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What to watch on Tuesday, April 2...

SEASON 1 FINALE, 9pm & 9:30pm, NBC
The New Normal
Ryan Murphy’s sitcom winds up its freshman season with back-to-back episodes. First, in “Finding Name-O,” Bryan and David’s struggles to think up a quality baby name sparks tension, while Brice’s advice leads Clay to consider pouring his heart out to Goldie. Then in the finale, “The Big Day,” Bryan and David’s determination to seal their nuptials before the baby arrives may be thwarted, since no wedding in sitcom history has ever eluded at least mild thwarting.

9:30pm, Fox
The Mindy Project
Mindy dates a man of the cloth in “My Cool Christian Boyfriend,” but when he questions her ethical bona fides, she decides to prove him wrong by joining the medical practice’s volunteer excursion to a women’s prison. Meanwhile, I question the ethical bona fides of Fox flipping this episode with the one scheduled for Thursday, "Pretty Man," at the last minute, solely to flummox viewers and writers of summary blurbs alike.

SEASON 4 FINALE, 10pm, FX
Justified
Detroit brings the fight to Raylan for a final showdown as “Ghosts” concludes the stellar fourth season. Meanwhile, Boyd and Ava try to bury a past misdeed once and for all, while Constable Bob is probably off recuperating with a hearty take-out order from KFC.

10pm, NBC
Smash
“The Parents” finds Tom’s hands full when the Bombshell cast welcomes Leigh Conroy (guest-star Bernadette Peters)—as well as her years of animosity with Ivy, dating back to a 1989 flare-up of the Tastes Great-Less Filling Wars. In developments that won’t inspire me to date myself via beer commericial references, Karen and Jimmy’s relationship is put to the test, and Derek uncovers more details about Jimmy’s past as the first chunk of “Hit List” goes public.

10pm, CBS
Golden Boy
A subway shooting may be linked to the years-ago murder of McKenzie’s brother, leading her to pursue justice for her family in “McKenzie on Fire.” Meanwhile, Owen is troubled by the prospect of retiring in two years, even though TV bylaws dictate that if this show runs long enough, he can take advantage of the George Feeny Clause governing non-retiring retiring mentors.

10pm, ABC
Body of Proof
When a rash of rabies cases in “Skin and Bones” leaves Tommy bitten by one rabid victim, Kate and Megan turn to new health commissioner Luke Perry for help with the investigation. “Could it really be zombies?” ABC’s press site asks, nudging us in the ribs assiduously and hoping we’ll all play along as if the network’s execs are “down” with the zombie zeitgeist the kids are into these days.

10pm, TBS
Cougar Town
Dear TV.com readers: We accept that the fact that we have to mention Cougar Town’s extended Breakfast Club riff, featuring inner monologues by all the Cul-de-Sac Crew, in this blurb about “The Criminal Mind.” But we think you’re crazy to make us write something about what we think happens in it. You see TV episode summaries as you want to see them, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what've we found out is that each one of us is hang-out sitcom... and a reality show competition... and a pop-culture parody... and a family drama... and a gritty cable serial. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, What to Watch Tuesday. *Pumps fist*

LATE-NITE:
– From Atlanta, Paul Rudd and Von Grey on Conan, 11pm, TBS
– Busy Philipps on Chelsea Lately, 11pm, E!
– Historian Jonathan Sperber on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 11pm, Comedy Central
– Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey on The Colbert Report, 11:30pm, Comedy Central
– Blake Shelton and Jim Rome on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 11:35pm, NBC
– Regis Philbin and a performance by the Broadway cast of “Cinderella” on Late Show with David Letterman, 11:35pm, CBS
– Bill Maher, Giancarlo Esposito, and Cold War Kids on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 11:35pm, ABC
– Tracy Morgan, Andy Cohen, Deerhunter, and B.J. Thomas on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, 12:37am, NBC

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The power may be out on Revolution, but NBC hasn't turned the show's lights off just yet! Ryan King's wife may be dead on Go On, but his show is still kickin'! And The New Normal may feature one of television's worst new characters and exist mainly as a vessel for creator Ryan Murphy's personal views, but... it got picked up for a full season!

