Top 10 New TV Shows This Spring
The spring television season showered audiences with new dramas, sitcoms and reality shows, and there’s still more to come. Ten of the top spring shows are listed below; some might be on your favorites list already.
10. The Client List
Lifetime’s popular 2010 television movie, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, is now a steamy television series. The series tells the story of Riley Parks, a single mother who becomes a prostitute at a massage parlor to make enough money for her family. “The Client List” was a runaway hit for the network, becoming Lifetime’s most-watched series debut since 2009’s “Drop Dead Diva,” according to “The Hollywood Reporter.”
9. Touch
Fox might have something special with “Touch,” a drama starring Kiefer Sutherland as Martin, a man who lost his wife in the World Trade Center attack and is currently struggling to raise his autistic, mute son, Jake (David Mazouz). Jake’s obsession with numbers reveals his ability to see how everything connects to the universe.
The pilot impressed most critics, but they were also hesitant about the show’s future; some critics still felt burned by Tom Kring, the creator of “Touch” and the NBC superhero series “Heroes.” “…[T]he worry here is that we’ve seen this type of front-loaded show from Kring before, where he amazes at first, then quickly disappoints,” wrote Ross Bonaime for “Paste.” So far, it seems like “Touch” is still on the right course.
8. Scandal
The newest Shonda Rhimes series, “Scandal,” starring Kerry Washington, focuses on Olivia Pope, a woman who is a professional “fixer” for the wealthy. Based on real life crisis consultant Judy Smith, the ABC drama hits the right soap opera and procedural notes, creating a juicy drama that has also captivated critics. Even more impressive is the achievement of a woman of color headlining as the lead character. “It’s been 30 years since a black woman had a leading role on a network television show, and it’s a relief to see that Shonda Rhimes’ ‘Scandal’…brings the idea of an African-American female lead back to the forefront with style and substance,” according to 24Wired.tv.
7. Betty White’s Off Their Rockers
Betty White’s hot streak is still going strong with NBC’s new show, “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers.” The series, executive produced by White, is like “Candid Camera” on Geritol, featuring old pranksters who fool unknowing passers-by. Oddly enough, according to “The Huffington Post,” the pranks aren’t ever revealed to the victims, but the show is still good-natured. “…[T]he show has a feel-good tone to it,” states the site, “ably narrated and pushed along by interstitial videos featuring White being her typically charming and sassy self[.]”
6. Girls
HBO captured the female audience again with “Girls,” a show about a group of young women who experience life in New York City. Like HBO’s other female-oriented series, “Sex and the City,” “Girls” opened up the dialogue concerning independent women. Unlike “Sex and the City,” however, “Girls” is more realistic. Rachel Stein for Television Without Pity wrote “[t]he characters are complex, the dialogue is oftentimes hilarious and the plot is captivating. After watching the pilot…I honestly felt that I’d never seen something quite like it before…”
5. Take Me Out
Fox continues their dating show theme with “Take Me Out.” Hosted by George Lopez, the series has a bigger female slant than “The Choice”—30 women will search for their perfect match among men who have to make the best first impression. The rules of the game get a little confusing from there, but overall, “Take Me Out” feels like it’ll be a light and breezy way to say goodbye to spring and hello to summer.
4. The Choice
Fox is taking the “swiveling chair” idea from NBC’s “The Voice” and applying it to the dating show genre. Enter ‘The Choice,” a series featuring several celebrities, including Rob Kardashian, Dean Cain, Tyson Beckford and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, choosing a date based on their voice. Fox’s head of alternative series Mike Darnell told “Entertainment Weekly,” “What started out as a goof ended up being a ridiculously good format. It really feels like a hit.”
3. Common Law
Michael Ealy and Warren Kole star as Travis Marks and Wes Mitchell, respectively—two cops who don’t understand how to communicate with each other. Their captain (Jack McGee) does something unconventional by sending them to marriage counseling to work out their differences. USA finds success with character-driven dramas, and “Common Law” continues that trend. C. Charles for TV Fanatic wrote, “Take it from this TV Fanatic: ‘Common Law’ is uncommonly smart, sophisticated, edgy and all together hilarious.”
2. Veep
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is back on television as Vice President of the United States Selina Meyer. Meyer finds the second-in-command spot to be a little different than what she hoped for. Created by Armando Iannucci, “Veep” gave critics another reason to love HBO and Louis-Dreyfus. Tim Goodman of “The Hollywood Reporter” wrote, “Louis-Dreyfus has found perhaps her best post-‘Seinfeld’ role and takes to it with such fervor…that you can’t help but applaud what is clear an Emmy-worthy effort.”
1. Don’t Trust the B—-in Apartment 23
This ABC sitcom created by Nahnatchka Khan stars Dreama Walker as a newcomer to Manhattan who loses her dream job and company-provided apartment. After finding work in a coffee shop, she moves in with a woman (Krysten Ritter) who ruins her life by deceiving her and sleeping with her fiancé. The twist—they become best friends.
The show taps into the female-centric sitcom market, but “Dawson’s Creek” fans should also love the show—James Van Der Beek plays himself to a hilarious effect. Critics applaud the show’s clever writing, even despite some elements breaking into “Two Broke Girls” territory.
Spring has given television viewers a lot to watch. What spring shows have made it into your weekly rotation?
This guest post is by Edwin who regularly writes about TV and technology for USDish. Want to catch one of these shows this spring? Find special promotions on new Dish Network packages here.
