After a slew of hit and miss shows from the CW for the new season, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Life Unexpected. I received the pilot back in September, and was floored. There was no release date at the time, so I decided to wait to share the greatness. It is one of the best shows/pilots I have seen in a long time. You can absolutely tell is a well-thought out, passion project. It reminded me of Gilmore Girls. It is quirky, sweet, funny at times, but most of all, it just has a lot of heart.
The show centers around Lux (Britt Robertson) who has decided to emancipate herself from foster care at 16. This process leads her to her biological father Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kris Polaha from Mad Men) and her biological mother Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby from ER and Roswell). Baze owns a bar and lives above it, and is stuck almost in a state of arrested development–friends with a bunch of frat boys and waking up every day at noon. Cate is a local radio star of a show called “Morning Madness” (which Lux listens to every morning) with her partner and off-air boyfriend Ryan Thomas (Kerr Smith aka Jack from Dawson’s Creek). Through unforseen legal decisions (a judge grants Cate and Baze joint custody), their world becomes interconnected, and Lux ends up with the parents she never knew she had.
Liz Tigelaar (Brothers and Sisters, What About Brian and Dawson’s Creek) created Life Unexpected, and has put many parts of herself into this project. The show reminds me of old school WB, and I mean that in the best way possible. We need more heartfelt dramas out there, and I’m so excited for this one.
Life Unexpected premieres January 18th at 9 pm on the CW. Clearly, this is a show that is not to be missed! I will have much more coverage as the premiere approaches including interviews with Shiri Appleby, Kris Polaha, Britt Robertson and Liz Tigelaar, as well as reviews of the next couple episodes. In addition, on January 11th, the CW will be releasing the first 10 minutes of the pilot online (on their site as well as the Facebook fan page) for viewers to get a taste of this wonderful show.
But for now, check out this extended preview: Vodpod videos no longer available.
The TV Chick 