User reviews

I did enjoy the show and, like Sean Saves the World and Partners, both of which I also found to be as good or better than shows that were renewed for another year, The New Normal may have been axed for reasons other than just their ratings.

That said, unlike the other two shows I mentioned, The New Normal seemed a lot less focused. In the highly successful Modern Family, the show manages to shift focus between the several family components while keeping a common thread for each episode, and they do it well. Not as successful with TNN

In The New Normal, that common thread was often too tenuous if it existed at all. I enjoyed the main gay couple and their interpersonal as well as more general gay-related issues, both those issues used for humor and those that were emotionally painful.

I usually enjoyed the Ellen Barkin character and, although I generally lean way to the left politically, I found some of her well-delivered rants to be fair criticism of some dearly held beliefs or behaviors of those who consider themselves Liberal. There were a few times when her rants, especially in the earlier shows, may have crossed the line into what sounded too much like very real, not at all humorous, bigotry.

Obviously the show was heading in the direction of two gay men becoming dads and all the joy & trauma of parenthood, both typical and unique to same-sex couples. So the surrogate mom was a practical necessity, but the character & the actress who played Goldie, in my opinion, were rather bland and added little to the show's appeal. Actually I thought her estranged husband, Clay, although somewhat marginalized in the plot development, added more to the show's appeal than she did.

But the killer for me ... in the negative sense of the term ... was the little girl, Shania. Maybe in some After School Special format or main stream family show, she would have been considered cute and precocious, but I'm guessing the primary audience for a gay themed show like this does not include grade school children or Middle Americans resting after a hard day at the factory or plowing the fields.

The kids on Modern Family fit in beautifully with the pace of the show and would appeal to those who might be expected to watch such a show. Shania was just an annoying waste of show time. Maybe I'm projecting my feelings onto more people than is warranted, but when the Shania character appeared to be more than incidental to an episode, I definitely started jabbing the fast-forward button or went on to the next episode altogether. Watching her prepare for and perform in a grade school assembly was a little too Sesame Street for me and the sort of thing that is a leading cause of glazed-eye syndrome.

I think with a little effort and redirection, the show could have been saved rather than axed. Hope the two main characters can make a comeback in something better aimed at its target audience.

I just start watching this show in this year (2017). I didn't finished the series (Im in the 19 chapter). This series show us how the life can change our goals and perspective in some things. Also you can feel the love of their treats and how the characters try to understand each other while they're experiencing some fears and doubts about life, their dreams, and parenthood.

At the end of each cap. the characters tell us what they learn, and how to resolve the "problem" or situations.

The comedy is good, sometimes it could be simple-minded but its really surprising how the writers can makes you laughs so hard or astonished you with drama, with history knowledge, tiny sad moments.

The most of characters learn and grown at the pass of the time, so it turn more interesting this series. The style of the series its comfortable and LGBT friendly.

It is far from being just another trivial comedy with strange jokes, instead is a funny and exciting series about parenthood, family and life.

This show is probably not as popular a show as expected, from TV-hit maker Ryan Murphy. It's usually easier to score TV series higher than movies. You get to fall in and out of love with the characters over a much wider span of time - so hopefully this will pick up, in what little time it has to prove itself. But after just three episodes of The New Normal, I'M sold!

The show centers round a gay couple housing their high school drop-out, blonde single mom surrogate mother, her 9-year-old daughter and her grandma - hence obvious "The New Normal". It's got a Modern Family feel (some might even say a bit too much, though I personally don't mind) in both style and content. But the actors are great, the writing heartfelt and funny in a camp sort of way. And that's all I need.

Especially Ellen Barkin as the outspoken bigot grandmother is a hoot to watch. And except for my inability to appreciate Bebe Wood, who plays the daughter, I'm finding myself caring for these characters already.

So I'm staying tuned in - and hoping you will follow suit, so that this show gets a chance to at least finish it's first season. I dare you not to chuckle, just a little..

