I never watched Undercover Boss because it seemed like it was just some bourgeoisie coming down to see how the plebes lived for a week before going back to their golden castles. It was like a “let them eat cake” version for the televised age. Plus a second season sounded silly for the show launched by the Super Bowl, seen by a third of all Americans. They really could find enough places where the worker bees are not suspicious of the old newbie in a bad wig and glasses? So I am a bit weary of anything “from the producers of Undercover Boss.”
Inside Job takes the Undercover Boss formula and tweaks it so there is not that icky “let them eat cake” vibe of its predecessor. Instead of the boss going undercover, (s)he sends an employee undercover as part of an interview process to fill a new position. But those other three applicants, who also share a house during the episode, are unaware that there is a mole amongst them. Then after the end of the interview process, it is the mole, not the boss who will pick who is hired.
Inside Job does a very good job in pacing as they do not reveal to the viewer right away who the insider is. But it does reveal who it is about halfway through the episode. So for those that like to put on their detective’s hat and try to figure out who employed by the business, you have plenty of time to guess, but we find out before the gimmick becomes annoying. Even before we meet any of the applicants, I guessed that the insider would be the oldest and / or the most boring while the person hired would be the next most boring. Going with that theory I was able to guess who the mole was on one of the two episodes I saw and who was hired on both. (The cynic in me would say each company already knows who they are going to hire and the producers provide the two “applicants” for entertainment value.)
The companies participating in the premiere season will be Mazda, House of Blues, Johnny Rockets, Abbyson Living, David Barton Gym, and Showdazzle.com. And where a second season of Undercover Boss seemed silly, more seasons of Inside Job could work because it will undoubtedly have a smaller audience. And even if future applicants are familiar with the twist, it would still be entertaining to see them try to figure out who among them already have a job within the company.
Inside Job airs Fridays at 9:00 on TNT.
Save Our Business is another “from the producers of…” whose show sounds like a small variation on their previous series. This show comes from the guys behind Kitchen Nightmares but instead Gordon Ramsey coming in to turn around failing restaurants, British entrepreneur and millionaire Peter Jones (who reminds me a little too much of Taran Killam as the recently unemployed Piers Morgan on Saturday Night Live) comes in and helps turn around failing businesses. Jones is less of a prick than Ramsey, but he still gives very blunt assessments of the businesses he encounters. During the first season, Jones will lend his expertise and tough-love guidance to an online retailer of “vintage inspired” woman’s clothing, an indoor kids theme park, a karate school, a combination florist / wine store, and a New York City bagel deli.
Save Our Business airs Fridays at 10:00 on TNT.
- Beck
was greenlighted). 
1. The After – It has been a while since we have seen anything from Chris Carter. The only thing on his resume after the end of The X-Files is as the producer of The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Of course back in The X-Files days, he was one of the few sci-fi shows on the dial along with whatever Star Trek spin-off was airing on UPN at the time. In the post-Lost era, now every station, network or cable has their own science fiction show (or continue to find one that sticks in many cases). The After features eight strangers (the dude from Heroes, the dude from Leverage, the white chick from Soul Plane, the chick from NYPD Blue, Jamie Kennedy in clown makeup among them) stuck in parking garage at the end of the world. Of course this is not a chance meeting otherwise this would not be a Chris Carter show (a surprise character at the end of the Pilot makes it very clear that it is a Chris Carter show). During the first hours it is hard not to think of Lost (strangers that happen upon something supernatural), FlashForward (this is missing time), and Revolution (power stops working, but not in a stupid way like Revolution). But this is the creator of modern day sci-fi, so this show has the most upside of all the Pilots.
2. The Rebels – This show is basically what Major League would be if they focused on the cheerleader turned widow of a profession sport team except it is the other owners who want her to sell and move the team. But what made Major League great were the wacky characters. The Rebels focus too much on the straight owner Natalie Zea (Raylan Givens’ baby mama) who biggest joke is wanting to change the team's "costumes" and her assistant turned general manager. The best parts of the Pilot are whenever the coked up, monkey buying wide receiver is on screen (well I do not remember if they stated his position, but he is clearly a wide receiver because they are all crazy). If they end up focusing on the wacky locker-room hijacks instead of the boardroom, The Rebels could have the most potential of all the comedies this season.
3. Mozart in the Jungle – Based on the cover image and the opening scenes, this show could easily be mistaken as a drama. There are a few dramas that have more and more effective laughs. Really Gael Garcia Bernal (I’m with Lucy) seems like he is acting in a farce about a conductor while everyone else seems to be starring in a Smash spin-off which goes behind the scenes of a prestigious orchestra. 
4. Bosch: Titus Welliver may not be a household name, but if you have watched any dramas over the past decade, you have undoubtedly seen him as he has been in roughly fifty percent of them over the past ten years. Though despite in appearing in about fifty different shows in his career, he has only been in the main cast twice. Now he is the lead of Bosch which appropriately is littered with actors that you will recognize but may not know where from exactly with the exception of Herschel Green from The Walking Dead who is still sporting his post-apocalypse ponytail and straggly beard. Bosch is another cop show (Welliver is the titular character) with a gruff detective that gets the job done. The show starts off with Bosch on trail for shooting a perp while on the weekend he is investigation the murder of a young boy who was buried in the woods. It is clear that Bosch is connected to the case, be it involved himself or maybe he was beaten as a child, it remains unclear from the Pilot. But it feels like I have already seen this show many times before. It is surprising that the show is not already on TNT right now. 
5. Transparent – Another comedy in the sense that it is only thirty minutes long, not in that you will spend much time laughing. This one is about three children of a man (George Bluth Sr. himself Jeffery Tambor) who seems to be going through a midlife crises when he calls his children over some big news (like probably most viewers, the children think it is cancer). There is a big plot twist halfway through that makes the title make complete sense. But none of it is funny at all, it does not even seem like it is trying to be funny. Really the only thing the show has going for it is that it looks like it is trying to beat Californication’s record for most nudity in a “comedy” title.
- William Fitzsimmons
the blue state version of 
. Jason Katims is the guy behind both and has even recruited a few Dillon alums to hang with the Bravermans (Lyla, Vince, Luke, and Jess). Except they all played new characters. Now for the first time, a former Coach Taylor player has found their way to California when Landry and his band Crucifictorious are recording at the Lunchenette with Amber after hours. Below is the first of four webisobes which has a few FNL references: “Lance,” Becky referred them (though it is not known how Amber knows her aside from her ex-fiancé’s doppelganger knocked Becky up), and even am East Dillon t-shirt makes an appearance. The next three episodes will hit the internets sometime next week and will feature another familiar face from Dillon.
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on my 
: This month’s $5 albums include U2, The Avett Brothers, The Steve Miller Band, and Beck.
- Band of Horses
(St. Martin’s, 2/18) offers exclusive musical insights, riveting tales of violence and betrayal, drug and alcohol use, murder allegations, tragic early deaths, and outrageous road stories—as told by the members themselves. Written in oral history format with the band’s full participation, One Way Out is based on exclusive interviews with over 60 people intimately related to the band—including all surviving members. It features never-before-seen photos, letters and memorabilia as well as a foreword and afterword by founding members Butch Trucks and Jaimoe.