I love giving new pilots a shot, and ABC has already (and quite wisely) released a couple of their new comedy offerings ahead of schedule to build some much-needed buzz. The first of these new creations is the Malin Akerman vehicle, Trophy Wife. But is it worthy of your time? Judging by the pilot, I’m not quite sure it’s anything special.
Akerman does a serviceable enough job in the role of Kate, a woman who marries a man with two imposing ex-wives and a slew of colorful kids. Akerman does okay with the material, but she’s simply not an actress I’d ever look forward to watching on a regular basis. She was amusing in the Heartbreak Kid, but watching her week-in-week-out is asking too much. She’s just nowhere near as charming as Mindy Kaling for example (see The Mindy Project).
The real standout here is not Akerman, but the incredibly talented Marcia Gay Harden. The woman completely owns the role of Dr. Buckley, one of Peter’s ex-wives. If anything, I’ll continue to watch the show just to see how this hilarious character handles dealing with Akerman’s kooky shenanigans.
As for the rest of the cast, the pilot establishes Kate’s new family fairly quickly, but I don’t think any of them are as immediately endearing as the writers would have liked. There’s the requisite rebellious brat and so forth, but only Michaela Watkins really stands out as an organic/yoga/nature-freak Jackie (another one of Pete’s ex-wives).
Conclusion
It’s got some charm, but Trophy Wife is going to have to work a hell of a lot harder to keep me invested with the host of amazing comedies already on the air.
Nad Rating
C+