The harsh critical reception of this program is uncountable, really, because for so many people the ideas promoted are abominable or simply foreign. I think it's marvelous.

It's hard to think of any other shows that make me say "aw" and laugh too much all in the same thirty minutes. The message of 'The New Normal' is genuine and sweet, and the characters are plenty without feeling excessive and mucky.

The gay couple here is actually a typical couple when stripped of the homosexual title. One man is exuberant and ridiculous while being sweet underneath; the other is laid-back and realistic. The surrogate, Goldie, is someone who is relatable for a lot of people because her dreams completely got away from her but never died. The grandmother is doctrinaire and her great- granddaughter considers her a bigot, but her statements and viewpoints do have an origin.

I must say that I have recommended this show to multiple people and will do so again. I do hope that it is given a chance for a full season and a few more.

I have had a blast watching the first three episodes. I love every single character and they all crack me up!

I think the main couple are adorable. They're crazy and cute and I want to know more about them, which keeps me coming back for more.

Some people will be angry because they are two men who want a kid (I think they'd make good parents - they're kind, able to support a kid, and love each other), some people will be angry because they are similar to some stereotype or another (I think they're just who they are - and who they are is a lot of fun!), and some people will be angry for god knows what.

Bottom line: this is a fantastic, funny show about a lot of kind people and a lot of crazy people who are just trying to thrive in their own lives. The show is very sweet but tempered with reality.

My rating: 10/10. I'm so coming back for more.

I really want to love this show, the first episode lacked so much though. I'm a huge fan of Andrew due to Book of Mormon so I continuing to watch the show. Each episode is getting better with wittier,edgier writing. Hopefully the writers can step it up a notch and add some depth to each of the characters with some back story and a little more dramatic situations. The relationship between the two main male characters is starting to get less stereotypical but its still there. So far, my favorite scene was the incident with the ignorant father in the store; that displayed daring writing that few public shows dare to go to, especially so early on in their first season. This show has the potential to be great, it just needs support and better writing.

This show started out with a lot of potential and just keeps getting better and better. It hits many of the hard issues related to same-sex relationships, but also ties in a lot of humor and heart.

The main characters, Bryan and David, are truly in love and the on-screen chemistry between them is obvious. Sometimes the writers can be a little over the top with the "gay" outfits and one-liners (modern gay people are more likely to act exactly as everyone else), but the show does a great job of showing how normal their lives are otherwise.

Shania and Goldie are also excellent characters with their own lovable quirks. Rocky's character is funny, but needs to become more than an African American cliché. Finally, Golie's grandmother Jane is probably the least believable character and needs the most work. It is understandable that the show wants to dichotomize her bigotry against Bryan and David's love, but it really needs to be toned down to seem realistic (actual bigotry is much more discrete).

Overall, the New Normal is definitely worth watching!

Goldie Clemmons (Georgia King) leaves her small Ohio town and cheating baby daddy Clay (Jayson Blair) to start a new life in LA with daughter Shania (Bebe Wood). She becomes a surrogate for gay couple Bryan Collins (Andrew Rannells) and David Sawyer (Justin Bartha) who takes in the single mom. Goldie's anti-gay grandmother Jane (Ellen Barkin) follows her to cause havoc in the new family. Rocky Rhoades (NeNe Leakes) is Bryan's assistant.

With the success of Modern Family, Ryan Murphy's attempt to make a gay-centric network sitcom is an obvious move. All the elements are assembled here with the gays taking the lead. It boils down to personal preference whether one likes these characters. Goldie is fine if a little bland. Daughter Shania is a little too wacky without another kid to balance her. David is the 'straight man' while Bryan is the traditional flamboyant gay. There is love in the relationship although I'm not in love with them. Ellen Barkin overpowers the cast. NeNe Leakes kinda annoys me. Overall, this collection of actors and characters stress me out rather than make me laugh. That makes it hard to watch sometimes. It's not a show for me.

