New Show "New Girl" New Hit?

Zooey Deschanel

Most new television shows fail. They fail quickly. Sometimes, too soon; but often, not soon enough. This fall's crop of new shows is beginning to emerge, and since I have little else to do but watch TV, I am in a good position to comment on them, right? I tuned in last night to the series premiere of Fox's New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel.

I've always kind of liked Zooey. She was good on Weeds, and in the occasional movie I've seen her in. Her band - She & Him - is a little too fluffy for my taste, but she does have a nice voice.

Her new show on Fox (also the home of her sister's successful crime-nerd drama Bones) puts Zooey in familiar territory: she's the cute, quirky girl who doesn't seem to realize she's gorgeous and therefore thinks she has trouble with men. Or something like that. After getting dumped in a rather humiliating fashion, Zooey's character, Jess, moves into an apartment with three single guys. Yeah, I know that probably wouldn't ever happen, but remember, this is television.

The guys themselves are pretty funny, but fairly nondescript (the funniest thing about them is their "douchebag jar" which they must put money inside whenever they act like a...you know). At first, the idea of a hot, female roommate probably seemed like a good idea. But after a week of seeing her sit in front of the TV watching Dirty Dancing* on repeat and crying, the novelty seemed to wear off. The guys decide to help her get back on her feet and get some rebound action.

There really isn't too much additional story beyond that. It does seem like a decent sitcom, as far as sitcoms go. They are certainly not re-inventing the wheel with New Girl. Still, I think Zooey Deschanel is funny enough and captivating enough to carry a show. Her "adorable-ness" shows up in odd ways, but the best, so far, is how she makes up theme songs for herself - and sings them out loud. Nothing about the show made me hate it, yet. Hell, I already set my DVR to automatically record new episodes of New Girl as they appear. High praise coming from me.

The Deschanel sisters may end up dominating Fox for the next couple of years.

* I am proud to report that I have never watched Dirty Dancing, and likely never will.