Hey everyone, Shaun is back!  His inauguration celebration hangover has just worn off and he’s ready for another year of looking at television with me. This week we review a new comedy/drama on TNT, Trust Me. It premieres tonight at 10 PM/9C.
Trust Me is about ad people in the 21st century, and before any of you cry “Mad Men ripoff,” let me assure you that Trust Me couldn’t be farther from Mad Men in terms of tone, look and approach. Hey, if there can be umpteen shows about doctors, lawyers or cops, we can certainly put up with another show about an advertising agency. Trust Me is the type of light drama that TNT excels at. With good reason, the creators this show, Hunt Baldwin and John Coveney are both veterans of The Closer, TNT’s sensation that is the highest rated original series on basic cable.
I had reservations going into Trust Me because anytime you put together a cast of actors who’ve had success on other shows, it can spell disaster. Moreover, I wondered if Eric McCormack would shed his “Will” mannerisms from his days on Will and Grace. I had more faith in Tom Cavanaugh (Ed of Ed) because he’s done other, darker roles since that show was canceled, but McCormack’s role as “Will” lives on in syndication.
In the first episode, we learn that McCormack’s character, Mason, and Cavanaugh’s Connor have been an ad team for years (Mason is the artist, Connor the writer). By the end of the first act, Mason is promoted above his old friend. While Mason learns to cultivate his inner shark, he also has to deal with how this promotion will affect his partnership with Connor. At the same time, a new writer arrives at the agency and she brings with her a slew of awards and plenty of attitude. This character is played by Monica Potter. While there is a plot involving beating out a competitor for a big cell phone campaign, plot is secondary in this series that has some zip to it and shows real potential.
McCormack and Cavanaugh work great together. McCormack’s conservative, cautious approach to Mason is the perfect foil to Cavanaugh’s impulsive and over-caffeinated Conner. These two are the main reason to watch Trust Me, as they really come off like a couple of old friends struggling with the changes in life thrown their way. Potter is pleasant to watch and her character shows real human flaws and doesn’t come off as just some bitch there to take command of the office. Added to the mix is one of my favorite actors, Griffin Dunne (After Hours) as the creative director of Connor and Mason’s team. (more…)
(Thursdays, 10 PM). For its premiere it received a rather strong response, but it has been losing its audience in the intervening weeks. Considering the ambitious nature of the series, and its potential, one can only hope that ABC is patient enough to see if it can find its own identity.