I was skeptical when when I read reviews and saw ads for "The New Normal", because I felt that in most shows gay guys are very flamboyant and "heeeeeyyyyy"- like, which is not necessarily bad, however a lot of these characters don't have any depth, no feelings and only seem to be there to have a gay person in the show, who is basically just acting funny, and doesn't seem to have any real problems.

But "The New Normal" is very funny, has a good and very clever storyline, dealing with real and current issues in a funny way, like this year's election, gay marriage, racism, intolerance, interracial dating, same sex parents, and a lot of fringe groups and topics.

The main characters are interacting so believably sweet and honest with each other, that at some points you forget seeing two men. You see a couple having issues, like everyone else.

The grandmother is hilarious! Someone said, she is acting like she is from the 1860s and the worst character. I strongly disagree, I think she is representing the opinion of a very conservative woman, YES these kind of people are out there, please don't act surprised, because you know I am right. IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH DON'T WATCH IT! Is she over the top? Of course! Are the other characters over the top and sometimes stereotypical? Most definitely. That's why it is so funny.

"The New Normal" is an honest, funny, over the top sitcom that addresses very serious issues while taking itself not too serious all the time, and I believe everyone should watch it.

The stereotypical gay couple is tiresome. The single mom with a heart of gold is tiresome. The bigoted grandparent is tiresome. The quirky (but lovable) odd-ball kid is tiresome. They've all been done To Death. Combining them into one sitcom and then using the word "New" in the title is misleading. The problem with this show is that it's not new at all. A newer normal might be a gay person or couple with - surprise - additional attributes that could contribute to the humor of the show. The Luke character on Modern Family is a fantastic development of a kid; his perception is dead-on kid-like. Seeing the modern world through his eyes is fascinating. They've got to give this little girl something besides a crazy hat. I can't imagine what can carry this show – the pilot burned through all the gags several times.

I really enjoyed this show. It has a great mix of the comedy and reality that goes into being a parent and dealing with a society that has issues with this situation. Like any comedy, the characters larger than life and make the most of the theme of the show. I was laughing out loud quite a lot.

While most of the characters are Stereo types, that is normal for any funny comedy. Which is also what makes it so funny the Grand Mother is hilarious with all of the stereo typical comments from a bigot. Having heard all of these type of comments and having raised kids myself with my partner. This really hit home for me. I'm looking forward to more episodes.

While this quickly became my favorite show, I understand some people having problems with it, especially if they were expecting a comedy on the same order of "Will & Grace," "Seinfeld," or "The Big Bang Theory," with the airwaves thick with one liners. There's nothing wrong with that, but this show put more focus on issues, and the humor was usually more subtle, and often, but certainly not always, more geared to poking fun at show business people. It was more of a combination of drama and comedy, and like a movie, there was no live audience or a laugh track, so you can't take your cues from others for the things that might be humorous, or whatever emotion you feel. If you're not much into keeping up with today's celebrities, you probably didn't get the humor, and you likely felt left out. I'm not much into it either, but the show had me looking up various people mentioned, so I could keep up. I also checked several online discussions of that time about the series to get some insight from others about the celebrity comments. I loved this show, which had a great cast. Unlike most shows, and while the episodes can stand on there own, there is more of a flow from one episode into another, much like a movie. You really have to watch the whole series to see how the producers/writers deal with some aspects of things from earlier episodes. Overall,EXCELLENT! Connected with me very much. I'm proud of this show!

If you want to watch a show about everyday people with comedy. This is the show to watch. I know most people don't like that there are two gay guys but in today's society, that is the new normal. I think it send a good message to everyone. Gay people have feelings and they want to live normal but people don't allow them to live that way. Im not gay and Im not against them. At the end of the day, they want to be love, just like everyone else. People might not agree with the show but it is how regular people live. Goldie came home and caught her boyfriend of 9 or 10 years having sex with another woman in their bed. Goldie come outside crying and her grandmother goes in to let the boyfriend know he is not like. It probably have not happened to you but it has happen to someone normal. The guy couple, I enjoy love they have for each other. That is what makes them normal is love. I love the show! I hope it stay around!

