So, what can I say about TNT’s latest original series Men of a Certain Age? Let’s start with I like it … a lot.
Premiering on Monday, December 7, at 10pm ET, the realistic dramedy stars Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Joe, Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap ) as Terry, and Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Street) as Owen, three middle-aged longtime best friends who rely on each other as they deal with the various issues that life throws at them.
Each has a different lifestyle: Joe is separated and lives apart from his wife and their teenage daughter and preteen son; Terry is a laid-back, single aspiring actor who spends his time working at dead-end jobs and hooking up with women; and Owen is a stressed-out married father of three young children who longs to quit his thankless job working as a car salesman at his rigid and disappointed father’s business.
During the pilot episode, we meet the three men and learn a little about their lives and what they want out of them. One fact that’s clear from the very beginning is that these guys are friends in the true sense — they genuinely care about one another and don’t hesitate to help each other when needed.
However, the best thing about Men of a Certain Age is what might turn off some viewers. Unlike most of TNT’s original series, which are crime-oriented and appropriately dramatic, this newcomer doesn’t have a lot of what passes for “action” in it.
It’s not that nothing happens, but the events that do occur are the type of stuff you can imagine happening to “real” people, too. Since all three characters are about as real as real gets, at least on a television series, that makes the show’s leads very easy to relate to or empathize with, yet entertaining at the same time.
All in all, Men of a Certain Age is definitely worth watching.
Men of a Certain Age airs Mondays on TNT at 10pm ET.