I really, really didn’t expect to like Apartment 23. I’m not a big fan of sitcoms in general, and I really had my sights set on 2 Broke Girls. Me liking that show? Totally not to be, but 23 is totally for me (and I promise I will not rhyme again in this entire post). It has quirk (but not too much), a perfectly cast pair of female leads … and James Van Der Beek playing himself (the same way Neil Patrick Harris played himself in the White Castle movies). Unfortunately, Apartment 23 was somehow tossed on the midseason replacement pile, right alongside NBC’s Smash and ABC’s Scandal, two of my other favorite new shows.
Dreama Walker (The Good Wife, Gossip Girl) plays June, a small town girl fresh off the boat, who comes to New York City to live the American Dream. Incredibly nice … and naive … but whip smart, and learns the hard lessons quick. When her fancy job and corporate apartment go down the drains, she’s forced to find other living options quick. At first glance, Krysten Ritter‘s (Gravity, Veronica Mars) Chloe seems like the perfect roommate; she is, however, very far from perfect. She lies, cheats, steals, cons, seduces, and manipulates her way through life … But in the Barney Stinson mold, not in the “that guy from Lonestar” mold.
My favorite “character” is, in a rather inspired bit of casting, James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek, Varsity Blues) playing himself. Like I said, he’s one part Beek and one part White Castle NPH. His incredibly jaded take on himself the perfect partner for Chloe (Her “Straight-Gay-BFF” … her words). The Vietnamese Energy Drink commercial that runs at the end of episode encapsulates the character perfectly; though, I now wonder how often the now married JVDB played the Dawson card in his single days. Rounding out the cast are Eric André as June’s co-worker and Michael Blaiklock as the girls’ neighbor.
It feels like both Walker and Ritter have been playing these roles for years; they inhabit the characters masterfully. I’m also a big fan of the way this show is funny; there are nearly as many blink-and-you’ll-miss-it subtle site gags as there are overt set pieces (The neighbor spilling his coffee was right there on the line of over the top, but toed that particular line perfectly).
Originally, I was more than a little disappointed when Dreama Walker decided to ignore my dream casting post on Aaron Sorkin’s new show. Thankfully, she and her agent are a whole heck of a lot smarter than I am. Apartment 23 is going to be good (I wish they’d been able to keep the original title, The Bitch in Apartment 23). I somehow managed to get sucked into another sitcom. I have to tell you, I didn’t see that one coming.
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Sep 14, 2011 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
