The New Normal (NBC) - Series Premiere: Synopsis and Review

‘The New Normal’ is a new comedy TV show on NBC. The series is set to premiere on September 11th in the 9:30/8:30c timeslot, but NBC released the pilot episode on its website and on Hulu online as a preview prior to the official premiere. The show is created by Ryan Murphy (‘Glee’) and Ali Adler (‘Glee’).

‘The New Normal’ is about a gay couple, Bryan (Andrew Rannells, ‘Girls’) and David (Justin Bartha, ‘The Hangover’ movies) who want to start a family by having a baby. Goldie (Georgia King, ‘One Day’) is a single mother who decides to become Bryan and David’s surrogate.

Goldie is unhappy with her life, she stopped dreaming because none of her dreams came true. On top of all that she catches her boyfriend, the father of her child, cheating on her in her own house. While her grandmother, Jane (Ellen Barkin, ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’) is having a stern conversation with the boyfriend, Goldie steals Jane’s car and heads with her daughter Shania (Bebe Wood, ‘Veep’) to the coast.

Goldie desperately needs money and she doesn’t want to fall back on her grandmother, who’s always criticising everything she does. In fact, Jane criticises just about everything anyone does. So far she’s gone off on homosexuals and black people, and something tells me there is more where that came from. In an attempt to earn some money, Goldie decides to become a surrogate mother. This is where Bryan en David become involved.

Bryan and David get in contact with Goldie via a company called ‘Extended Families’, which brings people who want a baby in contact with surrogates. A little while later Goldie, Shania, David and Bryan are at the clinic to implant the cell in Goldie’s womb. Jane unexpectedly turns up and makes a scene in the clinic, telling Goldie she shouldn’t proceed. Goldie however has already made up her mind and wants to help Bryan and David.

Two days after the procedure, Goldie and her daughter come to Bryan en David’s house to do a pregnancy test. While they wait for the results, Bryan en David have a gift for Goldie. They bought her a suit, which she can wear when she’s a lawyer. It was Goldie’s dream to become a lawyer and with the money she will earn she can afford to take classes. Happy with this amazing gift Goldie looks at the pregnancy test results, but before she reveals the results the episode ends.

‘The New Normal’ addresses topics like teen pregnancy, racism and homosexuality. Topics which still cause a lot of controversy in our modern day society. The series shows both sides of the story, we see it from the gay perspective, but also from the perspective of people who think being gay is abnormal. Being able to show both perspectives without judging them is vital for a good show.

Even though I don’t think this is a great show just yet, the show can improve simply by giving more depth to the characters, who currently are quite cliche. Lately, shows that feature a gay couple have been attracting many viewers. If ‘The New Normal’ improves and thus keeps being entertaining to watch, viewers will hang around and the show will likely get picked up.