Coming Soon: Work It

When Does It Start: Tuesday 3^rd Jan at 8.30pm EST on ABC

In A Nutshell: It’s Bosom Buddies for 2012. Just what the world was waiting for!

What’s It About: Lee and Angel are two long-term out of work guys, struggling through the ‘man-cession’. After being out of work for over a year the two finally hear about a sales opportunity at a drug company. There’s just one catch – the company is looking for FEMALE sales reps. So what’s a man to do… yep, you guessed it!

So can Angel and Lee keep their male identities secret from their new colleagues? Can Lee also fool his wife and daughter? And how do shows like this get green-lit?

Plus Points: Okay this is gonna be tough – as honestly I just don’t see much working in Work It’s favor!

I guess the fact that the cross dressing sitcom is set to air after Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing might be some form of ratings boost. Let’s put it this way – the Standing audience aren’t exactly the sharpest viewers in TV – so who knows, maybe they’ll find Work It funny. That said, even Tim Allen couldn’t save Man Up, which aired after Last Man Standing last year and was quickly cancelled after just 8 episodes.

ABC exec’s seem to be aware of how silly Work It is – but are calling it a guilty pleasure. Sorry guys – “Revenge” is a guilty pleasure. Work It just looks lame.

On The Downside: Oh boy – what are ABC thinking? The alphabet network is home to some of the smartest comedies on TV (Modern Family, Suburgatory) – so why on earth would they decide to drag out some of the oldest comedy clichés known to man?

Cross dressing is such an old chestnut of a concept and if you’re going to bring it back you have to put a new spin on it. But everything about Work It feels old fashioned – from the central premise to the title to the use of RuPaul’s ‘Supermodel’ to accompany the trailer. This could be a show from the early 1990’s – or earlier.

The critics have already blasted Work It, calling it one of the lamest sitcom ideas in years while GLAAD have attacked the show for making fun of transgender people (which it doesn’t really). Personally I think Work It is too lame to be offensive. The trailer is embarrassingly unfunny and feels like the teaser for a direct to DVD. Plus the guys don’t look anything like girls. Work It would be a lot more plausible if they’d cast actors who actually could pass as women – rather than macho men in makeup.

The fact that Work It is premiering now, in the early January dead zone, is a sign that ABC doesn’t have high hopes for the show. Plus it’s going to be airing opposite Glee, The Biggest Loser and NCIS, the latter are weakened shows but still have some power – while NCIS is a ratings juggernaut that could siphon off a lot of the Work It audience.

I guess I also have a problem with the central premise of the show, that in a society where men still out-earn women, the latter somehow have an advantage in the workplace, so much so that men literally need to become women to get ahead. ABC seem to be working hard to create a white male whinge zone from 8-9pm on Tuesday nights!

Prediction: Personally I think Work It will be lucky to see out the month – but in TV you just never know. Can you imagine if Work It actually becomes a hit!