What to watch next week

The best new show I've seen this summer is lurking on a second-tier cable channel.

All times Central

Two new series debut Sunday on Lifetime: “Side Order of Life,” at 7 p.m., stars Marisa Coughlin as a magazine photographer who receives a wake-up call from the universe at age 30, just as she is about to get married to Jason Priestley; how convenient!

“State of Mind,” at 8, seemed more promising because it starred Lili Taylor and came from two of the creatives behind “The Closer.” It’s based on the writings of prolific psychology author Amy Bloom. But I was disappointed that it reverted to the Lifetime template of old, where there are no average men, only saints and rogues. After “Army Wives,” I had expected more.

“It’s Not Easy Being Green,” at 8 p.m. Tuesday on the Sundance Channel, is a BBC reality series about an English family that intends to live their lives without a carbon footprint. That means growing their own garden, generating their own electricity, and brewing their own biodiesel. The good-natured Strawbridges actually seem to have fun doing it, possibly giving lie to the title of the show.

Lifetime’s for the women; this is for the guys, and is so good it might be for everyone: “Mad Men,” an absorbing drama from an original “Sopranos” writer, debuting at 9 p.m. Thursday on AMC. The channel is building a pretty good track record since moving away from movies. AMC also brought us the entertaining “Hustle.” Set in 1960’s New York, “Mad Men” stars Jon Hamm as Don Draper, a clever advertising executive, a veteran with a Purple Heart in a box and a battered, bleeding one inside his chest. Great writing and acting and a flawless job recreating re-creating a lost era in postwar America, when men were men and women were their secretaries, make “Mad Men” my pick of the week. It's the best new show I've seen this summer.

And now something NOT to watch unless you enjoy train wrecks: “Set for Life,” at 7 p.m. Friday on ABC, is a TV show  I’m pretty sure they’ll be playing in hell. Jimmy Kimmel somehow got stuck hosting this noisy, senseless “Deal or No Deal” knockoff, where contestants can accumulate thousands of dollars in cash prizes simply by guessing — only to be overruled (pointlessly, if you ask me) by well-meaning relatives who can second-guess them at any time.

Comments

[BillSaysThis]

Something is seriously wrong with the HTML on this page, none of the outbound links work.

[Aaron]

Well, that was kind of wacky. Those weren't meant to be links. I'll fix.