You’ve seen the commercials. You’ve heard the hype. Now there’s only one thing you want to know: Which of the new fall shows are worth watching and which should be avoided at all costs? In this continuing series, we give you the scoop on some of the most highly-anticipated shows of the season, with today’s focus being RUNNING WILDE
The Boilerplate: Since these pilot presentations may go through numerous rewrites and casting changes prior to premiere, this by no means should be considered an official review. Rather a preview of what one can expect come Fall.
The Elevator Pitch: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT lite.
The Plot: From the Emmy Award-winning creator and the star of the critically acclaimed FOX series “Arrested Development” comes RUNNING WILDE, a romantic comedy starring Will Arnett (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT) as Steve Wilde, a filthy-rich, immature playboy trying desperately to win (or buy) the heart of his childhood sweetheart, EMMY KADUBIC (Keri Russell, FELICITY), the über-liberal humanitarian who got away – all told through the perspective of a 12-year-old girl.
The Snap Judgment: Considering we’d be content to watch Will Arnett and Keri Russell spend thirty minutes reading from a phone book, it should probably come as little surprise that we have very little negative to say about RUNNING WILDE. In fact, chock full of oddball characters (Wilde’s childhood nanny has morphed into a no-nonsense head of security and his best, err… only friend is his driver), bizarre sight gags (including a must-see-it-to-believe-it game of one-upmanship with his wealthy neighbor involving a tiny horse) and unexpected plot twists (In a desperate attempt to prove to Emmy that he’s more than simply a spoiled trust fund baby, Wilde relocates an indigenous African tribe to his pool house!) RUNNING WILDE — while not quite there yet — has the potential to be a worthy successor to ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. Unfortunately, such a comparison raises the slightly awkward albeit painfully obvious question that simply must be asked: Which not-smarter-than-a-fifth-grader Fox executive green-lit a show that in essence has already been summarily rejected by the majority of the viewing public once before?
The Verdict: It may behoove fans of Will Arnett, Keri Russel and/or smart sophisticated comedy in general to pre-emptively get the ball rolling on that “Save Our Show” campaign. You know, just in case. 