Oh Ryan Murphy. We feel like we simply can't get enough of you. Can't you make a second episode of Glee each week? No?!? Okay, fine, we'll take your totally new comedy series instead: The New Normal. But only because it looks so damn hilarious, heartwarming, and undeniably cute.
The New Normal is about a gay couple, David and Bryan, who want to have a baby. And it's about single mom Goldie, who agrees to be their surrogate mother. And it's about how these three people, plus Goldie's young daughter Shania and grandmother Nana -- I mean, Jane (Ellen Barkin) -- all come together to form one big, mostly happy family. NeNe Leakes is thrown into the family, too, as Bryan's assistant.
Yep, Ryan Murphy just wants us to accept same-sex couples as the "new normal." And he's deploying what he does best: The charm offensive. Just going by the pilot, I'd say resistance is futile.
The pilot episode airs tonight on NBC at 10:00 E.T. following The Voice, but you can also watch the pilot online. Then the series airs with a totally new episode at its regular time and day, Tuesday night at 9:30 E.T. So this week you get to watch TWO episodes of The New Normal.
And having just seen the pilot, I'm already addicted. It's fast-paced and witty, gooey-sweet with the right touch of snark (especially thanks to Ellen Barkin's intolerant character). And it's not just about making these two handsome, well-off men's dream come true. It's also about the surrogate mother, Goldie's dreams. You'll have to watch to see what this new family arrangement means to her.
I watched the pilot with my 8-year-old son, which, by the way, don't. Not because of the gay content but because there's a hetero sex scene early in featuring some heaving lingerie-clad bosoms. But anyway, as I tried to see the rest of the pilot through my son's eyes, one major insight struck me: From his perspective, there might not be anything "new" about this "normal."
In my son's totally bohemian Brooklyn life, having two dads is kind of a non-issue. I think he was confused over why some adults in the show had such a big problem with it. (We just saw the movie Paranorman, which includes SPOILER ALERT a hunky, desirable teenage boy character who, surprise! turns out to be gay in the most whatever dude way imaginable.)
But back to the grownups and The New Normal, I look forward to the day when there's nothing "new" about a family that looks like this. (With Modern Family we're on our way.) As Goldie says, a family is a family, and love is love.
Do you think The New Normal will make waves or are we totally ready for this show already?
Image via NBC
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Comments 12
I can't wait to see it. And i really like your son's attitude. I still can't believe we're ina world where it's not considered normal....
It looks really cute...but truthfully I cannot stand NeNe Leakes! I'll have to DVR it so I can fast forward through her scenes!
I hate the way we water down words to make other people feel better. "Normal" has an actual definition. For our species, that procreate using a male and a female, being gay is not normal. It's abnormal. It may be NATURAL, but for how we physically work, being gay is outside the norm.
Because of that, gay marriage is also not normal. In our society, "normal" is male and female.
Abnormal is not bad. It's just different. Natural and abnormal is also not bad. But stop lying to yourselves. If you're a man or boy who wants to dress like a woman, you're abnormal. If you're a woman who wants to marry another woman, you're abnormal.
And no matter how much the left wants it to be, our species does not have a "new normal", nor does our society. Stop shoving that falsehood down people's throats, and be truthful for a change.
Caera - you are right there is an actual definition of normal
nor•mal conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal;regular; natural.
This definition suggests that normal can change. And I believe the show is dealing with what is in fact a "normal" family now? It most certainly is not a husband and wife with 2.5 kids living in the burbs. A 50% divorce rate in this country ensures that normal may be a split family or a gay family or a biracial family or I guess what I'm trying to say is that there really isn't a normal family anymore.
I can't wait to see this!
LoveMyViolet - It will never a "normal" family, because "normal" still implies majority. The standard male/female partnership will remain the majority of households, regardless of divorce rate. Most children will not be conceived by a surrogate for a same-sex couple.
Also, the normality of both a man and woman being needed to create a child isn't going to change either.