by Daniel Erenberg

Three new television shows premiered last week, amidst much hype and ubiquitous advertising campaigns. All three shows turned out to be ratings disappointments, but the networks certainly couldn’t be blamed this time. They got those shows out there. For one, who here hasn’t heard of Kings? That show has been everywhere these last few months. I haven’t been able to take a damn train without seeing that orange butterfly flag waving. NBC, the show’s home network, has also had an extended trailer for it in front of every movie at every movie theater in New York City. The show has HBO-level production values, a superb cast, includingDeadwood’s Ian McShane and underrated character actor Dylan Baker (so incredible in Happiness), and an ambitious premise, conceived by Heroes writer Michael Green. NBC gave it a high-profile two-hour premiere on a Sunday night, and it managed to grab just 6 million viewers, who bought into the hype. I was one of them, and I also decided to DVR the new ABC comedy series, Better Off Ted, by Andy Richter Controls The Universe co-creator Victor Fresco, which has been endlessly compared to Arrested Development, largely because of Portia de Rossi’s presence in the capable cast. And, just to round things off, I also taped Party Down, the new Starz original series about a party planning company, which lists Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas and Paul Rudd among its writers, and boasts fabulous comedy pseudo-legends, like Ken Marino (The State), Jane Lynch (Best In Show) and Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks) in its unbeatable cast.

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Tags: Kings Party Down Better Off Ted tv reviews
March 26, 2009 at 12:36am