Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

Review: ABC Family's 'Bunheads' a return to form for Amy Sherman-Palladino

'Gilmore Girls' creator teams former Tony winners Sutton Foster and Kelly Bishop in new dramedy

By Alan Sepinwall Saturday, Jun 9, 2012 9:00 AM

Kelly Bishop and Sutton Foster in "Bunheads."

Credit: ABC Family

"Gilmore Girls" and "The West Wing" debuted a year apart from one another, and they've always been linked in my mind: Two shows with machine gun banter, two shows that at their best deftly balanced laughs and heartache, two shows with creators — Amy Sherman-Palladino for "Gilmore Girls," Aaron Sorkin for "West Wing" — whose voices were unmistakable from anyone else's on television.

Those two are also linked in my mind because both series continued without their creators — and were never the same without them — and because their follow-up series (Sherman-Palladino's leaden "The Return of Jezebel James" and Sorkin's self-important "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip") featured their styles applied to either formats (the traditional sitcom style of "Jezebel James") or subjects (topical sketch comedy for "Studio 60") for which they were ill-suited.

And now Sherman-Palladino and Sorkin are linked yet again because both are returning to television this month with new shows where the mission statement seems to be "Here is this thing everybody loved once upon a time, wrapped in a slightly different package."

For Sorkin, it's "The Newsroom," a more serious spin on "Sports Night" that we'll talk about closer to its June 24 premiere. For Sherman-Palladino, it's "Bunheads," a new dramedy that premieres Monday night at 9 on ABC Family. If it's not exactly "Gilmore Girls 2: Acoustic Boogaloo," it's close enough to be reassuring — and, on occasion, distracting.

With Lauren Graham otherwise employed by "Parenthood" (and Alexis Bledel both too young and too busy appearing in Pete Campbell's fantasies), the tall, quippy, self-deprecating heroine slot is filled by Tony winner Sutton Foster as Michelle, a classically-trained dancer nearing her expiration date while she works as a Las Vegas showgirl.

"If he says 'no' in under three seconds," she laments after a humiliating non-audition, "it's not 'No, because you're so young and hot,' it's 'No, because you're starting to look like an IHOP cashier.'"

Into her lonely, disappointing life comes Hubbell (Alan Ruck), a soft-spoken traveling salesman who dotes on Michelle during his periodic trips to Vegas, and who surprises both of them by convincing her to marry him and move into his house in a small coastal California town called Paradise.

Hubbell leaves out a few key details, though. Paradise is so sleepy that when Michelle asks some local teenagers what they do for fun at night, one tells her, "Sometimes, Mr. Feldstein forgets to lock the library door, and we go in there." And his beautiful home overlooking the ocean already has a second occupant: Hubbell's mother Fanny, played by "Gilmore Girls" alum Kelly Bishop. (Herself a former Tony winner for "A Chorus Line." ) It's a character who has Emily Gilmore's imperious demeanor without her aristocratic bloodlines, and it's obvious that Sherman-Palladino relishes the chance to have her words come out of Bishop's mouth again.

Fanny runs a dance studio next door to the house, which gives Michelle both an employment opportunity and an opportunity for her to interact with the girls who study there. (This is ABC Family, after all.)

Between the obvious Michelle/Lorelai Gilmore parallels, Bishop's presence, the strumming guitar transitions between scenes and even the dance studio (which was a fixture in the fictional "Gilmore Girls" town of Stars Hollow), "Bunheads" is clearly Sherman-Palladino retreating to her comfort zone. (And if you dwell on it too long, you'll get confused about why Emily is doing Miss Patty's job, or why Lorelai looks different.) But writing this kind of show turns out to be like riding a bike for Sherman-Palladino, and she didn't forget how to do it during her time making "Jezebel James" and several unsold series.

Foster picks up the rhythms of Sherman-Palladino's dialogue — "I'm like Godzilla! Men run from me! All nationalities! Not just Japanese men!" — quickly, and is unsurprisingly excellent in the dance studio scenes, even when she's just role-playing with the girls to show them what a real Broadway audition might be like. Some of the best theater actors in the business come across as too big and broad when they give television a try, but Foster is utterly human, completely charming and has instant comic chemistry with Bishop. (And though Ruck is likable as always, it's no surprise that, once Michelle arrives in Paradise, the show's interest tilts entirely in favor of how she gets along with her new mother-in-law.)

