UPN’s ‘Girl’s‘ casual about drug use
Some years back, Jenny McCarthy, star of the new sitcom “The Bad Girl’s Guide” (9:30 p.m., UPN), appeared in a footwear ad sitting on a toilet. Some considered this vulgar. Some magazines even refused to run it.
But the ad and its star seemed to taunt the former Playboy model’s more mindless male fans with the unstated message, “Hey, I’m blond and beautiful, and I have to go to the bathroom, too. Deal with it!”
McCarthy brings a similar transgressive sass to “Girl’s.” She plays JJ, an advertising creative type who works with her slacker roommate, Holly (Marcelle Larice), a fast-talking fashion plate who happens to be black.
They share an apartment with Sarah (Christina Moore), a brunette who seems a bit dimmer and a tad more man-hungry.
The three female musketeers continually espouse an aggressively hedonistic philosophy that can be summed up as “We’re in our 20s, unattached and beautiful, so we’ll party and sleep around as much as we want and worry about settling down with the Mr. Right when and if we ever find him.”
But, of course, they worry about finding Mr. Right almost all of the time.
In this debut episode, JJ and Holly take long lunches and procrastinate when they should be coming up with the big idea for the big new client. This ancient plot device hearkens back to “Bewitched” and beyond; distracted ad man Cary Grant gets last-minute inspiration from the maid in the 1948 comedy “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.”
But when these “Bad Girls” can’t come up with ideas, they don’t worry. They get high.
While no one will ever confuse “Girl’s” with groundbreaking comedy, the show offers an audaciously casual attitude toward drug use, particularly for network television. While “That ‘70s Show” offered a wink-wink look at Eric’s smoky basement, it’s set in another era.
Christine Lahti’s character smoked pot on the now defunct “Jack & Bobby,” but her drug use was part of her dysfunctional ‘60s baggage.
These bad girls get high and talk about getting high. They don’t suffer consequences. In fact, getting stoned is part of their creative process.
As they might say, deal with it.
For all of the public piety and “just say no” admonitions of the past 30 years, we may just be entering a new age of drug comedy.
Are young viewers embracing a pro-drug aesthetic or merely reacting to the hypocrisy of today’s prohibitionists, many of whom were baby boomers who did their share of inhaling?
Justin Louis dons a wig and waves his finger in the listless biopic “Trump Unauthorized” (9 p.m., ABC), exploring “The Apprentice” host’s rise to fame in the building trade, his struggles with his family and his tabloid-worthy marriages.
Other highlights
Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard host the finale of “The Contender” (8 p.m., NBC).
Bo and Carrie sing to survive on “American Idol” (8 p.m., Fox).
The mystery French woman offers an enigmatic warning on “Lost” (8 p.m., ABC).
Stars of “Survivor” and “Amazing Race” tie the knot on “Rob and Amber Get Married” (9 p.m., CBS).
House’s ex (Sela Ward) returns on “House” (9 p.m., Fox).
A vaccine may explain random acts of violent behavior on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (10 p.m., NBC).
Cult choice
The FBI looks for New York-based Nazi spies in the 1945 thriller “The House on 92nd Street” (7 p.m., Fox Movie Channel), starring future television stars Lloyd Nolan (“Julia”) and Leo G. Carroll (“Topper,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”).
Series notes
A team member is lost on “Navy NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS) … Robert’s career move on “All of Us” (8 p.m., UPN) … Jimmy Eat World performs on the two-hour season finale of “One Tree Hill” (8 p.m., WB).
J.T.’s last hope on “Eve” (8:30 p.m., UPN) … Up close and personal on “Britney and Kevin: Chaotic” (9 p.m., UPN).