NBC, the network that started its 2012-2013 TV season early by premiering some of its new shows in August, made the first decisions regarding the fates of its freshman today by handing out full-season orders to three fast-starters: Revolution, Go On, and The New Normal. That means all three series will add nine episodes to their original 13-episode orders for a total of 22 episodes each.

Revolution, despite some pretty crummy reviews from yours truly, is a ratings hit in its timeslot behind The Voice, averaging a 3.6 rating in the adult demo and 9.8 million viewers. Go On is almost as beefy, with a 3.2 rating average and 8.6 million viewers per week. More confusing is the pickup of The New Normal, which is pulling in an average rating of 2.2 and 6 million viewers. Those aren't horrible numbers, but are they early pickup numbers? Nope. Look, I don't want to spread rumors, but I'm going to: That's the power of Ryan Murphy, who NBC probably doesn't want to upset in the name of keeping its options open for the future.

I'm guessing Revolution will start to fall dramatically in the ratings pretty quickly as the internet chatter has turned to groans, but the early numbers are no surprise for a mysterious genre show. Go On has exceeded my expectations in both ratings and quality, so I'm all for that. But The New Normal? What I've seen needs a lot of work.

Let's hear your thoughts on these pickups! What do you like? What do you hate?

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The New Normal S01E01 & S01E02: "Pilot" & "Sofa's Choice"

Credit where credit's due: Perhaps no current TV producer has found so much mainstream success by pursuing offbeat or fringe-appeal subject matter as Ryan Murphy. Starting with his perhaps too-clever-for-The WB teen show Popular and continuing with the disturbing psychosexual dramedy Nip/Tuck, the horror melodrama American Horror Story, and the primetime musical (!) after-school special Glee, few can argue that Murphy makes safe creative decisions. Regardless of how you feel about those shows (or, more pressingly, whether those shows actually remain good beyond their first seasons), Murphy deserves our respect for bringing something new to the table with each new project. That trend continues with The New Normal, his single-camera sitcom created with Ali Adler for NBC's rebooted comedy lineup. On paper, a show about two gay men who hire a surrogate to carry their baby simply could not have been greenlit on a major network before 2012 and probably by no producer with less clout than Murphy. But while The New Normal is certainly a watershed moment in television history, it also bears some unmistakable—and unfortunate—Murphy trademarks. Namely, it not only sings to the choir, it frequently makes us cringe.

At one point in the pilot, our heroine surrogate Goldie asks the two fathers-to-be Bryan and David (the fantastic Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha) if they'd like to be present when she gets inseminated. Bryan responds matter-of-factly that no, he'd rather not, since to him women's genitalia looks like "tarantula faces." Taken out of context, that's an awful-yet-hilarious thing to say to a woman, but in the context of The New Normal, we're supposed to like Bryan, not write him off as a woman-fearing cliché of a gay man. This, after at least three jokes in which Bryan objectifies an infant as simply an accessory and openly wishes for a child that is "blonde, skinny, and doesn't cry." Again, perfectly funny jokes for an unlikable buffoon in a Christopher Guest film, but this show asks us to be on Bryan's side, and more importantly, to sympathize with the plight of childless gay couples. It's an uncomfortable fit, particularly for a gay viewer like me who desires nothing more than for gay people to be featured in lead roles where their gayness is not (1) their defining personality trait, or (2) a tired cliché. So yeah, I'm in the choir, Ryan Murphy, but these portrayals of gay men are making me consider resigning.