I have two concerns about the pilot, which is the only episode ABC Family sent out for review. (The pilot's been available online in several places already; I'll do my best to step lightly in the next paragraph, but if you haven't watched yet and want to go in cold tonight, you may want to skip to the one after.)

First, there's a plot development late in the pilot that seems tonally at odds with everything that's happened to that point. It suggests either a very different kind of series going forward, or one that's going to have to work very hard to get back to the light quality of the earlier scenes.

The second isn't an issue with the show itself so much as it is with the channel it airs on. "Bunheads" isn't as off-brand as my all-time favorite ABC Family show, the comic book action-comedy "The Middleman," which was delightful and had absolutely no business being where it was. But on a channel where the dramas overwhelmingly weight their stories in favor of the teen characters — even "Switched at Birth," my favorite of their current series, is at best 60/40 kids/adults, and probably 70/30 — how will the target audience react to a pilot where the 90 percent of the screentime (maybe more) goes to a character in her 30s and another in her 60s? This is a premise pilot, and a lot of time has to be spent getting Michelle to Paradise and setting up the conflicts she has with Fanny, but if the plan is to feature the four young women in the cast — Kaitlyn Jenkins, Julia Goldani Telles, Bailey Buntain and Emma Dumont — more going forward, then those characters are going to have to become a lot more interesting in a hurry to justify the time spent away from Foster and Bishop.

And if that's not the plan — if the dance studio and its students are just a Trojan horse to get a more adult show onto a teen-oriented channel — then ABC Family is stepping way out of its comfort zone at the same time Sherman-Palladino is happily, entertainingly stepping back into the middle of hers.

Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

----

NOTE: I'll ask those of you who have watched the pilot online to similarly step lightly around certain plot points. I'll have a talkback post going up on Monday at 10 where we can more openly discuss everything. My hope is that the show continues to be good enough to be a regular part of the blog this summer, but we'll have to wait and see on that.

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Related Searches: Bunheads, Sutton Foster, Kelly Bishop, Amy Sherman-Palladino

Nathan

Brit? No, it's Bret.

Coco!
June 9, 2012 at 10:43AM EST Reply to Comment
- Ken Raining That's how I know her too. :)
  June 9, 2012 at 3:17PM EST
M

I liked but didn't live the pilot and agree the twist felt off finally but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for now as to how they handle the fallout. I agree the show is very similar to GG which is generally a goos thig but I found the guitar strums between scenes to be a little too close. Also I'm really surprised that an ABC Family show doesn't include any cute younger guys in its main cast as that is surely a draw for ther target audience.
June 9, 2012 at 10:55AM EST Reply to Comment
- jobobo I also thought the pilot was okay, not great. But as I watched, I remembered how the Gilmore Girls pilot also was pretty good, but not amazing, and how much that show grew. And then that final twist came... ugh. I'm really, really concerned about where this show goes from here. I'll watch, but I'm extremely worried.
  June 9, 2012 at 1:23PM EST
- Rev. Slappy Im with Jobobo about the twist. I thought exploring the nature of the Hubbel/Michelle relationship and how it would evolve would have been really interesting.
  June 9, 2012 at 4:28PM EST
- liz The ending also felt terribly dark for an ABC Family show that, up to that point, had been as idiosyncratic as Gilmore Girls
  June 10, 2012 at 12:39AM EST
John

I enjoyed the pilot quite a bit, and now realize why this "theatre-themed" show may succeed where others have failed - likable characters, a strong writer at the helm, and its theatre world elements strewn in to enhance character, relationships, and story, not the other way around like Smash or Glee. Foster is great in the pilot, and certainly strong enough to anchor this show as it grows around her.

I get the concern over the late episode development, but to be honest I could actually feel it coming about halfway through, since it seemed necessary to locking in the premise long-term and giving the protagonist higher stakes. I'll say more after the episode airs.

