Tank Top Tuesday: Fall TV Edition

So fall TV is well under way so it’s time to take stock in how the new and returning shows are doing. Or, more accurately, it’s time to take stock of how the new and returning shows whose stars I could find pictures of in tank tops are doing. What? Just being honest. As always, I tend to gravitate toward the shows with strong and interesting female characters – lead characters preferably. And luckily there’s a good selection of shows to choose form this season. Oh, sorry, I was talking about the tank tops again. Shall we?

Lucy Liu, “Elementary”

Remember when I said Lucy is a painter? I wasn’t kidding. Also, I think I enjoy this show more than “Sherlock.” There, I said it.

Aubrey Plaza, “Parks & Recreation”

I’m so sad beautiful tropical fish Ann is moving to Bloomington. At least April is staying.

Chloe Bennet, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Beside Ming-Na Wen’s Agent Melinda May, Chloe’s hacktivist Skye has the most potential on the show. She’s no Buffy or Willow. And definitely no Faith. But, who knows, maybe she’ll grow on me.

Lyndie Greenwood, “Sleepy Hollow”

This has been the surprise of the season for me so far. It manages to be both funny and scary, and has a strong woman of color as co-lead. The only way this show could be more awesome is if the lead’s sister, played by Lyndie Greenwood, was also a series regular. Alas she is a guest star. Which makes me worry about the future status of her head. A lot.

A.J. Cook,” Criminal Minds”

I miss Prentiss. But thank heavens we still have JJ. Sweaty, sweaty, hot JJ.

Demi Lovato & Naya Rivera, “Glee”

I have mixed feelings about Dantana. But I sure didn’t like the weird Brittany bi-bashing that helped usher them in.

Malin Akerman, “Trophy Wife”

Alas, I haven’t watched past the pilot yet. Please don’t tell Sarah Haskins.

Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”

I’m pretty excited for Cam and Mitchell’s wedding, but mostly because it hopefully means a lot more of Lily. She’s basically the best.

Lizzy Caplan, “Masters of Sex”

I’ve loved Lizzy since she made us all have a big lesbian crush on her in “Mean Girls.” I’m a little less sure how I feel about this new HBO series. The lesbian prostitute is my favorite so far.

EDIT: Goodness. Apologies for the wonkiness with this post. Looks like an old rewrite posted somehow. A copy editor, a copy editor, my kingdom for a copy editor.

Target: Trophy Women

Hey, remember Sarah Haskins? Funny lady saying smart things about how women’s representation in the media in funny ways? I called her My Fake Internet Girlfriend? You can find posts here, here and, well, just click the “Sarah Haskins” tag. (Sadly Current TV no longer supports its own old embed – boo, you suck – so I’ve embedded working prime example below. With bonus cameo by Leisha Hailey.)



Well, she left Current and stopped doing her Target Women segments back in 2010. And since then you really haven’t heard much from her. I garnered from following her on The Tweeter Machine that she got married and had a kid. And earlier this month, while again reading The Tweets, this time from the Television Critics Association press tour I read that she had created a new TV series coming to ABC this fall. It’s called “Trophy Wife.” I know, we all hate the title already. At the TCA’s last week, the show’s producers said the title was meant to be “ironic.” But see how well that worked out for Alanis Morissette? Also, the concept is also a little meh. A woman marries a man 20 years her senior who already has two ex-wives and assorted children from his previous marriages and hijinks ensues. If Sarah Haskin’s name wasn’t attached to it, I’d skip it and rewatch “The Fosters” instead for some blended family kickassery.

But Sarah does have her name attached to it, and it is actually based loosely on her real life. She moved to LA, met Blake Edward’s son (who is also 20 years her senior and the stepson of Julie Andrews), got married and had a kid. But this is Sarah. She has skewered everything from Botox, rom-coms and that yogurt that makes you poop. So surely she’ll be able to bring a feminist twist to the May-December cliché of being the so-called trophy wife, right?

Having seen the pilot, I can say it has promise. It’s not great, not by a long shot. At least not yet. It relies on an irritating voiceover technique from its heroine, played by Malin Akerman. But I do think there’s potential for a lot of wonderful female performances and perspective from the all the wives – the exes are played by Marcia Gay Harden and Michaela Watkins.

So, guess what, I’m going to give a show called – gulp, grit my teeth – “Trophy Wife” a chance. Because Sarah has never been off target on women before. So let’s see how she does this time.



p.s. Though, I’ll be honest, the Asian stepson is by far my favorite character so far.