Nowadays I very rarely watch any TV programme when it is actually shown. Sky Plus is my friend. Anyway, last night I was wondering what to watch and I remembered I had been recording a new American sitcom called The New Normal. It’s been hailed as the new Will & Grace, and is being shown on E4. I didn’t know any more than that. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting a lot as I just don’t find many US sitcoms that funny. Boy was I wrong. If you’ve never seen it, do yourself a favour and give it a try, and don’t be put off by the fact that the plot is all about a thirty-something gay couple who want to have a child, a pay a woman to have one for them. It’s not as yukky as it sounds, believe me.
The undoubted star of the show is Ellen Barkin, who plays the glamorous grandmother of Goldie, the woman who is the surrogate mother. She has the looks of Krystal Carrington twenty years on, and the mouth of Joan Rivers. She has some laugh out loud lines that literally have you in paroxysms. She is so politically incorrect that she makes Jim Davidson look PC. Indeed, I doubt many of her lines would be allowed in a BBC sitcom script.
The two gay guys, Brian and David, play their roles well. Bryan is a little stereotypical in that he’s very camp, but quite lovable, whereas David is the sensible, straight looking one. David has a very Jewish mother who doesn’t get on with Brian, and who also delivers some fantastic lines.
I ended up watching all five episodes one after the other. I lost count of the times it made me laugh out loud, and there aren’t many programmes that do that. Unfortunately the first two episodes are no longer available on 4OD, but do try the others. Click HERE. The next new episode is on Thursday on E4 at 9pm
Enjoy.
