Archive for the 'TV Projects' Category

I really, really didn’t expect to like Apartment 23. I’m not a big fan of sitcoms in general, and I really had my sights set on 2 Broke Girls. Me liking that show? Totally not to be, but 23 is totally not for me (and I promise I will not rhyme again in this entire post). It has quirk (but not too much), a perfectly cast pair of female leads … and James Van Der Beek playing himself (the same way Neil Patrick Harris played himself in the White Castle movies). Unfortunately, Apartment 23 was somehow tossed on the midseason replacement pile, right alongside NBC’s Smash and ABC’s Scandal, two of my other favorite new shows.

Dreama Walker (The Good Wife, Gossip Girl) plays June, a small town girl fresh off the boat, who comes to New York City to live the American Dream. Incredibly nice … and naive … but whip smart, and learns the hard lessons quick. When her fancy job and corporate apartment go down the drains, she’s forced to find other living options quick. At first glance, Krysten Ritter‘s (Gravity, Veronica Mars) Chloe seems like the perfect roommate; she is, however, very far from perfect. She lies, cheats, steals, cons, seduces, and manipulates her way through life … But in the Barney Stinson mold, not in the “that guy from Lonestar” mold.

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It feels like both Walker and Ritter have been playing these roles for years; they inhabit the characters masterfully. I’m also a big fan of the way this show is funny; there are nearly as many blink-and-you’ll-miss-it subtle site gags as there are overt set pieces (The neighbor spilling his coffee was right there on the line of over the top, but toed that particular line perfectly).

Read the full review at the source

News surrounding Dreama are currently scarce and it will probably stay that way until filming for Apartment 23 begins in a short while. Dreama has wrapped filming for The Kitchen a few days ago and will most likely start filming Gay Dude before she continues with Apt. 23.

For now here is another impression from someone who watched the Apartment 23 pilot.

APARTMENT 23

What Is It? A sitcom about a naïve woman who comes to New York determined to find success with her “life plan,” only to immediately be fired and end up with the roommate from hell (Krysten Ritter), with whom she eventually forges a very wary relationship.

When Is It On? TBD: late-fall or mid-season.

Should You Watch It? Yes. It doesn’t all work, but the two leads (Ritter and Gossip Girl’s Dreama Walker) are terrific, and the premise of a War of the Roses-like roommate situation is definitely something new. Plus, James Van Der Beek is surprisingly funny playing himself as the horrible roommate’s “gay BFF except straight,” a former TV heartthrob who uses Dawson’s flannel shirt to bed women.

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Someone asked James van der Beek when Apartment 23 will premiere on ABC and he replied that it will air January 3rd 2012. It’s still a looong time away but hopefully more news will start cropping up about the show soon!

@vanderjames
“Apt. 23″ premieres January 3rd, 9:30pm on ABC #apt23 RT @tearslikerayn26 So, when is that new show of yours premiering again? #impatient

Apartment 23

ABC is pimping this as a hilarious all female contemporary version of The Odd Couple. STRIKE ONE. Not that I don’t like The Odd Couple but when you have to use a former show to promote a newer show – those things don’t usually work out. The storyline follows June (Dreama Walker​) from the Midwest to New York, which is actually a staple storyline that isn’t burnt out. BALL ONE. After a shitty, shitty time she finds a roommate in Chloe (Krysten Ritter​) whose BFF happens to be James Van Der Beek. BALL TWO.I don’t know why, but Van Der Beek has climbed the ladder of ridiculous former celebrities who probably shouldn’t have a career anymore, but make money just popping up as themselves. At first, Chloe is a huge bitch and her and June have it out. Chloe steals all of June’s money, June sells all of Chloe’s furniture, Chloe has sex with June’s fiancée on June’s birthday cake – you know, the usual. BALL THREE. Eventually Chloe accepts June into her inner circle and they two take on New York. This really could go either way. I can see this going on for a few years or tanking after four episodes. It’s easy to write a couple of funny episodes, but where do you go when you have to write the meat and potatoes of the series? Ritter has an odd charisma that makes me want to do bad things to her, so I’m going to let this one fly. There’s more good here than bad. BALL FOUR! BATTER, TAKE YOUR BASE!

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TV.com has released their first impressions of Apartment 23. Read it below.

The Show: Apartment 23 on ABC; the series is still searching for a home on the network’s schedule.

