The new CW program “Life Unexpected” is not what you would expect from a channel that brings you the updated version of “Melrose Place.” “Unexpected” does not have the corny teenage drama of “One Tree Hill” or the manipulations and snarkiness of a “90210.” It’s a sweet, funny and smart show about a family coming together more similar to “Gilmore Girls” than “Gossip Girl.”
The show revolves around a girl who tries to escape from family obligations. The program’s website states” “After spending her life bouncing from one foster family to another, 15-year-old Lux has decided to become an emancipated minor.” Fortunately for her and the audience, her attempted escape from potential foster families is short-lived as the teenager soon finds herself reconnected with her biological parents, who have long since gone their own ways in life. Baze, her carefree father, lives above the bar he manages and her mother Cate is one half of a morning radio talk show.
The show revolves around Lux’s relationship with her biological family who now want to be there for her. Lux ends up moving in with Cate, who is engaged to her sparring partner on the radio. Cate and Baze attempt to create a family structure for Lux that also includes their respective families. Lux attempts to become a part of her new family while also keeping in touch with her old “family,” a group of fellow teenagers who also had some rough experiences in foster homes.
In a recent episode, the conflict between Lux’s old life and her new one was at the forefront. After her mother enrolled her in a new school, Lux decided to host a party to make new friends. Lux lies to her old friends (including her boyfriend Bug), telling them she’s sick in order to keep them away from the party. In the end, Lux steals alcohol from her father’s bar and gets caught for both that and for lying to her old friends. Later on, Lux’s parents both get arrested trying to manage the ensuing situation and Baze’s father ends up coming to the rescue. Inevitably, Luz realizes her mistakes and bonds with her old friends again.
The episode, which sounds like something we’ve seen before, is significant in a number of ways. One of the best parts of the new program is the division between Lux’s old life and her new life. When she did not have guardians, Lux had built up strong relationships with her friends, who often did not have parental supervision either. Now that she is living with her mother, Lux is tempted to try to have a normal teenage existence. She is trying to fit in at school with her fellow students even though she has had experiences that they could never understand. Lux wants to be just another regular student and sometimes in doing that, she forgets her unique roots and it seems like the show will often explore Lux trying to maintain her old relationships in her new circumstances.
Another significant part of the episode was the inclusion of Baze’s father in, who is likely to be a major focal point of the program. Like Lorelai’s parents on “Gilmore Girls,” Baze’s father is often disappointed with his son. In the episode about Lux’s party, after being bailed out Baze turns to his father and speaks honestly to him. He tells his father that he is sure that he never wanted to have the kind of frigid relationship that he has with his son and he invites his father into the bar for a drink. The father declines but eventually comes back for the drink while watching turtles race (the show certainly has a unique and humorous quality to it). The father-son dynamic sets up a strong backstory for the show as it seems that as Baze learns to be a father, he is also learning how to accept his own father and be a son who better understands his parents.
One of the other enjoyable parts of the program is its great cast. Although most of the actors are not well known, they all excel. As Baze, Kristoffer Polaha is charismatic and extremely likeable while showing a certain vulnerability when he is near his disapproving dad. As Cate, Shiri Appleby plays a responsible but naïve mother who tries to protect her daughter. At times, the role could come off as shrill but Shiri always manages to sidestep that description. Lastly, Britt Robertson does a fine job as a teenager caught between two worlds who is struggling to understand what it means to be cared for by responsible parents who will not abandon her.
Admittedly, I like nearly everything about this show. It is a unique, quirky and highly likeable show and I hope it attracts a sizeable audience. From the network that brings you “Melrose Place” and “90210,” “Life Unexpected” is a sweet and unexpected surprise.