lisa Kudrow. Anyway, the show started with Courtney Cox flashing an innocent boy on his bike causing him to do a header into a car. Yeah, this show is aces in my book.

• Royal Pains
This was a surprise to me. In Plain Sight was so excruciating for me to watch with their poorly timed jokes, cookie-cutter plots, and drama stereotype upon stereotype that the idea of another new USA produced show sickened me. The commercials did not help argue its case. But thanks to the Doc, I watched it and was pleased with what I saw. I say this show will become historically significant for launching the career of hottie Reshma Shetty, who plays sharp-tongued Divya on the show and who also has a way of making pants-suits sexy.

• Parks and Recreation
If it wasn’t for the comedy skills of Amy Poehler and hotness of Rashida Jones, I would have dismissed this show as an Office clone and moved on. But for some unexplainable reason, if I start watching an episode, I can’t stop. Although I’ve cringed more times than laughed, this show earns a nomination for mesmerizing me long enough to last through the end credits. It’s almost like they have a Hottie of the Year nominee in some scenes that just keep me wanting to watch more. Interesting, isn’t it?

And the Winner is…

Modern Family!

In my opinion, this show saved ABC from an estrogen hell. In their first season, they did everything right and have no signs of hitting a sophomore curse. Unless those children grow up to be slightly unattractive, then I give it three years.

*Side Note:  If you missed any of these shows and would like to have catch a couple episodes for free.  There are full episodes available for FREE streaming on Hulu and IMDB.