Looking forward to this one this summer!
June 9, 2012 at 11:37AM EST Reply to Comment
forg

Looking forward to this one although I share Allan's sentiment about this show being out of place with ABC Family and might not last long because it seems off brand
June 9, 2012 at 12:50PM EST Reply to Comment
c

I agree with everything you said, expect in the regards to the ending/"twist". I think that was pretty essential in many ways. It provides some interesting tension going forward between Fanny and Michelle. Maybe Michelle and the locals, like Truely, too. I guess that's all I can say to keep it vague. Also, did anyone else think Truely was just a little bit over the top? I know Amy quite likes writing these quirky characters, and I like the actress from FNL, but she might iritate me if she's like that all the time.
June 9, 2012 at 1:24PM EST Reply to Comment
- Evan I actually really loved her. I was shocked at how completely different she was from Mindy so it kinda floored me how good Stacey Oristano is.
  June 9, 2012 at 1:37PM EST
- Tara I too was impressed by how different and how good she was in this role!
  June 11, 2012 at 1:27PM EST
Kubrick's Rube

I really enjoyed it, but my biggest issue was with Ruck. Everyone acted like this guy was so nice, but his behavior and manner are really off-putting- he basically stalks Michelle and won't accept multiple blow-offs, he conceals facts that might affect Michelle's decisions, he barely reacts to or acknowledges the unconventional nature of their situation, and this all for a woman who seems to be a younger stand-in for his mother.
June 9, 2012 at 3:57PM EST Reply to Comment
- Sareeta I felt this way too at first. I have seen too many Lifetime movies where this relationship would end very badly for both parties, but this is an ABC Family show, so there is the expectation that everything will turn out OK.
  June 10, 2012 at 10:32AM EST
- borgetas Mindy! That's right! I knew I recognized her. Thanks :)
  June 10, 2012 at 8:44PM EST
Oaktown Girl

I confess to feeling very gratified whenever I hear you express your feelings about "Studio 60". I found it to be insufferably self-important and therefore unwatchable. For the longest time I thought I was the only one, and the rest of the world was lamenting its demise.
June 9, 2012 at 4:00PM EST Reply to Comment
- pamelajaye there was a promo at the time, for 30 Rock where on of the actors kept asking Tina when he was going to get to meet (some of the cast for Studio 60) and she had to tell him this was not that show
  June 9, 2012 at 4:31PM EST
pamelajaye

thanks for the tiny soiler warning. i skipped it :-)
I can't remember precisely when I finally started watching Gilmore Girls but it was summer of 2008 at the earliest
June 9, 2012 at 4:18PM EST Reply to Comment
Rev. Slappy

Kelly Bishop is really marvelous.
June 9, 2012 at 4:29PM EST Reply to Comment
Rev. Slappy

Wasn't Sherman-Palladino creating a series for HBO about a family of novelists? That sounded like a great show.
June 9, 2012 at 4:32PM EST Reply to Comment
Tarasa

I liked it, reminded me enough of Gilmore Girls (esp the music cues) but still a bit different. I was surprised by ending/tone. Willing to give it a while to see where it goes. Still upset about last season of Gilmore Girls though
June 9, 2012 at 7:52PM EST Reply to Comment
Viginti

So, IMDb lists this as a half hour, which fits with the ABC family network, but this pilot was a traditional fourty-five so I'm a little confused. Was this a one off double or will the show continue to run at this length in the future? Not really sure which I'd prefer but I daresay that it will make a difference.
June 10, 2012 at 12:29AM EST Reply to Comment
- Jenny There is no way this show is only a half hour. It's a hour long.
  June 10, 2012 at 6:20PM EST
Vaughn