After premiering the pilot online and then running it after The Voice on Monday, last night NBC debuted The New Normal's second episode, "Sofa's Choice," in the show's official timeslot of Tuesday at 9:30pm, billing it as the series' official premiere. We at TV.com love to talk about the differences between first and second episodes, since second episodes usually feature the new, permanent sets the show will be filming on, as well as a more locked-down cast and sensibility. In many ways, the second episode is the real indicator of a show's quality or longevity, so I'm pleased to say the second episode of The New Normal showed a marked improvement. Most of the things that bugged me in the pilot were improved upon in the second episode: Both Bryan and David got fleshed out; Goldie made more sense as a character; Goldie's wise-beyond-her-years daughter was made more weird-beyond-her years (via her truly funny obsession with Grey Gardens); and even Bryan sort of toned down his jokes that might make us doubt his ability to be a good father. It was a start.

Unfortunately, even with those improvements, some serious red flags remain. In particular Ellen Barkin's increasingly tiresome Nana character, who in the pilot could have gone either way, but is now officially one of TV's worst new characters. It's not even that she's a poor man's rip-off of Arrested Development's Lucille Bluth (down to the stolen joke about gay people doing her hair), it's that her hateful one-liners are so unfunny and uninspired, it makes Goldie less likable just for even putting up with her. (Seriously, lots of people have cut ties with family members for less hateful behavior.) I understand that Nana's a villain, but I guess it just rings false that she'd put her hate so front-and-center in every conversation she has. Women like this should be fakey, scheming, and manipulative—not loud, racist blowhards. If Nana isn't toned down soon, this show could become unwatchable quickly. Same goes for NeNe Leakes' Rocky character, who initially served as a charming counterpoint to Bryan's finicky ways, but in the second episode couldn't articulate a punchline to save her life. At one point Nana barged in on Rocky while she was on the toilet (this show does love its potty humor) and questioned whether the bathroom shouldn't be whites-only. Or something? I didn't even get it! What California resident in 2012 openly makes pre-segregation insults? And rather than fly into the righteous rage we as viewers thirsted for, Rocky just sort of muttered something and the scene was over. Ugh. Pointless.

Don't get me wrong, The New Normal has all the ingredients for a classic comedy series: An insanely talented cast, rewardingly clever dialogue, attempts at emotional depth, and especially a bravery in how it addresses certain political topics at a time when public opinion about them is still being formed. This could very well prove to be a television show—like All in the Family before it—that television historians will look back on as era-defining. That is, if it doesn't implode from lack of ideas. I'm not sure if the gestation and birth of a single baby is enough to hinge many seasons of a show on, and it's worrisome that BOTH of the first two episodes dealt with whether Goldie was even pregnant. (Spoiler: She is.) But as long as the characters continue to evolve into believable people (witty, intelligent, hilarious believable people), The New Normal's prospects look pretty good. I may currently be eying the exit, but for now, I suppose, my robes stay on.

What did YOU think of The New Normal's first two episodes?

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What to watch on Tuesday, September 11...

It's a big night for NBC what with all these premieres and all. You know what this means, right? Fall premiere season HAS OFFICIALLY ARRIVED! Leave it to NBC to try to get the head-start. Let's take a look at what's on TV tonight:

8pm, Fox
So You Think You Can Dance
It's the final four, ya'll! And now that the competition is extra fierce, it's time to start analyzing these contestants with hawk-eyes, trying to figure out who's going to buckle under the pressure first. Which dynamic dance team has your vote locked down?

SERIES PREMIERE, 9pm, NBC
The New Normal
Are you ready for some controversy!? YEAH! Though not actually that controversial depending on where you reside, NBC's new sitcom has been raising eyebrows for its subject matter: a wonderfully loving gay couple looking to expand their family. When they finally find the perfect surrogate, Goldie, who recently uprooted her eight year-old daughter to Los Angeles after a failed career and marriage in the Midwest, they are unwillingly subjected to Goldie's extraordinarily close-minded grandmother. Bring on the stereotypes!

9pm, USA
White Collar
In "Gloves Off" Neal goes undercover as a Wall Street stock trader, which means he gets to go on the floor hollering and throwing hand signals all willy-nilly-like. Sounds like fun, Neal! Alright so it's a little more complicated: Peter and Neal aren't after Wall Street execs, per se... they're really after an underground fight club where traders fight for insider information.