The Cast: Dreama Walker, Krysten Ritter, Eric Andre, James Van Der Beek, Michael Blaiklock.

ABC’s official logline: “After a naïve Midwestern girl’s big city dreams are dashed her first week in New York, she finds herself living with her worst nightmare in this hilarious, contemporary comedy about a female odd couple who are surrounded by an outrageous cast of characters.”

Early Intel: The series was originally set up at Fox with the much better name of Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23. But then ABC took over and sanitized/shortened the show’s title to plain ‘ol Apartment 23. Executive producer and creator Nahnatchka Khan previously worked on American Dad!.

First Thoughts: Apartment 23 is simultaneously goofy and edgy, assaulting viewers with a flurry of sophomoric sight gags, bizarre cutaways, and pop-culture jokes. Khan’s past work with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is pretty obvious.

What the series has going for it: The comedy has its own appetizing look and feel, and no one is going to complain about it being slow. It also takes full advantage of the single-camera format, hopping from location to location like a hobo on speed. Van Der Beek plays a pretty funny-and-depressing version of himself, and Walker is fine as country girl June who moves into the urban jungle. But the real star here is Ritter, who plays the devilish Chloe with a refreshing cloud of convincing bitchiness. Look out for Eric Andre as the understated Mark; he’s great. And in case you were wondering, the show itself can be funny, too.

Read the whole article here

Show: “Apartment 23″ (ABC)
The Pitch: Nahnatchka Khan and Dave Hemingson’s script is fairly hard to describe, at least in terms of other things. Normally my notes are awash in logical pop culture comparisons. In this case, it’s a bit like “Friends” if Rachel and Monica were enemies, Joey was actually the successful former star of “Dawson’s Creek” and nobody else existed.
Quick Response: I like Dreama Walker. She was very funny in brief moments on “Gossip Girl” and her scenes with Alan Cumming on “The Good Wife” this season were spectacular. Here, she has a solid vehicle as a wide-eyed Midwestern girl who comes to NYC and falls prey to The Bitch in Apartment 23 (Krysten Ritter), who brings in new roommates, scares them off and collects their deposits. It’s an amusing conceit and the script is is a politically incorrect treat, full of well-constructed one-liners, insults and “Did they just say that?!?” toss-offs. I loved Walker and while I go back and forth of Krysten Ritter (mostly I’m not a fan, but she was so amazing on “Breaking Bad” that she’s no longer the turn-off she was before) she’s in one of her “good” modes here.

Read the full reaction at HitFix.com

Seven broadcast and one cable series made the cut in the Most Exciting New Series category at the inaugural Critics’ Choice Television Awards. The category, voted by broadcast journalists who have seen the pilots and any available episodes, recognizes shows premiering after June 1, 2011. Some of the most buzzed-about new series, including NBC’s Smash and Fox’s New Girl and Terra Nova, made the list, while others, including CBS’ Person of Interest and 2 Broke Girls and ABC’s Pan Am, didn’t. Here are the honorees (there will be no winner in the category, with all eight shows acknowledged at the awards show June 20):

Alcatraz – Fox – Warner Bros.
Apartment 23 – ABC – 20th Century Fox
Awake – NBC – 20th Century Fox
Falling Skies – TNT – DreamWorks
New Girl – Fox – 20th Century Fox
Ringer – CW – CBS Studios
Smash – NBC – DreamWorks/Universal Media
Terra Nova – Fox – 20th Century Fox

The nominees in the other categories, recognizing best programs and performances in Drama, Comedy, Reality and Talk Show, were announced Monday. The Critics’ Choice Television Awards luncheon, hosted by Cat Deeley, will be streamed live from the Beverly Hills Hotel on June 20 on VH1.com. It will be telecast on ReelzChannel premiering June 22.

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Thanks to my friend Roberta I’ve been able to replace 5 of the Apartment 23 episode stills with HQ versions. Enjoy!

The Insider shared a new clip of Apartment 23 on their website, along with the clip we’ve seen before. This one features Dreama and Krysten Ritter as June meets Chloe to talk about June becoming Chloe’s next roommate.

ABC has posted the official trailer for Apartment 23 on the Facebook page for the show here but the trailer has made its way on YouTube. It’s still very enjoyable and funny! I really cannot wait for the show.