heh heh heh heh, "Fanny"
June 10, 2012 at 2:02AM EST Reply to Comment
bearcouch

Serious question. Why are you watching Bunheads? It doesn't seem like it's up your alley (well maybe since you said you watched Gilmore Girls). Isn't this show aimed towards teen girls? Not hating, just curious.
June 10, 2012 at 10:12AM EST Reply to Comment
- sepinwall I'm watching it because I like Sherman-Palladino's writing, and I like Foster and Bishop. Just because the subject matter of a show isn't inherently for me doesn't mean the show can't be. I honestly don't care about vampires, but I loved Buffy and Angel. Gilmore Girls was not in any way a show targeted towards me, even the me of 12 years ago, but I watched every episode.
  June 10, 2012 at 1:00PM EST
- Rev. Slappy Good storytelling should work for anybody, not just people in a certain demographic. Good storytelling transcends that. Gilmore Girls was often great storytelling.
  June 10, 2012 at 10:12PM EST
- and while i agree with Alan's response, therein lies the problem. or at least the beginnings of the problems for me with BUNHEADS. a) the name of the show is godawful (uggggh) b) the demographic is off -- this is years after GG and this show seems instantly dated so i'm just really confused. i like Sutton in Broadway (saw her in THE DROWSY CHAPERONE) but on ABC Family? i'm just really uncomfortable with this fit. and while i love Sherman-Palladino i am very confused by how familiar but unfamiliar everything is. i just don't know....
  June 11, 2012 at 1:48AM EST
- theo I like the fit with Sut and the girls -she grew up doing children's theatre and is very much a mentor for kids. Also, if you are familiar with the majority of her work, she is always cognizant of the fact that kids look up to her as a role model - so this role seems a natural fit - and it fits her real-life sense of humor so well. Of course, I would watch her read the phone book...
  June 11, 2012 at 10:42PM EST
Sareeta

I loved it. I was a fan of Gilmore Girls, so I am happy to see the Lorelai-Emily dynamic (between Michelle and Fanny as well as the Lorelai-Rory dynamic (with the dance school teens representing Rory in a way). Michelle is a much more appealing character than Lorelai, who I found to be way too childish, and I really enjoyed the actual dance lessons/dance scenes. I understand Alan's worry about that late plot development, but I actually think it is for the best.
June 10, 2012 at 10:30AM EST Reply to Comment
- Sareeta PS: I used to love TGIF and this series seems like it would be great if that block were ever brought back. Good, family-friendly comedy-drama that kids, teens, and adults can enjoy. This is all based on the pilot.
  June 10, 2012 at 10:35AM EST
Jenny

The only reason I gave Bunheads a chance was honestly, because it had Amy Sherman's name attached to it. When I first saw promos for this show I thought it looked bad, but ABC Family decided to make the pilot available early so I watched. Just going off the pilot it's definitely something that I would love watching every week, and the fact that it's similar to Gilmore Girls is a great thing.

ABC family needs to learn how to better advertise Bunheads, because what they are doing now is not cutting it. It's good they put the pilot out early.
June 10, 2012 at 6:28PM EST Reply to Comment
MatthewL

Haven't watched the pilot yet, but I do like that, of the three lines quoted, two ("library door" and "Godzilla") made me laugh out loud just reading them.
June 10, 2012 at 8:37PM EST Reply to Comment
Porter

There actually is a Paradise, Calif., incidentally - I worked for a tiny newspaper there in the mid-90s. It's nowhere near the ocean, and it's pretty sleepy too, although not as much as the fictional version. Plus, you can always head down the hill to Chico and get alcohol poisoning with the college kids.
June 10, 2012 at 11:53PM EST Reply to Comment
Sneil

Lookin forward to giving this a try
June 11, 2012 at 8:42PM EST - via iPad Reply to Comment
Scout

This show will not last on ABC Family. Suttion and Kelly are just not their audience. And their ballerinas do not seem interesting or likeable enough to carry this show. Finally, the ending was disappointing and left me oddly disconnected. I felt cheated of a romance that I had reluctantly bought into to.... I think the show is not going to be able to dig itself out this emotional hole its created without seeming contrived and just plain odd. But I loved Sutton and Kelly - it's hard not to... Deleted from DVR. Next.
June 12, 2012 at 7:32AM EST Reply to Comment
Leah

I loved The Middleman too. I wish it had aired somewhere else, maybe syfy.
June 12, 2012 at 4:34PM EST Reply to Comment

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Option 1

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Option 3

Nathan Brit? No, it's Bret.Coco!

