TV Mad Man

Sometime you just need to have a smile in the middle of the busy week. I think Matt Bomer and Tim Dekay of USA’s White Collar (back June 7th at 9/8c with a new season) can do just that. This from Comic-Con 2010….

Above is a promo for ABC’s new comedy Happy Endings premiering tonight after Modern Family at 9:30/8:30c with back to back episodes, before landing in its regular 10/9c time-slot next week. Happy Endings is the last in a string of “friend” comedies, most of which never got of the ground like NBC’s never-aired Friends with Benefits or their underrated Perfect Couples, but lets hope to change that with ABC’s outing. Happy Endings stars Elisha Cuthbert (24), Eliza Coupe (Scrubs), Zachary Knighton (FlashForward), and others, who are six friends that we meet as one of them gets left by the alter by their other friend. I have seen four episodes and the show quickly goes from sad and depressing comedy to hilariously upbeat by the second episode naming phrases like “chick-sand” and a hilrious outing being beards for their gay friend.

Happy Endings is not outwardly orginal, but the charm and tone is enough to set it apart and come next week when Cougar Town is back, this will be a welcome addition to an already almost-perfect Wednesday comedy lineup.

Next up, is tomorrow’s replacement to Perfect Couples, the long gestating The Paul Reiser Show. As you might guess, it surrounds the former Mad About You star in a semi-scripted Curb Your Enthusiasm journey of unemployment in LA. If you like Curb Your Enthusiasm, you will surely be familiar with the concept, but it certainly is not on that level. It is contrived and forced at times, but I could not help but watch all four of the seven episodes, because in each way it gave me a small reason to come back, and then, it lost me.

If you are tuning in at 8/7c for Community (which you should be), this is not for you, but if you miss the good old Mad About You days, and want to check in which your former TV star, it might not hurt to do so at 8:30/7:30c on NBC.

FOX is once again using its biggest platform, American Idol, to launch a new comedy as the performance shows downsize to 90-minutes. This Wednesday at 9:30/8:30c, Breaking In, a late pickup staring Reaper‘s Bret Harrison and the man that just keeps on trying to have a successful show Christian Slater lead an ensemble about a corrupt tech company that tests the world’s leading systems. The pilot is surprisingly fresh and I am looking forward to more episodes but if you don’t latch on now, six episodes may be all we get.

Below check out 5 previews for the upcoming series…

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ABC has brought a lot of new additions to its lineup this year and none have really stuck: Better with You (on its last legs), Mr. Sunshine (never caught on), My Generation, and others, and they are betting on their last new drama of the year to hit. Body of Proof, starring Dana Delanay, as a former neurosergouen turned medical examiner, premieres tonight on ABC at 10/9c after Daning with the Stars. The series was orginally scheduled to air in the fall on Fridays but after new ABC chief Paul Lee saw the series, he wanted to give it a better launch.

After seeing three episodes of the House-like medical drama, it is certainly a wonderful vehicle for Dana but does not catch your attention quite like its male counterpart. The series also stars Jeri Ryan, Sonja Sohn, and John Carroll Lynch. Check out a promo below and see for yourself tonight…

For the past two weeks in LA, the Paley Center for Media has been presenting some of the best shows in a ceremony they call Paleyfest. I have been too a few of them including last Wednesday which highlighted NBC’s brilliant Parks and Recreation. This coming Thursday features the much-anticipated “Harvest Festival,” which I have now seen multiple times and will recommended it every single time, if only for someone named Lil Sebastian. Also, the following episode entitled “Camping,” which is reminiscent of last year’s amazing Hunting Trip.

Check out a clip provided by Paley of the wonderful night, and look out for the full DVD out later this year.