New Midseason TV Comedies 2012

Premise: In the style of his previous HBO series Summer Heights High (as well as his other work on Australian TV), Australian comedian Chris Lilley stars as multiple characters in this mockumentary-style look at a range of young men and the pressures they deal with in their lives.
Stars: Chris Lilley
Creator: Chris Lilley
Premieres: Sundays at 10 p.m. EST starting January 1 on HBO

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Premise: Based on comedian and talk-show host Chelsea Handler’s memoir Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, this sitcom features Laura Prepon as the twentysomething Chelsea Handler, who works as a cocktail waitress at a sports bar in New Jersey and lives a hard-drinking, free-spirited life. Handler herself has a recurring role as Chelsea’s disapproving conservative older sister.
Stars: Laura Prepon, Jake McDorman, Ali Wong, Mark Povinelli, Lauren Lapkus, Lenny Clarke
Creators: Dottie Dartland Zicklin, Julie Larson
Premieres: Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. EST starting January 11 on NBC

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Premise: A naïve girl from the Midwest moves to New York City and ends up with a crazy con artist roommate who at first rips her off but then brings her into a circle of bizarre adventures and weird friends, including Dawson’s Creek’s James Van Der Beek playing himself.
Stars: Dreama Walker, Krysten Ritter, James Van Der Beek, Liza Lapira, Michael Blaiklock, Eric Andre
Creator: Nahnatchka Khan
Premieres: Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. EST starting April 11 on ABC

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Premise: Lena Dunham, writer/director/star of the acclaimed indie movie Tiny Furniture, creates and stars in this look at a group of 20-something women trying to make their way in New York City, in the face of numerous humiliations and occasional triumphs.
Stars: Lena Dunham, Jemima Kirke, Allison Williams, Adam Driver, Zosia Mamet
Creator: Lena Dunham
Premieres: Sundays at 10:30 p.m. EST starting April 15 on HBO

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Premise: Based on Martin Kihn’s memoir House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time, this dark comedy features a group of cynical corporate consultants who live wild, fast-paced lives dealing with the most powerful companies in America -- and taking those companies for every penny they can.
Stars: Don Cheadle, Kristen Bell, Josh Lawson, Dawn Olivieri, Ben Schwartz, Donis Leonard Jr., Glynn Turman
Creator: Matthew Carnahan
Premieres: Sundays at 10 p.m. EST starting January 8 on Showtime

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Premise: Adapted by David J. Rosen from his own novel, this comedy follows twentysomething Jason Strider and his friends in New York City as they navigate the post-college years of thankless entry-level jobs and romantic misadventures. Jason is galvanized to get his life on track after becoming smitten with a one-night stand who runs off with his pants.
Stars: Peter Vack, Kim Shaw, Jordan Carlos, Elisabeth Hower, Sunkrish Bala
Creator: David J. Rosen
Premieres: Thursdays at 11 p.m. EST starting February 2 on MTV

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Premise: Former Mad TV co-stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele team up for a sketch-comedy series featuring both live studio segments and filmed sketches, in the vein of other Comedy Central series. The two comedians will draw from their shared biracial backgrounds to skewer topics from across the racial spectrum.
Stars: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele
Creators: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele
Premieres: Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. EST starting January 31 on Comedy Central

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Premise: The creators of Extras and the original U.K. The Office, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, once again satirize showbiz with a mockumentary starring little person actor Warwick Davis as a fictionalized version of himself, with Gervais and Merchant as themselves in small roles, along with a whole range of celebrity cameos.
Stars: Warwick Davis, Jo Enright, Rosamund Hanson, Steve Brody, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Creators: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Warwick Davis
Premieres: Sundays at 10:30 p.m. EST starting February 19 on HBO

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Premise: Rob Schneider stars in a sitcom inspired by his own life, playing a lifelong bachelor who marries a Mexican-American woman and finds himself thrown right in with her opinionated, tight-knit and sometimes overbearing extended family.
Stars: Rob Schneider, Claudia Bassols, Cheech Marin, Diana Maria Riva, Eugenio Derbez, Lupe Ontiveros
Creators: Rob Schneider, Lew Morton
Premieres: Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. EST starting January 12 on CBS

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Premise: An up-and-coming senator becomes the first female vice president of the United States and finds the job much more difficult and frustrating than she imagined. She tries to balance her public duties and private life and maintain a good relationship with the president.
Stars: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Matt Walsh, Reid Scott, Timothy C. Simons, Sufe Bradshaw
Creator: Armando Iannucci
Premieres: Sundays at 10 p.m. EST starting April 22 on HBO

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Premise: In the dubious tradition of Bosom Buddies, this highly improbable sitcom finds two manly man dressing up as women in order to land jobs in the current tough economy. Working as pharmaceutical reps, they have to adjust to the very different workplace environment for women, and learn how the other half lives.
Stars: Ben Koldyke, Amaury Nolasco, Beth Lacke, John Caparulo, Rebecca Mader, Rochelle Aytes, Kate Reinders, Kirstin Eggers, Hannah Sullivan
Creators: Andrew Reich, Ted Cohen
Premieres: Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. EST starting January 3 on ABC

• Premiere Episode Review