TV

Trust Me

by Daniel McQuade

There are only a few types of TV shows: the hospital show where doctors hook up; the crime show where the bad guys get caught; the reality show where shameless contestants eat bugs; the reality show where shameless contestants strip.

And now there’s another: the advertising-agency show.

Advertising is not a new subject on TV: thirtysomething’s main characters worked at an ad agency. And Philadelphia magazine named it one of the top 100 moments of the last 100 years, so you know it’s important.

But now there’s Mad Men, the recent Golden Globe winner for Best Drama and one of the more refreshing shows on the air. And so somebody had to rip it off.

Every review of Trust Me will likely mention Mad Men. TNT’s new series is, like Mad Men, set in an advertising firm and seems to be a shameless attempt to ride the coattails of AMC’s biggest hit.

Ripping off a good show is nothing to be embarrassed about. But anyone trying to rip off Mad Men faces a problem: The things that make it interesting—cigarette smoking, sexist bosses, good acting—aren’t things networks are interested in. (Anyone who thinks differently will be asked to supply evidence. I can counter with all three CSIs.)

Viewers can judge a show by its own merits. Too bad for Trust Me. It’s horrid! The show follows Mason (Eric McCormack from Will & Grace) and Conner (Tom Cavanagh from Ed). Mason becomes Conner’s boss, and the two friends and former partners have to adapt.

In the pilot episode, Conner is about to lose a mobile phone account, but survives with an ad about a broken man whose phone helps him get his life back. Mason shoots him a tagline via cell phone: “What can you do with one hand?” No one realized that was a masturbation joke waiting to happen as these characters are dumb as rocks.

The stars of Trust Me have had to answer the Mad Men question; they say the shows aren’t much alike. Too bad. Trust Me might’ve been palatable that way.