Age is just a number...

Ever since I heard about Younger coming to TV Land this past spring, I knew it was a show I had to watch. The premise seemed so clever and it had a chick lit feel to it, which I always appreciate. And given that it was written, directed, and executive produced by Darren Star, who is well known for Sex and the City, I was definitely on board.

Synopsis:
Younger follows 40-year-old Liza (Broadway's Sutton Foster), a suddenly single mother who tries to get back into the working world, only to find out it's nearly impossible to start at the bottom at her age. When a chance encounter with a 20-something guy at a bar convinces her she looks younger than she is, Liza tries to pass herself off as 26 -- with the help of a makeover, courtesy of her best friend Maggie (Debi Mazar). Armed with new confidence, she lands a job as an assistant to the temperamental Diana (Miriam Shor) and teams up with her new co-worker and fellow 20-something Kelsey (Hilary Duff) to make it in the career of her dreams. (Courtesy of TV Land's website.)


I'm keeping this as spoiler-free as possible.....

Soon after watching the first episode, I found out that a bunch of my friends were also enjoying this show. There were some I e-mailed with weekly to talk about (and, of course, dissect) each episode. While the series started off being more on the raunchy humor side, it soon smoothed out into focusing on Liza's career and romantic life. That's when it became even better than it already was! Liza is a sympathetic character who is easy to relate to. Toss in an interesting blend of friends, a hot romantic interest (played by Nico Tortorella), insight to the publishing industry, and a boss that makes Miranda Priestly seem like a kitten and you have one amazing show that I looked forward to watching every week.

What I really loved was how Liza felt torn about the lie she was spinning, especially when it became a hindrance to her career. I could imagine what it would be like to convince people you're in your 20s, only to want to be able to share that you know what it's like to be 40 (or close to it). There's another 14-plus years of living you've already done and can't even boast about. That added a lot of substance to the story in contrast to her not knowing how to use Twitter (which seems kind of unrealistic since all age groups seem to be on there). It seemed like she was seen as a joke to people who actually believed she was in her 20s. Only people who actually were in their 20s took her seriously (with the exception of Maggie, since she knew her true age).

There was a good level of humor in the show. It wasn't overpowering, but once it got past the sexual jokes, it was witty and had me laughing out loud. Like when Liza told the guy she's seeing that she looked like Punky Brewster, she had to quickly correct it, lest she give away her age. She also slipped up about seeing Nirvana in concert. I also enjoyed the tension that was building up in relation to her big lie, both for her love life and her career.

As for the supporting characters, I want to talk in detail about the main players...

Josh (Tortorella) was definitely well cast as Liza's romantic interest. He's a mix of adorable and sexy. He has a rebellious appeal that I would have been attracted to in my 20s. His immaturity could be annoying at times, like when he was with his friends, but he also was sincere and seemed older than his age when he was serious about something.

Maggie (Mazar) reminded me of Rosie O'Donnell when she was in Sleepless in Seattle. However, she was much edgier and seemed like a true friend to put up with all of the craziness in Liza's life. She became Liza's cheerleader while also staying true to her own identity.

Kelsey (Duff) is definitely girl crush-worthy. She's beautiful and confident and also a true friend to Liza, even though she unwittingly threw Liza under the bus a couple of times. I just hope she realizes she deserves better than her boyfriend, whom I didn't like from the first time he appeared on the show. Her fresh-faced, actual 20-something excitement kept the momentum going on the show.

Lauren (Molly Bernard) came off as really annoying in the first few episodes, but then I enjoyed having her around. Not sure I'd condone having a "Hot Mitzvah," but she definitely adds to the humor element. Most girls would feel threatened if their best friend (Kelsey, in this case) was hanging out with someone new, but she seemed to embrace Liza and even helped Maggie out when she was in a pinch. I don't see her as someone I'd personally hang out with, as she'd probably wear on my nerves quickly, but she'd probably grow on me eventually. She seems to know what's hot and new right away and was definitely an asset for Liza to have around.

Diana (Shor) is the character I love to hate from this series. She's just so awful and I don't know how Liza puts up with her at all. I have to give credit to Miriam Shor that she plays an awful character really well. There was only one time she was nice, but I felt it was still self-serving in a way. Every cutting remark she made to Liza was just cringe-worthy. I really hope someone puts her in her place next season.

There are also some characters that were on for several episodes. The one I (also) love to hate from that group is Swedish author Anton Bjornberg (Thorbjørn Harr). He is just so creepy in the way he was coming on to Kelsey, whether she invited the attention or not. He disappeared from the series after an incidental episode, but nothing else happened with that story line, which makes me wonder if he'll try to come back next season. (Hope he doesn't and they just write him off in some way to give viewers some closure.)  The one I like a lot was Charles (Peter Hermann). He plays Diana's boss and even though she has a crush on him, it's obvious that he's more interested in Liza. I could see there being a romantic conflict that involves him next season, should the writers put that in somehow. I really like the romantic tension between him and Liza and it made me want her to tell him her real age so that he wouldn't just think of her as Diana's assistant.

If you haven't seen Younger yet and are still interested after reading this. you can find all the episodes here. There are only 12 and they're about 20 minutes long. Perfect for binge watching!

Finally, I want to applaud Pamela Redmond Satran for writing the book, as it makes a great TV series. I haven't read the book, but I was told that the two are pretty close other than a few name changes.

I'm already eagerly awaiting season two!

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