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Tepid in Cleveland

Boob Tube

By Emley Kerry

How often does the channel TV Land come up in conversations about contemporary television?  The black-and-white home of Bewitched's nose wiggling, I Dream of Genie's head nodding, and I Love Lucy's wide eyed antics, TV Land has become synonymous with classic sitcoms, often featuring female protagonists. 

Recently, the station's execs decided to give their viewers a modern spin on what TV land has always done best, and as such, its newest sitcom is more adaptive than revolutionary, updating the classic model for the 21st century middle-aged audience.  In Hot in Cleveland, three affluent friends decide to pack up their lives and begin anew in Cleveland after their flight is grounded there. 

Probable?  Not at all, but how likely was it that Lucy got a job in a candy wrapping factory?  For the conventional sitcom model, it seems the conceit that begins the show is not as important as the comedy it creates.  So we find ourselves with three middle aged women--aging actress Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick), recently separated novelist Melanie Moretti (Valerie Bertinelli), and eye-brow stylist to the stars Joy Scroggs (Jane Leeves)--panicking when their plane to Paris must make an emergency landing, spouting out their dying regrets in a sort of 40-something catharsis, "all I cared about was being successful, and now we're going to die and I never got married or had children."  Not particularly funny, but definitely revealing as to what kind of show this will be, and for whom it is intended. 

 When the plane lands, the women are surprised to find that men in Cleveland, unlike the metrosexual bachelors in Los Angeles, find these ladies sophisticated, sexy, and appealing. This show is certainly not a feminist manifesto as the main characters seek to refine themselves through the eyes and approval of men, but it still gives a lesson in female self-fulfillment.

After meeting a hunky plumber in a bar, Melanie immediately decides to buy a house in Cleveland. The real estate; however, comes with a little surprise: Elka (Betty White), a feisty, pot-smoking, octogenarian caretaker who lives in the guest cottage on the premises. White's first line, a quip to the real estate agent leasing the house-"why are you renting to prostitutes"-sets the tone of her character for the rest of the episode and hopefully for many more to come.

Hot in Cleveland doesn't offer many surprises, but it should fit TV Land's bill perfectly. As long as Betty White stays in a guest role and the show remains just a little naughty (it did drop the word orgasm in the first episode), it should find a solid audience.  

Hot in Cleveland comes on TV Land Wednesdays at 9:00 pm.

Originally Published: June 23, 2010

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