SEASON PREMIERE, 10pm, NBC
Parenthood
It's baaack! In "Family Portrait" the family gets together to pose for a family photo before Haddie runs off to college. Of course that just leads into a whole boatload of family drama: Kristina, Adam, and Max have a hard time adjusting to Haddie being gone, Crosby and Jasmine argue over what kind of spiritual beliefs they want to raise Jabbar with, Julia and Joel have a hard time dealing with their new son's behavior, and Sarah tries to prove her worth to a photographer while Amber tries out a new job at the Luncheonette—man, how many storylines can one show handle??

SEASON PREMIERE, 10pm, FX
Sons of Anarchy
Are you ready for a fifth season of roaring engines and badass leather jackets? I am! In tonight's season premiere, "Sovereign," Jax takes hold of SAMCRO, but a series of (unfortunate) events start to rear up in Charming, causing the town to unravel at a rapid pace. So much drama already!

PLUS ALL NEW EPISODES OF...
High School Moms, 8 p.m., TLC
So You Think You Can Dance, TOP 4 PERFORM, 8 p.m., Fox
The Voice, 9 p.m., NBC
19 Kids and Counting, 9 p.m., TLC
Dance Moms, SEASON FINALE, 9 p.m., Lifetime
Face Off, 9 p.m., Syfy
Flipping Out, 9 p.m., Bravo
Go On, OFFICIAL SERIES PREMIERE, 9 p.m., NBC
Hard Time, 9 p.m., NatGeo
Mysteries at the Museum, 9 p.m., Travel
Property Virgins, 9 p.m., HGTV
White Collar, 9 p.m., USA
The New Normal, SERIES PREMIERE, 9 p.m., NBC
Abby & Brittany, 10 p.m., TLC
Addicted, 10 p.m., Discovery Fitness & Health
All the Right Moves, 10 p.m., Oxygen
Chopped, 10 p.m., Food Network
Covert Affairs, 10 p.m., USA
Criminal Defense, SEASON PREMIERE, 10 p.m., NatGeo
Gangsters: America's Most Evil, 10 p.m., Bio
Parenthood, SEASON PREMIERE, 10 p.m., NBC
Shipping Wars, 10 p.m., A&E;
Twisted, SEASON PREMIERE, 10 p.m., Investigation Discovery
Teen Mom, REUNION, 10 p.m., MTV
The Week the Women Went, SEASON FINALE, 10 p.m., Lifetime
Collection Intervention, 10:30 p.m., Syfy
House Hunters International, 10:30 p.m., HGTV
The Burn With Jeff Ross, 10:30 p.m., Comedy Central

LATE-NITE PICKS:
Phil McGraw and Dakota Johnson on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 12 a.m., ABC

What are you watching tonight?

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Friends, we've screened the pilot of The New Normal, Ryan Murphy's equal-measures edgy and saccharine sitcom about gay aspiring dads and their quirky surrogate. But is it worth your time? Here are some first impressions that might help you decide.

The New Normal is a single-camera sitcom premiering on NBC this week. Its premise centers around David and Bryan, two young, handsome, and wealthy (!) gay men in Los Angeles who decide to start a family. They cross paths with Goldie, a down-on-her-luck single mom fresh out of a bad relationship and headed toward financial destitution. Her decision to earn money for law school by carrying David and Bryan's baby (the egg was provided by a separate donor) would seem to benefit all parties, but Goldie's conservative, gun-toting, racist nana would love nothing more than to thwart their plans.

The full pilot is available online and embedded below; it will also air Monday, September 10 at 10pm on NBC after the Season 3 premiere of The Voice. The series officially debuts in its regular timeslot on Tuesday, September 11 at 9:30pm with Episode 2.

The truly talented cast includes Justin Bartha (The Hangover) and Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon, Girls) as the main couple; Scottish ingenue Georgia King as Goldie; living legend Ellen Barkin as Nana; and NeNe Leakes (Glee, The Real Housewives of Atlanta) rounds out the ensemble as Bryan's assistant, Rocky. Other notable faces in the pilot include Michael Hitchcock (Best in Show) and a surprise guest-star as the egg donor (a Ryan Murphy regular).