Ken Raining That's how I know her too. :)

Rev. Slappy Im with Jobobo about the twist. I thought exploring the nature of the Hubbel/Michelle relationship and how it would evolve would have been really interesting.

liz The ending also felt terribly dark for an ABC Family show that, up to that point, had been as idiosyncratic as Gilmore Girls

forg Looking forward to this one although I share Allan's sentiment about this show being out of place with ABC Family and might not last long because it seems off brand

Evan I actually really loved her. I was shocked at how completely different she was from Mindy so it kinda floored me how good Stacey Oristano is.

Tara I too was impressed by how different and how good she was in this role!

Sareeta I felt this way too at first. I have seen too many Lifetime movies where this relationship would end very badly for both parties, but this is an ABC Family show, so there is the expectation that everything will turn out OK.

borgetas Mindy! That's right! I knew I recognized her. Thanks :)

Oaktown Girl I confess to feeling very gratified whenever I hear you express your feelings about "Studio 60". I found it to be insufferably self-important and therefore unwatchable. For the longest time I thought I was the only one, and the rest of the world was lamenting its demise.

pamelajaye there was a promo at the time, for 30 Rock where on of the actors kept asking Tina when he was going to get to meet (some of the cast for Studio 60) and she had to tell him this was not that show

pamelajaye thanks for the tiny soiler warning. i skipped it :-)I can't remember precisely when I finally started watching Gilmore Girls but it was summer of 2008 at the earliest

Rev. Slappy Kelly Bishop is really marvelous.

Rev. Slappy Wasn't Sherman-Palladino creating a series for HBO about a family of novelists? That sounded like a great show.

Tarasa I liked it, reminded me enough of Gilmore Girls (esp the music cues) but still a bit different. I was surprised by ending/tone. Willing to give it a while to see where it goes. Still upset about last season of Gilmore Girls though

Jenny There is no way this show is only a half hour. It's a hour long.

Vaughn heh heh heh heh, "Fanny"

bearcouch Serious question. Why are you watching Bunheads? It doesn't seem like it's up your alley (well maybe since you said you watched Gilmore Girls). Isn't this show aimed towards teen girls? Not hating, just curious.

Rev. Slappy Good storytelling should work for anybody, not just people in a certain demographic. Good storytelling transcends that. Gilmore Girls was often great storytelling.

Sareeta PS: I used to love TGIF and this series seems like it would be great if that block were ever brought back. Good, family-friendly comedy-drama that kids, teens, and adults can enjoy. This is all based on the pilot.

MatthewL Haven't watched the pilot yet, but I do like that, of the three lines quoted, two ("library door" and "Godzilla") made me laugh out loud just reading them.

Sneil Lookin forward to giving this a try

Leah I loved The Middleman too. I wish it had aired somewhere else, maybe syfy.

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Nathan

Brit? No, it's Bret.

Coco!

forg

Looking forward to this one although I share Allan's sentiment about this show being out of place with ABC Family and might not last long because it seems off brand

Oaktown Girl

I confess to feeling very gratified whenever I hear you express your feelings about "Studio 60". I found it to be insufferably self-important and therefore unwatchable. For the longest time I thought I was the only one, and the rest of the world was lamenting its demise.

pamelajaye

thanks for the tiny soiler warning. i skipped it :-)
I can't remember precisely when I finally started watching Gilmore Girls but it was summer of 2008 at the earliest

Rev. Slappy

Kelly Bishop is really marvelous.

Rev. Slappy

Wasn't Sherman-Palladino creating a series for HBO about a family of novelists? That sounded like a great show.

Tarasa

I liked it, reminded me enough of Gilmore Girls (esp the music cues) but still a bit different. I was surprised by ending/tone. Willing to give it a while to see where it goes. Still upset about last season of Gilmore Girls though

Vaughn

heh heh heh heh, "Fanny"

bearcouch

Serious question. Why are you watching Bunheads? It doesn't seem like it's up your alley (well maybe since you said you watched Gilmore Girls). Isn't this show aimed towards teen girls? Not hating, just curious.

MatthewL

Haven't watched the pilot yet, but I do like that, of the three lines quoted, two ("library door" and "Godzilla") made me laugh out loud just reading them.

Sneil

Lookin forward to giving this a try

Leah

I loved The Middleman too. I wish it had aired somewhere else, maybe syfy.

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