4/30/14

Two New Shows About Girlfriends

Two new series recently premiered featuring female best friends, one set in high school and the other set in the adult world of careers and marriage.  

The first from MTV is called Faking It, which premiered last Tuesday (April 22).  Think of this new show as Awkward with more gay characters.  The basic story line is two friends want to stand out in high school and when they are mistaken as lesbians they play along to see what it will do to their social life.  The only problem is that one of the friends may actually like the idea of a relationship.  

The first episode explored a fair amount of territory with estranged parents, bratty blondes, and social misfits.  And yet it also has some fun twists that introduced present day political issues.  The high school is set in Austin, Texas, and the liberal student body is at odds with some of the more conservative students spouting "family values."  The other key pairing besides the two girlfriends is a school jock and his gay buddy.  MTV has not been afraid to take on teenage angst, and this version is worth watching.  You can catch the first episode on MTV's website. 

The second show, called Playing House, premiered on the USA Network last night (April 29).  This story is about the relationship between a successful career women working in Asia and her best friend back in their hometown dealing with a pending child and a cheating husband.  As one might expect, the choice for the career woman is to stay on the fast track for be there for her friend.  Three guesses what happens.  Okay, one guess.  Its a well played comedy with enough outlandish characters and incidents to keep you interested.  And as odd as it sounds, the TV comedies to date have been more about guy friends raising kids than girlfriends, so this is just a little bit of equal opportunity zaniness.  You can catch up on the episodes by visiting the USA Network website. 

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