It's impossible to discuss The New Normal without immediately mentioning that it's the new show from our generation's Aaron Spelling, Ryan Murphy. It's his first single-camera sitcom, but like most of his recent oeuvre, he works in collaboration with another partner, in this case Allison Adler whose previous credits include Glee and Chuck.

Good question! Seriously, this show will infuriate almost everyone, from people who are sympathetic to gay parenthood to, especially, people with an aversion to the subject. That being said, the snappy humor and appealing cast count for a lot, so depending on your mood you may be surprised at how enjoyable many of the pilot's absurdities are. (A visual joke involving a Barbie-branded Power Wheels made me laugh out loud.)

The cast, the rapidfire humor, and some genuinely affecting emotional moments. (There are definitely some maddeningly contrived emotional moments, too.) And while many of the characters are broad caricatures in the pilot (in particular, Barkin's Nana who recalls a sort of poor man's Lucille Bluth), the show has great potential to improve once they all become more nuanced human beings. Also, you know, there's the whole message behind the show, which is theoretically laudable. If only it didn't borderline negate that message every few minutes...

Honestly, some of the racist jokes Nana makes—while admirably non-P.C.—weren't clever enough to justify stinking up the script with that kind of negativity. And, this may just be a personal reaction, but as a gay viewer I definitely didn't appreciate the portrayal of the primary couple, whose behavior and decisions somehow managed to be stereotypical, unrealistic, and basically offensive all at the same time. For example, Bryan repeatedly compares his future baby to a fashion accessory? Are these jokes really so funny that they're worth destroying my sympathy for his character over? And don't get me started on the wise-beyond-her-years child character. CUT IT OUT, TV WRITERS.

If you know the premise and you've seen the ads and the show looks appealing to you, then you may enjoy it. But if you have any suspicion that you won't, trust your gut.

How does an entire episode sound?

Maybe one of those cheap, sweet wines you might find in a gas station convenience store. You know, something that seemed like a good idea at the time.

The New Normal officially debuts Tuesday, September 11 at 9:30pm (with a "sneak preview" on Monday, September 10 at 10pm after the premiere of The Voice) on NBC.

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All hail the immediacy of technology! Following in the footsteps of Fox, which recently released its two new fall comedy pilots online ahead of the shows' scheduled premiere dates, NBC has posted new Ryan Murphy comedy The New Normal online for all the (U.S.-based) internet to see. The network undoubtedly hopes to generate as much web-buzz as robotically possible before the series makes its official debut two weeks from now—on Tuesday, September 11 at 9:30pm, to be exact.

The New Normal stars Andrew Rannells (Girls) and Justin Bartha (The Hangover) as Bryan and David, a gay couple who are happily living out their lives in Los Angeles in a successful, committed relationship. On the surface, they have it all. Under the surface, however, they feel a void where a baby could be. So they enlist a young, newly single mother—Goldie—to be their surrogate baby mama. But with a checkered past that's riddled by a dead-end waitressing career and an overbearing single-minded grandmother (Ellen Barkin), is Goldie really up for the task?

Sure, it might sound like it's just a zany comedy out to more-or-less exploit what it means to be a gay couple trying to build a family. And sure, it might seem weird that the cast for some reason includes Real Housewives Atlanta reality star NeNe Leakes. But considering the forces behind the show—Murphy (Glee, Chuck) is working with Ali Adler (Glee, American Horror Story) and executive producer Dante Di Loreto (Glee, American Horror Story)—it might just be worth checking those expectations at the door and watching the pilot for yourself.

I'll even make it easy for you: You don't have to GO anywhere! Watch it right here, right now, via the embed below. (You can also watch it at NBC.com, I guess, if you want.)

So, what did you think? Will you be tuning in for the whole season, for a few more episodes, or not at all?

The New Normal airs Thursday nights at 9:30pm starting September 11 on NBC.

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