Sneak Peek: Swingtown's Premiere Episode

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:30:45 -0700

You know, I really want to like CBS' Swingtown, which premieres tonight at 10 p.m. I didn't make it one of my Top Ten Reasons to Keep Your TV On This Summer for nothing. But, unfortunately, the network's promo department doesn't seem to be doing the show many favors.

My evidence: the following video, a sneak peek of tonight's premiere, in which main couple Susan and Bruce Miller move to the suburbs and discover a whole new world of drugs and sex awaiting them. The video sets up what's going to happen in tonight's episode, which is fine - but it's made in the style of one of those seven-minute Sopranos videos, which seem to work best for established series whose viewers are ready to poke a little fun at a show's conventions. Applying it to a new show just makes Swingtown seem silly - which, reviews suggest, is one thing it isn't.

My hope remains that the show will be smarter than this video suggests, and I'll be tuning in tonight to see for myself. Anyone with me? To watch the sneak peek, just read more.

Photo courtesy of CBS

First Look: Swingtown on CBS

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:34:36 -0700

At last year's upfronts, I was surprised to see CBS attempting to step out of its crime-procedural-and-laugh-track- comedy box with a couple of shows that sounded distinctly different from anything the network had done in a while. The first was Viva Laughlin and, well, we know how that turned out. The other was Swingtown, set in the socially (and sexually) revolutionary '70s.

Swingtown is finally getting its premiere this Summer, and over the past couple of weeks, CBS has started to promote it - I caught one ad after How I Met Your Mother on Monday. The show centers on Susan and Bruce Miller, who move into a ritzy Chicago suburb and discover a seedy alluring side to life that they never knew existed. Watching the promo, I'm having trouble imagining CBS's typically older demographic reacting well to this - but I certainly want to see more. Banishing a series to the Summer typically means it isn't very good (unless it's on cable), but with more networks talking about programming year-round, maybe Swingtown can be an exception.

Besides its thematic resemblance to one of my favorite movies (The Ice Storm), Swingtown has at least one other cool thing going for it: Liz Phair is doing the soundtrack. Melrose Place fans also might get a kick out of seeing Grant Show in the ensemble. Does Swingtown intrigue you as much as it does me? To check out the trailer, just read more.

Photo courtesy of CBS