NBC (Thursdays, 9:30 p.m. ET)
B-
Téa Leoni has been called a combination of Katharine Hepburn, Carole Lombard and Lucille Ball. In the first two episodes of this remodeled sitcom (it aired last year on ABC and was picked up by NBC as a mid-season replacement), Lucy is the dominant influence.
Last season, Nora (Leoni) was taking photos for a trashy tabloid. The new editor, Les (George Wendt), has now turned the sheet respectable and reassigned her to write the advice column. Her main job, though, seems to be telling white lies, then frantically covering up. This behavior suits Leoni's Lucy-like energy level, but we get the feeling her character is too smart for such foolish deception. That's a compliment we can't pay her coworkers Nick and Dave (holdovers Jonathan Penner and Mark Roberts, respectively), who in the second show feign a gay relationship to get Super Bowl tickets from the boss. Don't ask.
Though the material isn't yet worthy of the star, it's clear that NBC sees in Leoni a Lombardian gift for being simultaneously sexy and ridiculous. As for sharp-tongued former editor Camilla (Holland Taylor), the good news is she's only been demoted, not dismissed.
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