NBC established its new "funny women" block of comedy for Wednesday nights by transplanting "Whitney" from Thursdays to serve as the lead-in to Chelsea Handler's new semi-biographical sitcom "Are You There, Chelsea?" (Wed., 9 p.m. EST on Bravo). While it hasn't been too well-received by critics, including HuffPost TV's own Maureen Ryan, audiences got their first chance to see Laura Prepon as Chelsea Newman and Handler as her pious older sister.
The premiere quickly established what kind of person Chelsea is, with audiences meeting her drinking and quickly getting a DUI. There was some fun to be had with Dot-Marie Jones ("Glee") as a cellmate that Chelsea, in a moment of panic, perhaps bonded too closely with. That joke came around full circle again at the end.
The bulk of the episode took place in either Chelsea's new apartment with her best friend Olivia (Ali Wong) and their dippy new roommate Dee Dee (Lauren Lapkus), or the bar she and Olivia work at. After his work on "Rescue Me," Lenny Clarke, playing Chelsea's father, seems a bit out of sorts in the traditional sitcom format.
Laura Prepon ambitiously compared "Chelsea" to "Cheers," one of the most successful traditional sitcoms of all time. Time will tell if it can match the creative chemistry, longevity, acclaim and success of the place where everybody knows your name. If critics are right, it seems a long shot at best.
"Are You There, Chelsea?" continues every Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. EST On NBC.
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MONDAY, JANUARY 9: "Pretty Little Liars"
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"Pretty Little Liars" (8 p.m. EST, ABC Family)
After their recent encounter with "A," Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer think they may be closer than ever to figuring out who "A" really is. But when the girls decide to enlist Caleb's hacking skills to help with their quest, Hanna no longer wants a part of the plan. Instead of focusing on figuring out who the "helper" is, Hanna decides to put all of her efforts into throwing a surprise party for Caleb. But will a surprise party at Spencer's lake house be the diversion Hanna is looking for, or just a recipe for disaster? Meanwhile, Aria and Ezra must deal with the aftermath of coming clean.
After their recent encounter with "A," Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer think they may be closer than ever to figuring out who "A" really is. But when the girls decide to enlist Caleb's hacking skills to help with their quest, Hanna no longer wants a part of the plan. Instead of focusing on figuring out who the "helper" is, Hanna decides to put all of her efforts into throwing a surprise party for Caleb. But will a surprise party at Spencer's lake house be the diversion Hanna is looking for, or just a recipe for disaster? Meanwhile, Aria and Ezra must deal with the aftermath of coming clean.
"Pretty Little Liars" (8 p.m. EST, ABC Family)
After their recent encounter with "A," Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer think they may be closer than ever to figuring out who "A" really is. But when the girls decide to enlist Caleb's hacking skills to help with their quest, Hanna no longer wants a part of the plan. Instead of focusing on figuring out who the "helper" is, Hanna decides to put all of her efforts into throwing a surprise party for Caleb. But will a surprise party at Spencer's lake house be the diversion Hanna is looking for, or just a recipe for disaster? Meanwhile, Aria and Ezra must deal with the aftermath of coming clean.
NBC established its new "funny women" block of comedy for Wednesday nights by transplanting "Whitney" from Thursdays to serve as the lead-in to Chelsea Handler's new semi-biographical sitcom "Are You ...
NBC established its new "funny women" block of comedy for Wednesday nights by transplanting "Whitney" from Thursdays to serve as the lead-in to Chelsea Handler's new semi-biographical sitcom "Are You ...
NBC established its new "funny women" block of comedy for Wednesday nights by transplanting "Whitney" from Thursdays to serve as the lead-in to Chelsea Handler's new semi-biographical sitcom "Are You ...
NBC established its new "funny women" block of comedy for Wednesday nights by transplanting "Whitney" from Thursdays to serve as the lead-in to Chelsea Handler's new semi-biographical sitcom "Are You ...
Former "That '70s Show" actress Laura Prepon stars as Chelsea Handler in NBC's new sitcom, "Are You There, Chelsea?," while Handler herself plays her older...
PASADENA, Calif. -- NBC's entertainment chief insists that it wasn't squeamishness over booze that got "vodka" dropped from the television version of Chelsea Handler's memoir....
It was a rather unique situation on "Chelsea Lately" (Weeknights, 11 p.m. EST on E!), with Chelsea Handler sitting across from and interviewing the woman...
To an almost uncanny degree, both programs were founded on the same set of mistaken assumptions about how to translate books to TV and whether it's worth it to attach famous names to TV projects.
Looking at HBO's recent move -- the canceling of male-driven shows "Hung," "How to Make it in America," and "Bored to Death" and the renewal of the Laura Dern-fronted "Enlightened" -- it's become even more apparent: TV is now the land of women. And that's not a bad thing.
First Posted: 01/12/12 04:35 AM ET Updated: 01/12/12 08:54 AM ET