“Younger” is a new TV Land comedy from Darren Star, the creator of 90’s mega-hits “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Melrose Place”, as well as HBO’s “Sex and the City” (which appeared on the big screen twice, in 2008 and 2010). All of Star’s previous shows were geared primarily towards women, and the same is true with “Younger”, which will likely attract a steady female fanbase throughout its 12-episode inaugural season.
“Younger” also marks the TV return of Hilary Duff, who hasn’t headlined a series since her breakout Disney Channel smash “Lizzie McGuire”, which ended in 2004. However, while Duff is the biggest draw, she isn’t actually the star of “Younger”. Instead, she plays co-worker/sidekick Kelsey Peters to Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster’s Liza.
Liza is a 40-year-old mother who’s looking to return to a career in publishing following a 15-year absence. But she’s got some issues to deal with: she misses her daughter currently in Mumbai, her husband has left her, and her home is on the brink of foreclosure. And in a technology-obsessed, 21st Century where youth means everything, Liza decides to lie about her age (posing as a 26-year-old) in order to secure a job.
Star wrote and directed the Pilot episode, which isn’t as terrible as it could have been. Foster and Duff are genuinely likable in their roles and there are some nice jabs at the modern working world, including scenes involving Liza and her unpleasant boss starting a Twitter account for (the deceased) Jane Austen.
Shockingly, “Younger” is based on a 10-year old novel by Pamela Redmond Satran. Many of the plot elements of this first episode come directly from the predictable romantic comedies of the past decade, with Liza having to keep her real age a secret and potentially falling for a much younger man.
Off this pilot, it’s hard to see “Younger” developing the following of Star’s past shows. And it may not even earn a second season pickup if the storylines don’t get more substantial. But for the “younger” than 40 female demo (as opposed to Star’s now-older “Sex and the City” audience), and Hilary Duff fans, this could become the half-hour guilty pleasure they’ve been waiting for.
“Younger” premieres this Tuesday at 10pm, with a second episode at 10:30, on TV Land.