The New Girl in Town

I like getting those email alerts that Netflix has added a season of television to instant streaming. So far, it has yet to inform me of something I'm not interested in watching. A week or so ago, I got one that told me the first season of New Girl had been added, and I dutifully added it to the queue. And even with twenty-four episodes to plow through, I'm already done.

That's because New Girl is a quintessential Laundry Show. It's perfectly pleasant, often amusing, and even made me laugh out loud half a dozen times or so. The cast is competent. The storylines are zany, but not totally ungrounded in reality. In fact, I have no specific nitpicks or complaints that I can tease out to explore how this show could get better. By the same token, there's nothing really outstanding about it, either. There aren't any individual episodes I can name as particularly engaging or hilarious. There were stretches where I could feel my attention drifting. I watched several episodes in a row, but if I had to leave the room for something, I didn't bother to pause it.

Not every show can be outstanding, of course. There are plenty of shows that I enjoy on a milder level than the ones I consider highlights. If and when the second season of New Girl gets added to the stream, I'll definitely be watching. I'll just be paying my gas bill and writing out my grocery list, too.

New Girl - Season 1: B-