The New Normal (TV series)

Did You Know?

• NBC released the pilot episode online as a preview on August 29, 2012, before the official premiere.
• In Canada, CTV held the rights to simsub the NBC broadcast in most areas.
• The series aired in the United Kingdom on E4 from January 10, 2013, at 9 pm.

Plot

Bryan and David, a happy gay couple in Los Angeles, want a baby. They meet Goldie Clemmons, a single mother and waitress from Ohio who left her adulterous husband and moved to L.A. with her 9-year-old daughter Shania. Goldie becomes their gestational surrogate, while her conservative grandmother Jane follows them to the city and causes havoc.

Cast and characters

Justin Bartha plays David Bartholomew Sawyer, an obstetrician. Andrew Rannells is Bryan Collins, a television producer who runs the hit show Sing, a clear parody of Glee. Georgia King portrays Goldie Clemmons, a shy waitress from Ohio who becomes a surrogate and later starts a children's clothing line. Bebe Wood plays her daughter Shania, age nine.

NeNe Leakes appears as Rocky Rhoades, Bryan’s assistant who later becomes a producer on Sing. Jayson Blair is Clay Clemmons, Goldie’s estranged husband. Ellen Barkin plays Jane Forrest, Goldie’s grandmother, a Republican real-estate agent who makes racist and homophobic remarks. Jackie Hoffman is David’s mother Frances, Barry Bostwick is his father Marty, and Mary Kay Place plays Bryan’s mother Colleen.

Marlo Thomas appears as Jane’s boss Nancy Niles, Cheri Oteri as baby consultant Carla, and John Stamos as Jane’s love interest Brice. Michael Hitchcock plays surrogacy firm head Gary, John Benjamin Hickey is Father Michael, and Sterling Sulieman plays Clint, Rocky’s brother.

Development and production

NBC ordered the pilot on January 27, 2012, co-written by Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler, with Murphy directing. Andrew Rannells was cast first as Bryan, followed by Ellen Barkin as Jane, Justin Bartha as David, Georgia King as Goldie, Bebe Wood as Shania, and NeNe Leakes as Rocky. The show was picked up to series on May 7, 2012, and premiered September 11, 2012. Jayson Blair, originally recurring as Clay, was upped to series regular after the pilot. The Halloween episode 'Para-New Normal Activity' was pre-empted by NBC's Hurricane Sandy coverage and aired in March 2013.

Release

The New Normal received mixed reviews. Metacritic gave a 61 out of 100 aggregate score from 32 critics, indicating mixed or average reception. Rotten Tomatoes rated it 51% rotten based on 47 reviews, with the consensus calling it 'heartfelt and briskly paced' but suffering from 'one-dimensional characters and jarring tonal shifts.' Robert Bianco of USA Today called it a 'surprisingly touching comedy' that at best plays like a Woody Allen film.

Linda Stasi of the New York Post found it 'pretty darned good' and touching. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave a B grade, noting a mixture of sarcasm and sentimentality. David Hinckley of the New York Daily News called it 'a bumpy ride.' KSL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, declined to air the series, citing inappropriate content for the family hour; KUCW picked it up for Saturday nights. The show was criticized for perpetuating racial stereotypes and using an intersex person as an object of derision.