I don't think critics and people hate this show because of the two gay dads, that's a cop out and an easy knee-jerk assessment. The bottom line is the show is simply a HORRIBLE clone of "Modern Family" that doesn't work because it tries to hard and is too afraid to make fun of its own premise. Modern Family has wit, heart and charm and this show has none of the above. Seriously Ellen Barkin as an over the top version of Ed O'Neill's character Jay??? She goes way too far with the content and is not believable. Also, the two gay fathers on Modern Family are indeed stereotypes but it works because they are not afraid to acknowledge that and make fun of the things they would like to change. They actually seem more real than the two gay dads on this show. Overall "The New Normal" just doesn't work, because overall the show tries TOO hard to be something it will never be, funny and real which is what makes Modern Family a gem.

This comedy is something between Will & Grace and Modern Family. Take Jake's words and attitude from Will & Grace as well as Cameron & Mitchell from Modern Family. Here you are. Although the first episode is pushed a bit too hard in acting on third episode it is settled. Acting is OK. Lines are usual. Yet it has a nice touch and script. It has the quality LOGO TV is missing in its own series. Perhaps because this is NBC. However the question is whether this series will last or not. As there are key gay issues crafted very intelligently between the lines such as an American soldier just back from Iraq getting engaged to his fiancé, gay adoption and surrogacy, etc. I just hope NBC makes the right call to keep this series as it is just funny. In this series kissing two main characters is not an issue as oppose to Modern Family. I just hope we will see the season 7 when they have their grandkids.

I think it's a very good show! It's a way to get the message out that gays are "expanding," and soon the government will have to deal with that fact. It's only a matter of time. Keep this up! I love this show! Sure the gays might be a little stereotypical, but some of those do exist, and its not a bad thing! I hope one day we will be able to see more of this in reality. Gays walking freely and openly without fear of being harshly discriminated. We're in the 21st century people. We have to grow out of our prejudices about things we don't really know about. Love is love

Oh, and eldestjay, you might want to get a refund for your PhD in psychology, because you screwed up your prediction bad. just saying

Honestly, I wasn't really looking forward to this show. But, I had to watch it considering I was trying to watch every pilot this season. I got to watch the pilot early, and I really couldn't have cared less. I'll start off with the only positive I can see. The main couple works really well together, and they make this show at least a little tolerable. However, they kind of remind me too much of Cameron and Mitchell from Modern Family. But then again, this shows seems a lot like Modern Family. Almost like an unintentional copy. But there a lot of things keeping me from liking this show. First of, I don't like any of the other characters. The surrogate is bland, the daughter is just there and really does nothing, the assistant doesn't really do much either, I'll get back to that in a moment. But the main character that annoyed me the most was Ellen Barkin's character. I know that she's suppose to be this really conservative women who just hates people who disagree with her. But she's too over the top. She either seems like she belongs in the sixties or on Fox News. Also, Nene Leakes's character has no point on this show other than for a racist joke or two. The only time I saw her in more than one scene in the episode was about the gay couple to prove to Ellen Barkin that they have a diverse group of friends. Seriously? But, there's this one thing that made me mad, even though it doesn't sound like I would be mad about it. There's this one scene in an episode where the gay couple and their surrogate are in a doctor's office, and they learn about possible diseases and disorders their baby could have. The last thing that he said was that their baby could have red hair, and one of the gay guys gasps. I got offended, not because I'm a redhead, which I'm not, but the fact that they're making fun of a group of people who get a lot of crap for how they look or how they act from people who want to be treated with respect, seems kind of hypocritical to me. Also, maybe they should of thought about having a baby with red hair when they realized that their surrogate's daughter has red hair. By the way, genetics are thrown out of the window as well, considering that the daughter has red hair, while her mother has blonde hair and her father has brown hair, unless the daughter dyed her hair, which I highly doubt. Also, it seems like every single joke in this show is geared to some group of people that are easily offended. Not to mention, that the show is rarely funny. I usually judge a sitcom by how much I laugh, I think I only laughed like three times in the first couple episodes, and they weren't even big laughs, more like little chuckles. Sorry to get a little political, but it feels like this show doesn't know who their demographic wants to be exactly. Obviously liberals would watch it, but their message is more geared towards conservatives who aren't going to watch it in the first place for two reasons. 1. It's about a gay couple wanting to start a family and 2. They will get offended by Ellen Barkin's character. So this show is kind of like preaching to the choir. But if you like this show, fine, watch it if you like it. I'm just saying why I don't like this show really.

