“Secret Life of the American Teenager”
Tuesday 8pm, ABC Family
Did you like Juno? Of course you did. So now here comes Hollywood to force lesser clones of the indie smash down your throat, starting with this new series on the increasingly edgy ABC Family. But wait—there is good news. While this is another story of a pregnant teenage girl, it has a solid cast that should save it from wallowing in mediocrity, starting with Miss Molly Ringwald, who knows a thing or two about the American teenager, given her time as John Hughes’ muse in the ’80s. Now, she plays mom to the pregnant teen, and she’s joined by erstwhile “Bo Duke” John Schneider, and “Melrose Place” alum Josie Bissett, as well as a bunch of other people you’ve never heard of.
“I Love Money”
Sunday 9pm, VH1
You have to hand it to VH1; the channel is so committed to our pop cultural ecosystem that it has found yet another new way to recycle its cast-off reality TV stars. I give you “I Love Money,” in which 18 former contestants from the “… of Love” series compete to win $250,000. I guess it isn’t that new an idea, since MTV has been pimping out its former “Real World” stars on its “Challenge” seasons for years. But while those kids were mostly self-righteous, entitled brats, VH1’s reality losers are infinitely more desperate and totally shameless. That’s good news for fans of the depraved and debauched. The cast includes the good (Megan and Heather from “Rock of Love”; The Entertainer and 12 Pack from “I Love New York”; Nibblz and Pumkin from “Flavor of Love”) and the loathsome (f’ing Real and Chance). At least this time out nobody has to kiss Flavor Flav. Shudder.
“In Plain Sight”
Sunday 10pm, USA
I know, I know: TV needs another police procedural like I need another McFlurry. But sometimes shows outshine their genre, and that’s the case with this promising freshman series. Mary McCormack (“The West Wing”) stars as Deputy Marshall Mary Shannon, who works for the Federal Witness Protection Program. Mary (the character) is admittedly kind of a cliché: she’s a tough-talking, emotionally battered loner who doesn’t follow the rules and yet excels at her job. But McCormack really sells it, and the smart scripts and solid supporting cast (including an underutilized Leslie Ann Warren as the white trash mom and “Dancing With the Stars” alum Cristian de la Fuente as Mary’s hunky butt boy) separate this show from the ripped-from-the-headlines pack.
