Exhibit APhoto: Getty Images
When we read about Darren Star’s planned new show about Park Slope moms, our second reaction was, Is this going to be written by New York Magazine writers? After all, our beloved magazine has really made a cottage industry out of writing about the trials and tribulations of this surprisingly bizarre group of women. So we guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that Star is attempting to follow up on the successes of Melrose Place and Sex and the City (and the notable lack of success of his Manhattan mom show, Cashmere Mafia) with a series like this. The plot ideas are already written! Here are just some examples of what could occupy the women on this show:
• Getting upset over an incoming sex-toy shop!
• Getting in a brawl over the gender politics of a child’s winter hat!
• Calling the cops on a neighbor’s child who is chalking graffitiing the sidewalk!
• Keeping church groups away from the children!
• Battling cliques on the playgrounds!
• Dealing with your hipster hubby!
• OMG, BLOGGING URBAN MALAISE!
Um, yeah. Did you notice that we said earlier that our second reaction was that it should be written by our writers? That’s because our first reaction was, This is going to be the worst show ever. What makes the above stories so riveting is that their unique blend of drama and tedium is real. There are real people getting hysterical about hats or calling the cops on kids. But TV plotlines have to be unexpected and overblown — the opposite of quotidian. We have no idea how Star’s new project can get off the ground. Except, of course, if it’s a Joey-style spinoff of Miranda’s life after Sex and the City. We’d totally watch that, if only for the lesbian subtext.
