Men Of A Certain Age Preview

TNT, who are doing pretty well in terms of original shows by my score, have a new show premiering December 7th at 10/9c, and it looks like another effort with serious potential. Men of a Certain Age stars Ray Romano, Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher, and I like the general look of things.

While I haven’t had a chance to view a complete episode yet, I’ve seen a lot of clips and talked to several people, and I think the character interplay is going to make for a very solid show. Check out some clips and mark your calendar. Better yet, set your Tivo to record the show here.

John Lennon once wrote, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” For three men entering the second act of their lives, those words are starting to hit home in TNT’s newest original series, MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE. This wry drama stars Emmy® winner Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond), Golden Globe® winner Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap, Star Trek: Enterprise) and Emmy winner Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Street, TNT’s Salem’s Lot). It marks a return to series television for Romano, who created MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE with Everybody Loves Raymond Emmy winner Mike Royce. The two serve as executive producers, along with Rory Rosegarten and Cary Hoffman.

MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE, from TNT Original Productions, is set to debut Monday, Dec. 7, at 10/9c, following an all-new episode of the network’s hit series THE CLOSER. The premiere episode is written by Romano and Royce and directed by two-time Emmy winner Scott Winant (thirtysomething).

MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE explores the unique bonds of male friendship among three men experiencing the changes and challenges of mid-life. They have been best friends since college but now, in their 40s, are navigating through the second act of their lives. Joe (Romano) is a friendly, slightly neurotic, recently separated father of two who had dreams of being a professional golfer. Now he owns and runs a party store. Terry (Bakula) is a laid-back, handsome actor who seems to breeze through life (and women). Lately, he’s spending more time working as a temp than as an actor. And Owen (Braugher) is an overstressed husband and father of three who endures constant criticism from his father, for whom he works as a car salesman.

These friends face very different challenges. Joe, who currently lives in a hotel, tries to connect with his kids and is dipping his toe in the dating pool, while also struggling with the gambling problem that may have ended his marriage. The unmarried Terry scoffs at domestic issues but sometimes wonders if his own single life is all it’s cracked up to be. Owen does everything he can to climb the sales board at his father’s car dealership and keep his cool over the seemingly endless renovation project in the home he can barely afford. Through it all, these men are there for each other when it counts.

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