What's it about?
MADE IN JERSEY is a drama about a young working-class woman who uses her street smarts to compete among her pedigreed Manhattan colleagues at a prestigious New York law firm. Martina Garretti finds her firm's cutthroat landscape challenging, but what she lacks in an Ivy League education she more than makes up for with tenacity and blue-collar insight. After just a few weeks, firm founder Donovan Stark takes note of Martina's ingenuity and resourcefulness, as does third-year chair Nolan Adams, who is part of Manhattan's royal literati; Riley Prescott, a second-year at Stark & Rowan and the daughter of the former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden; her sassy secretary, Cyndi Vega; and River, a former LAPD detective turned firm investigator. With the support of her big Italian family, including her sexy older sister Bonnie and her encouraging mother Darlene, Martina is able to stay true to her roots as a bold, passionate lawyer on the rise in a new intimidating environment.
(from CBS.com)
You should watch if...
• ...you really, really need another lawyer drama in your life.
• ...you really, really need another depiction of big-haired Jersey girls in your life.
• ...you really, really need something mindless to do at 9pm on your Friday nights.
So, how was it?
Until the moment I sat down to watch the pilot of MADE IN JERSEY and saw that the run-time was 42 minutes, I could have sworn that this was a new CBS sitcom. I mean, just look at that poster up there. What about that says serious lawyer drama? I seriously thought this was going to be a comedy. And maybe that would've been better. As it is, MADE IN JERSEY is nothing more than your run-of-the-mill courtroom procedural. The only thing that separates this show from the pack is that its lead is (GASP) a big-haired Jersey girl.
The pilot feels like a Direct-to-Video ripoff of LEGALLY BLONDE that you would find on the back shelf of Blockbusters (back when Blockbusters existed). Just like Elle Woods, our heroine Martina Garretti solves murder cases with the help of her knowledge of fashion and hair care. Really the only difference between this show and that movie is that the lead is an accented Italian instead of a ditzy blonde, it takes place in Manhattan instead of Harvard, and it's played totally straight instead of being a hysterical satire. So basically, it's LEGALLY BLONDE without anything that made LEGALLY BLONDE great.
All that being said, MADE IN JERSEY isn't the worst show I've ever seen. There's just nothing remotely special about it. You've gotta give kudos to the creators for trying to give people a more serious look at Jersey girls after their horrific portrayals in shows like JERSEY SHORE and the REAL HOUSEWIVES franchise. But why then, if that was their intent, did they cast British actress Janet Montgomery (ENTOURAGE, HUMAN TARGET) as the very Italian Martina, complete with over-the-top accent and an introduction where we see Martina go into a meeting in just her bra and jacket after spilling soap all over her blouse? They crafted a serious drama to humanize this girl from Jersey, and then made her just another parody. I suppose her clumsy behavior and heavy accent are supposed to make her relatable, but really they just make her a different kind of stereotype.
There's the usual roster of guest stars (Kyle MacLachlan, Donna Murphy, Felix Solis), but none of them are given enough to do to really elevate the show past mediocrity. It doesn't help that the show was given the oddest of time slots. Friday evening is usually the death slot shows get moved to when they're on the verge of cancellation or at the end of their runs -- it's not really a place new shows get a chance to thrive. And it's sandwiched weirdly between CSI: NY and BLUE BLOODS, both of which seem targeted at a very different audience than MADE IN JERSEY. Between the poor advertising, the terrible time slot, and the unoriginal premise, this show never really stood a chance -- it premiered to a miserable 1.1 rating, down 20% from A GIFTED MAN'S premiere last year, a show that didn't make it past its first season.
And the verdict is:
Atrocious. I will never watch this show again. Ever.
Maybe atrocious is too harsh of a word for this show, but I certainly have no intention of watching it ever again, and I doubt many other people do either. Given the lower standards of Friday night, MADE IN JERSEY could potentially stretch itself out for a full season, like A GIFTED MAN, but certainly no further. But the fact that it premiered a good bit lower than A GIFTED MAN points towards an early cancellation. So if for some reason you did find yourself connecting with Martina, don't get too attached.
What did you think, Fellow Addicts? Do you predict an early death for MADE IN JERSEY? Or do you think it has potential to grow? Vote in the poll below and then hit the comments!
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