Coast-to-coast viewing on Friday nights

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Reba McIntyre, right, with Lily Tomlin in Malibu Country (ABC)

ABC/Oct. 2/7:30 p.m.

(premières Oct. 4 on Citytv)

MALIBU COUNTRY

Starring: Reba McEntire, Sara Rue, Lily Tomlin, Justin Prentice and Jai Rodriguez

Premise:

A former country singer, who put her career on hold to raise a family, discovers her Nashville-star husband has been cheating on her; quickly divorced and looking to re-start her life, she packs up and moves to sunny L.A. in hopes of finding peace and perhaps landing a record deal.

Lowdown:

ABC has two country music-themed shows in its rookie crop -- Nashville, a smart and stylish drama starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, and this clumsy effort, which surely ranks as one of the new season's worst. The premise is flimsy, the jokes are pure scriptwriting hackery, and it's particularly saddening to see a comedy legend such as Tomlin wasted in such pointless prime-time piffle.

Quotable:

"All my fans are totally excited about this show. They're very glad we're back on television." -- series star/producer Reba McEntire, expecting a big ratings boost from her music-industry fan base.

Bottom line:

This one should drop off the charts quickly ... but then again, Reba's fans have rallied before to keep a middling sitcom effort of hers on for a long run.

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Janet Montgomery in Made in Jersey

CBS/Global/Sept. 28/8 p.m.

MADE IN JERSEY

Starring: Janet Montgomery, Kyle MacLachlan, Toni Trucks, Erin Cummings and Felix Solis

Premise:

A working-class woman from New Jersey uses her street smarts, straight-ahead personality and the support of her boisterous back-home family to make a name for herself as a new lawyer at a prestigious Manhattan firm.

Lowdown:

At first glance, it's hard to figure exactly what the inspiration for this cookie-cutter offering might have been. A lingering affection for Working Girl and My Cousin Vinnie? The success of stereotype-filled reality shows like Jersey Shore and The Real Housewives of New Jersey? Some weird combination of the two? Whatever the case, this newcomer feels like a very average legal drama using an over-the-top family gimmick to compensate for its narrative shortcomings. Imported Brit actress Montgomery has all the makings of a big-time TV star, but this isn't the vehicle to take her there.

Quotable:

"I'm from New Jersey, so I know that people from New Jersey are not what you see on Housewives of New Jersey or Jersey Shore. I was born and raised in Jersey. My whole family is still there. So this is sort of a Valentine, actually, to the state that I don't think gets a lot of good press." -- series creator Dana Calvo, insisting that Made in Jersey's stereotypes aren't like those other shows' stereotypes.

Bottom line:

Big family, big hair, big accents ... small chance of success.

RETURNING SHOWS:

Grimm (premi`ered Aug. 13; timeslot return tonight, NBC/CTV)

Marketplace (tonight, CBC)

Shark Tank (tonight, ABC)

the fifth estate (tonight, CBC)

20/20 (tonight, ABC)

CSI:NY (Sept. 28, CBS/CTV)

Fringe (Sept. 28, Fox/Citytv)

Blue Bloods (Sept. 28, CBS/CTV)

Whitney (Oct. 19, NBC; Oct. 20 on CTV)

Community (Oct. 19, NBC/Citytv)

Nikita (Oct. 19, CW)

Touch (Oct. 26, Fox/Global)

Last Man Standing (Nov. 2, ABC/Citytv)

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @BradOswald

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 14, 2012 D5