Pilot Talk: The New Normal

I may be three episodes late, but I have finally found the time to sit down and talk about Ryan Murphy's new NBC comedy, The New Normal.

I should start out by saying this: I have watched quite a bit of Murphy's work through the years. I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of American Horror Story and am quite excited for the second season. I loved the first three seasons of Nip/Tuck, and can still find some guilty pleasure enjoyment from the later episodes. And I stand by my opinion that the first season of Glee is fantastic... before it became, frankly, complete shit. The simple truth is: I think Ryan Murphy comes up with great ideas and  I really enjoy how much shocking content he puts out there, but eventually it gets tiresome.

So far, I've enjoyed what I've seen of The New Normal. The first three episodes of the series were quite funny, a bit mean spirited but with a heaping dose of sweetness to help even it out. The characters are all lovable and the show is fast paced, without feeling rushed. These are qualities that many of Murphy's other products either do share or shared at one point, so we're off to a good start.

Murphy also has a real eye for talent in the casting department. Each actor in this series feels perfectly cast and, as a whole, have chemistry to spare. Justin Bartha and Andrew Rannells are wonderful and completely believable as a couple, playing off each other nicely in both their comedic scenes and more serious ones. In supporting roles, NeNe Leakes and Ellen Barkin are hilarious, even if their characters are far too one dimensional (more on that later). As somebody who's easily annoyed by child actors, I'm impressed with how talented young Bebe Wood is. She's much more than just a cute little kid but shows many different sides to her character, and is also a natural talent. But the real scene stealer is the wonderful Georgia King, who wins the audience completely within her first few minutes on camera. I only hope she continues to pick great projects after The New Normal ends, she could be a real star.

Also, for the most part, the writing has been strong. The plot lines are interesting and realistic, while the dialogue is snappy, witty and every so often, surprisingly edgy. I also appreciate the way Murphy & co. depict David and Bryan as a couple. As much as I love Modern Family, the lack of affection between Cam and Mitchell in most of the episodes is quite noticeable. I'm not trying to compare the two series, and I do believe that Modern Family is a much more well done show, but The New Normal definitely gets points for depicting a gay couple in a realistic way, and with just as much affection as a straight couple would share on camera. That being said, there are a couple of things I want to address regarding the, shall we say, not so good aspects of the writing.

Watch any of his series and you will know that Ryan Murphy is not the type of write to be subtle. In fact, I'm pretty sure the word is not in his vocabulary. And that's not a bad thing! But on The New Normal, the lack of subtly is annoying and obnoxious. I'm a passionate advocate for gay rights and love the way the series depicts the obstacles a gay couple might face in today's world, but the series (in particular the last episode to air, "Baby Clothes") shoves the messages down a viewers throat. The message itself is wonderful and deserves to be shared with audiences nationwide, but not when it's being put up on screen like propaganda. The way the series repeats the message over and over and over again, coupled with the fact that anybody with the fact that every homophobic character is seen as a complete bigot with not a single redemptive quality is just sloppy writing. That leads me to the characters of Rocky (Leakes) and Jane (Barkin). Rocky is very much the "sassy black girl" character that most comedy series seem to have nowadays, but her character is almost entirely paper thin. In fact, Leakes serves virtually no purpose but to show up every few minutes and say something sassy, which is only funny because of the words she uses and her overall attitude. Even more troubling is how Jane is characterized. Obviously, Jane is supposed to represent the bigots in society, and Murphy has even likened her to the woman from One Million Moms. And, for the most part, her bigotry leads to some of the biggest laughs so far. A particular quip about sending a "congratulations card to Satan" had me chucking for days. But sometimes her behavior feels like a cartoon. A rant about slavery she has in the second episode isn't funny, it's just plain ridiculous. And when she drags two young children to Planned Parenthood, it feels too over the top. I see what Murphy is trying to do with the character, but he has to tone it down before it just gets too ridiculous.

With any luck, The New Normal could be a solid comedy on the very crowded Tuesday lineup. The cast is strong and, if certain problems are fixed up, the series could become even better. I just hope Murphy doesn't fall back into the trap which Glee stumbled upon two years ago. That series displays some of the worst writing on any series I've seen. The New Normal deserves better.

Also, a quick side note: Despite what critics and commercials may try and make you think, this series has virtually nothing in common with Modern Family other than the fact that they both depict a gay couple and involve families. The series are both tonally different, have very different comedy stylings, and are trying to say very different things to their viewers. While I did compare the depiction of gay relationships on both programs, I do not mean to make viewers believe that the series are worth comparing in any way.