My Boys

When I first saw the ads for My Boys last year on TBS, I was skeptical. Sure, Jordana Spiro is cute, but a girl just being friends with guys? I was convinced the character of P.J. was going to be one of those annoying girls who hang out with guys because they're secretly pining for one of their friends. Or all of their friends. Thankfully, she's not.

So then how does this work as a romantic comedy, the next coming of "Sex and the City," as it's been touted? Well, it doesn't. Nothing is going to be the next Sex and the City. And My Boys isn't laugh-out-loud funny all the time, and it hasn't been playing up the romance aspect as much as it could either. P.J. "hooks up" (the vagueness of the term "hooking up" is later used for a joke,) with a friend of a friend, Bobby, in the first episode, who quickly becomes part of the titular group of boys. But the relationship fizzles quickly, and is barely mentioned in the later episodes, despite the fact that the two are both sportswriters for rival publications and see each other for work frequently. The lack of continuity in regards to romantic feelings and/or sexual tension is one of the things that keeps the show from living up to the hype surrounding it.

Despite the lack of romantic interactions, the cast has amazing chemistry with one another. I find the interactions between P.J. and the poker game guys to be hilarious and realistic. It's very close to how I interact with my guy friends, and the cliches work because they are true. I especially love the interactions between Mike and Kenny- their best friend antics (pulling each other aside in the middle of a date for a conference is one noteworthy example) are realistic, but still humorous.

The series picks up steam towards the last couple of episodes when we get to see more of the poker groups' lives outside of the core group. Meeting the friends and family of the core group exposes new faucets of the characters that make me want to continue learning about them. For example, why do Stephanie and Kenny totally hate each other? It's one of the funniest recurring jokes on the show, and I hope they explore the chemistry between the two actors further.

The show has been picked up for an additional nine episodes, which should air this summer. It will be interesting to see if the rest of the first season can live up to the hype. I think it's a good show with a lot of promise. I just hope it doesn't get hindered by the press surrounding it, since that was one of the things initially off-putting to me about the show (as you can see from the first half of this review.)

If you're curious, you can watch the episodes at TBS.com or on the endless repeats on TBS.

Image from imdb.com