TV Review - The New Normal

The New Normal TV Review

By Lauren

Tuesdays at 9.30 EST (NBC)

Watch the first two episodes on IMDB

The New Normal is bound to get compared to Modern Family, which is fine, but you should still go into it knowing there will be similarities and differences. I like Modern Family a lot but based on the first two episodes of Ryan Murphy's (GLEE) latest, I really like The New Normal too. If you don't know the story, David and Bryan are a couple who decide to have a kid. Goldie becomes their surrogate mom,  who has a girl of her own named Shania. She wants to get away from her Nana (Shania's great-grandma) and give a good example for her daughter...so she asks to be a surrogate for a gay couple. Her Nana is not ready to let go though and keeps her claws in their lives as much as she can. The other cast member, Rocky, works for Bryan and David. I can't really gather what she does, but I think she's a personal assistant.

Back to show- the only two people I really knew before watching the show were Nene Leakes as Rocky (and only from Glee) and Justin Bartha as David (who was in The Hangover movies), but I love them and everyone else. Nana has quite a mouth on her...she says a lot of things that are highly inappropriate from homophobic and racist statements to more. Even Shania tells her, "Nana, you're a bigot" in the pilot episode. And it's true. It's funny in the "this is so awful, I can't believe anyone says these things" sort of way, but it works for me. It's awful, yes, but it's how some people view life and it will be interesting to see how Nana's point of view changes as time goes on and she realizes that Goldie really is going to carry a child for a gay couple.

I loved Goldie and her spirit. She really wants to follow her dreams and do right by her daughter. Shania is quirky and odd, but she's herself and Bryan tells her that makes her special, like him, in the second episode.

As for Bryan and David, I love that we have a gay couple that is affectionate and not afraid to kiss each other and kudos to the writers for making it happen and NBC for allowing it to happen. They obviously love each other and are so excited to be fathers. It's great to see how different they are too, though. David loves sports and Bryan loves to shop. Yes, a bit superficial on the surface, but that's not all there is too them. I just like the idea of opposites attracting and the show giving viewers more of a stereotypical gay man, as well as a counter to that.

In the end, I like the show. A lot. And I hope people will give it a shot and not decide if they like or dislike it by comparing it to Modern Family or other such shows. Give it a chance. I hope you enjoy it, because I want it do well so I can continue with these characters and the actors that bring them to life in such fun and - yes- even shocking ways.