Fall is known as the season of new TV shows, but we’ve had a bit of a spring awakening this year – with hot US marshals, smart family dramas and not-so-trashy reality shows. Here are my picks for the top 5 hot new shows of 2010:
1. Parenthood
Tuesdays @ 10 on NBC
With a pedigree including executive producers Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, David Nevins and Jason Katims (who created Friday Night Lights, among other things), it’s no surprise that Parenthood is a top-notch family drama. Featuring Peter Krause, Lauren Graham and a dozen other amazing actors, the show is heartfelt without getting too cheesy. Parenthood doesn’t reinvent the wheel – and it may seem a bit too much like Brothers and Sisters at times – but since that show seems to be winding down, Parenthood is a fresh new alternative.
2. Jessica Simpson’s The Price of Beauty
Mondays @ 10 on VH1
Jessica Simpson’s new VH1 reality series The Price of Beauty features the singer/actress/spokeswoman-for-the-healthy-but-not-stick-thin as she travels the world to find out what different cultures find beautiful. The show is not always profound (episode one spent an unfortunate amount of time on Jessica’s accidental giggle during a meditation session), but it’s a positive addition to an often-trashy channel. Its viewers might even learn something!
3. Justified
Tuesdays @ 10 on FX
I couldn’t help but sigh every time Timothy Olyphant graced the screen with his sexy scruff in season two of Damages. Apparently, the kind folks at FX shared my lust, because they cast him as the lead in the new drama Justified, about a US marshal who is reassigned from Miami to his childhood home in the poor, rural coal-mining towns in Eastern Kentucky after shooting that creepy guy from The Mask. Rolling hills, mystery, intrigue…and cowboy hats. Need I say more?
4. Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
Fridays @ 8 on ABC (premiering March 26)
When I was studying abroad in London, I got hooked on the show Jamie’s School Dinners, in which chef Jamie Oliver traipsed around Britain, often dressed like a giant vegetable, getting schoolchildren to eat healthier. It was shocking how many 8 or 10 year-old children couldn’t even identify veggies. With Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, he’s bringing his healthy philosophies to the US, where it is estimated that today’s children won’t live as long as their parents. The show can be a bit dramatic at times, but our problems with childhood obesity ARE dramatic. I hope he can change some minds (and diets).
5. Fly Girls
Wednesdays @ 9 on the CW (premiering March 24)
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a flight attendant? Dealing with turbulence and crabby customers would suck, but what about landing in the coolest cities in the world? The new CW reality show Fly Girls follows a group of gorgeous Virgin America flight attendants as they live the high life, both in the air and on terra firma. Your usual trashy reality fare? Maybe…but at least it’s got a new spin.
Photos: NBC, VH1, FX, ABC, CW
Thanks for some other magnificent post. Where else could anyone get that type of info in such a perfect way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I’m on the search for such information.