The New Normal is one of the newest American sitcoms to hit the UK this year, debuting on E4 this evening. Created by Ryan Murphy, the man behind Glee, the program focuses on a gay couple – Bryan and David – seeking to have a baby through a surrogate. It has attracted attention for having two gay men as the main characters, instead of as supporting acts – and its about time this became normal.
The first episode looked promising to me! It was genuinely funny, with lots of laugh out loud moments. I watched with my Mum, Dad and 15 year old brother, and everyone enjoyed it and found it funny, which is pretty rare. There were some brilliant lines, including Bryan’s “I faint at the sight of vaginas – they’re like tarantula faces”.
One of the characters is particularly hateful. The surrogate mother, Goldie, was bought up by her ‘Nana’ who happens to be both incredibly homophobic and racist. The lines she comes out with are funny, but in a way that makes you feel as though you probably shouldn’t really be laughing. You do instantly dislike her character, but it probably wouldn’t be very realistic – or funny – if everyone was liberal and loving towards all people! Plus, she does reveal the cause of her homophobia towards the end of the first episode (I won’t spoil it if you haven’t seen it).
I’m looking forward to the second episode, and have a feeling I’ll end up watching the whole series! If you haven’t seen it, you can watch the trailer here