This show is great and the title is dead on! For those who reviewed and said the title is misleading because gay or lesbian couples adopting/ inseminating is not new and not normal, well... you are totally missing the point of this show and should delete your review. This show is about a gay couple living together as a married couple and decided it's time to have a family. It's trying to break the stigma of a "traditional" family unit. We no longer live in a world where conservative values are the norm. The show is trying to push the point that bigotry shouldn't be tolerated. So in fact it is trying to create a "New Normal". It's also a sitcom and is absolutely hilarious! My husband and I laugh out loud every episode.

The concept is very interesting but the characters are not believable to me. Being in a long term gay relationship with an adopted son, I can relate to the story lines in each episode but the characters are still trying to find their place and often from episode to episode they contradict their personalities. David (doctor): was the guy with common sense that kept his partner level is now a bit emotional and insecure about adopting a baby.. Jane(grandmother of birth mom): Is a bigot but now appears to have found a place in the lives of the rest of the group and has eased off the sharp cutting edge she had in previous episodes. Rocky: Is just not believable...she is new to acting and it seems a bit..umm forced. Brian: Runs too quickly through his lines and as a result does not have the best timing. Goldie & her daughter: they, to me, are the only believable characters. I think the story lines move through each episode so quickly and end up being resolved or the revelations come so quickly without content.

There is about as many opinions on The New Normal (TNN) as there are users. Being gay and from South Africa (where we live in equality, can marry adopt and have all the same rights) it gives me an outsiders' view. The first thing that strikes me is that TNN though leaning to the liberal side does also argue very strong towards the conservative side at times and thus it is NOT preachy but used the standoff between two political sides as a platform for humour – Jane is often the standalone in a very liberal group and fights her fight gallantly and with fierce passion. I have never liked any program or film merely for its gay content, but I must say that this show was fresh and very well placed. It's time was right and its message was exactly where it should be. I have grown so weary of shows like "Queer As Folk" that puts me in the box of someone that don't have domestic family values as well. With the wit of phrase of shows like Maude and the speed and pace of shows like Pushing Daisies, TNN took on all the issues of life today in Los Angeles, USA and middle USA. The objections and fight put up by the group OneMillionMothers bleaching that the show was criticising conservative lifestyles should get some balls, quite frankly. My lifestyle as a gay man (married and stable for 18 years) has been criticised and the took the brunt of many attacks and campaigns from various arena's. All I can say to those mom's and dad's is, take it like Jane/a man and stop being such a whimpering sissy. I am sad to see the show go, but I am confident that there will be many good new shows (be is gay or straight) that will keep sowing he winds of change. 1000 years ago we burned people at the stake, today we wonder how we could ever be that barbaric. 1000 years from now humanity might look upon many of the issues TNN addresses and think the same. TNN had well though through comedy, excellent production value and the cast had perfect comedic timing. It was relevant, topical and not just another bleh mindless drip in the coffeepot being humour for humour's sake. It actually had some substance.