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The CW
Premieres on 18 January @ 9pm

In the past year, scripted television has certainly made an effort to tell it like it is. For our generation, the old rules are kaput and new shows like ‘Accidentally on Purpose,’ ‘Cougar Town‘ and ‘Modern Family‘ dive into the way romantic and family relationships function in the 2010s. ‘Life Unexpected‘ brings a couple who shared a high school fling back together when their daughter shows up hoping to get emancipated from her nightmare-ish foster care life. Shiri Appleby (‘Rowsell‘) and Kristoffer Polaha play our couple – both of them still struggling with stuff that normally gets sorted out during adolescence; these two, however, are still stuck in the muck as they cross the dirty thirty.

‘Life Unexpected’ is certainly a departure for the CW. It doesn’t have the splashy look of ‘Melrose Place‘ ‘Gossip Girl‘ or all the rest, but the story and characters are definitely interesting to watch. It actually makes me think back to the days of ‘Dawson’s Creek‘ and ‘Gilmore Girls’ – a less fleshy but undoubtedly more meaty time for the network. The gray, wet backdrop of Portland, Oregon also makes us hone in our characters more intently – no shiny objects present to distract us. And there is plenty of messiness to go around as these young parents are still children in many ways. Britt Robertson as young Lux is very captivating as the surprise daughter in question, though her dialogue can sometimes go over-the-top cheesy…it happens. And as long as this show doesn’t get carried away with the tears and the drama, it could be a great character-driven sounding board for the intersection of prolonged adolescence and reticent responsibility of Gen Y-ers circa now.