OnTV: ‘My Boys’ and A Girl
TBS Scores Big Time with Its Latest Original Sitcom
If you want to do yourself a big favor, then wander over to the less explored area of the basic-cable jungle tonight at 10pm EST and check out TBS’ fantastic My Boys, a true find that is—thank the stars—doing very well with both critics and viewers. So well, in fact, that TBS formally announced on December 18 that the network has ordered nine more episodes of the half-hour situation comedy. Excellent. To be accurate, however, My Boys is not a traditional sitcom, at least not in terms of how you feel while watching it. As opposed to going all out to get easy laughs with supposedly snazzy one-liners or forced silly situations, My Boys takes an intelligent approach that assumes the audience is comprised of equally intelligent people. In essence, what we get are believable situations that build and lead to the kind of humor found in real life, based not so much on short-lived jokes but memorable experiences. And to say that series star Jordana Spiro is a treat is a massive understatement—she is luminous, and the show simply would not be the same without her.
The basic premise of the series is five guys, a girl, and her best friend. At the center of it all is PJ Franklin (Spiro), a Chicago sports columnist who shares her life with the five guys, including her married brother and her ex-boyfriend. Add her journalist best friend Stephanie to the mix and we have two capable, single young women who give as much as they get from the world around them while dating and dealing with life. The first of tonight’s episodes, “Free Agent,” finds PJ at the end of the road with her latest significant other, partly because he and her boys go together like oil and water. Then in “Superstar Treatment,” PJ deals with a lack of enthusiasm for one of her boys’ new girlfriend *and* another writer who cribs her story. Jerk.
Other New Stuff:
- A&E: Dog the Bounty Hunter (9:00)
- ABC: Big Day (9:00/9:30)
- BET: American Gangster (10:00)
- Discovery: Dirty Jobs (9:00); Everest: Beyond the Limit (10:00)
- HGTV: Save My Bath (8:30); Decorating Cents (9:00)
- MyNetworkTV: Wicked Wicked Games (8:00); Watch Over Me (9:00)
- NBC: Identity (8:00)
- Sci Fi: ECW (10:00)
- TLC: Overhaulin’ (9:00); Miami Ink (10:00)
- Travel: Taste of America (8:00); Best Places to Find Cash and Treasures (10:00/10:30)
*All times are EST/Eastern Standard Time
My Boys photo courtesy of TBS
