TV Preview
'Ex List,' a not so unlikely match up
By Diego Vasquez
Oct 3, 2008 - 7:37:49 AM

Name of show
“The Ex List”

Timeslot
CBS, Fridays 9 p.m.

Plot synopsis
“Ex List” is a female dramedy that follows Bella Bloom (Elizabeth Reaser), a 30-something florist in search of love.

At a bachelorette party, Bella chats with a psychic who tells her she's already met her true love. Bella sets out to find her man, but she must hurry. The psychic warns her she has but one year, and if she fails to find him she's destined to spend the rest of her days alone.

In tonight’s premiere, Bella tracks down an ex named Johnny (Eric Balfour), a musician who's sensitive but a bit suffocating.

Characters filling out Bella's life include her retired dad (William Russ), her sister Daphne (Rachel Boston), and her friends Cyrus (Amir Talai) and Augie (Adam Rothenberg), as well as Augie’s girlfriend, Vivian (Alexandra Breckenridge).

Outlook
While “Ex List” would seem to have the markings of a show doomed to fail, it probably has a better-than-average chance to succeed.

Here's what it has working against it: It airs on viewer-starved Friday night, and on CBS, a network not known for attracting young women. And showrunner Diane Ruggiero quit in September after producing just a half-dozen episodes, citing creative differences. That's never a good sign.

“Ex List” recalls NBC’s 2003 female-skewing Friday drama “Miss Match” with Alicia Silverstone, which fizzled.

Now here's what “Ex List” has going for it. It's getting mostly good reviews as a strong show with a likeable main character and a plotline that's not as contrived as it may sound. Too, it's funny.

It's also a surprisingly good fit for CBS's Friday lineup, airing between “Ghost Whisperer” at 8 p.m. and “Numb3rs” at 10, two relatively strong shows that have helped CBS own the night in recent years.

As a romantic dramedy, "List" might appear mismatched with the two mysteries, but the show itself has a strong mystery element: Bella's tracking down a different ex in each episode.

Further, “Ex List” leads out of a show which has a strong female skew. "Whisperer” typically draws twice as many females 18-49 as males in the demo.

Last season’s vampire-themed “Moonlight,” airing in that same timeslot, averaged 7.1 million total viewers, losing more than 14 percent of “Whisperer’s” audience. “Ex List” needs to do better than that.

It should be able to, as the only scripted series airing against three older-skewing reality series: ABC’s “Supernanny,” Fox’s “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” and NBC’s “Deal or No Deal.”

The buzz
Media people are high on “Ex List” as a show. Their one reservation is the Friday timeslot.

“Networks love to put these nice, soft, female dramedies on Friday nights, and they all sort of go the way of getting canceled,” says Tracie Chinetti, senior buyer/planner at Blitz Media in Boston.

But she says "List" is well-written and has a broad enough appeal to draw in CBS’s older viewers.

“The older end of the 18-49 demo can get into it, and it could definitely overlap and carry ‘Ghost Whisperer’s’ audience,” she says.

What critics are saying
“When I watched the opening scene--a bunch of lovely ladies climbing out of a limo for a bachelorette party--I had to turn off the TV to gather my strength. And when I turned it back on... I realized ‘The Ex List’ could be one of the more charming new shows of the fall.” – Gillian Flynn, Entertainment Weekly

“The tone of ‘The Ex List’ could have many CBS viewers double-checking the channel they’re tuned to -- its brazen emphasis on sexuality, lives out of balance and the lack of consequence thereof being more familiar themes on CBS’ pay cabler Showtime. But there’s a twinkle in the eye of this hour, which straddles drama and comedy, especially in the performance of lead actress Elizabeth Reaser, which makes it suitable for the timeslot.” – Phil Gallo, Variety

“Here’s a bad sign: Executive producer Diane Ruggiero, who adapted this version of an Israeli series, departed after seven episodes. She and CBS reportedly couldn’t agree on the show’s direction. So despite a game leading lady, ‘The Ex List’ is going to have a hard time wooing viewers. In TV, love means knowing how to finesse silly premises.” – Hal Boedeker, Orlando Sentinel