The New Normal
(NBC, Tuesday 9:30/8:30 Central)
Sep 11, 2012
Web Exclusive
“Abnormal is the new normal.” This is one of the many snappy lines on The New Normal, a show about an affluent, committed gay couple who are having a baby via surrogate. Transparently modeled after Modern Family‘s Mitchell and Cameron, Los Angeles dwellers Bryan (Andrew Rannells) and David (Justin Bartha) are the epitome of the professional, well-to-do, monogamous gay couple with a stunning showplace of a home and Pretty Woman-like shopping trips to Barney’s. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the surrogate, waitress Goldie (Georgia King), former teenage mother to the bright Shania (Bebe Wood), and her bigoted grandmother Jane (Ellen Barkin).
The accurately cast, well-defined ensemble fits its characters to a T and delivers the razor-sharp dialogue with natural flair. The humor veers towards the stereotypical: the Cher ringtone on Bryan’s phone, him responding “Little House on the Prairie” when asked by David how he knew what rubella was, the two of them accusing one of the surrogate candidates of “uterine blackmail” when she threatens to light up if they don’t give her a BMW, both of them asking Goldie one final question pre-implantation, “Are you now or were you ever a secret operative for the Republican party?” Presented cleverly, the humor clicks. Jane has her own set of genius lines that she imparts so dramatically that what should be highly offensive comments are funny without making you feel guilty for laughing at them. Not to be discounted is NeNe Leakes (Glee) as Bryan’s no-nonsense back-talking assistant Rocky, who provides a perfect foil for Jane. What seems like extremism from creator Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck, Glee) is, in fact, exactly what today’s world is like. Hopefully The New Normal won’t quickly get lost in itself like other Murphy shows. (www.nbc.com/the-new-normal)
Author rating: 8/10
Average reader rating: 4/10
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November 6th 2012
7:18pm
Great review! The New Normal is already a hit in my book. Of course, there are those groups that will have their opinions about it, but we all have a choice to watch it or not. I hope that the show continues for a while. I’m really glad that one of my DISH coworkers suggested I see it. After watching it using the PrimeTime Anytime feature on my Hopper from DISH, which records all four major networks, I could see why she likes it so much. Not only does it have hilarious comedy, it also has a good message.