THE SKED 2013 UPFRONTS: ABC Trailer – “Trophy Wife”

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ABC has started putting up its Upfront trailers for the network’s new series, so we’re going to chime in with some instant impressions.  As always, remember that a trailer isn’t necessarily a real sign of what a TV series will be (sometimes it’s not even a sign of what the pilot is).  It’s the networks that want us to watch them and make judgments, though, so it’s on them if we do.

TROPHY WIFE is part of ABC’s all-new Tuesday, airing between new sitcom The Goldbergs and new drama Lucky 7.  Malin Akerman plays the third wife of Bradley Whitford, who each week will try to cope with his exes and the children he’s had with them, with hilarity presumably to ensue.

The trailer makes clear that the title is meant to be ironic:  Akerman’s character may be young and beautiful, but she’s our plucky heroine, ready to down an entire water bottle of vodka to earn herself some points with hubby’s teen daughter.  (And from the looks of it, doing an extended drunk routine afterward.)  It appears that Whitford, despite being the center around whom all these women and children gather, is mostly in the background, and Marcia Gay Harden, as an acerbic ex, seems to share the spotlight with Akerman.  The show looks like it’s going to try to mix heartwarming with silly, and will likely rise or fall on Akerman’s charm.  In a tough slot–airing against The Voice and The Mindy Project–this could be a tough sell.