Life Unexpected is a Welcome Change

During the heyday of Warner Bros., the network specialized in gripping dramas such as Felicity, Gilmore Girls, Roswell, Everwood and Dawson’s Creek. But after the merger of the network with the United Paramount Network, those compelling dramas diminished significantly.

Life Unexpected premieres January 18 on the CW

Enter the new CW series: Life Unexpected. A much-buzzed about drama created by Liz Tigelaar (Brothers & Sisters and What About Brian) about 15-year-old Lux (Britt Robertson, Swingtown) who has bounced from one foster family to another in Portland, Oregon. She decides it is time to take control of her life, seeking to become an emancipated minor. As she journeys through the legal maze of this process, she finds her biological father, Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha, North Shore), who owns a bar and lives like an aging frat-boy with two slacker roommates Jamie (Reggie Austin, The Starter Wife) and Math (Austin Basis).

Baze is very surprised to learn he has a teenager daughter; and, in turn, he tells Lux who her mother is: Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby, Roswell), a star on the local “Morning Madness” radio show, who partners (on and off the air) with Ryan Thomas (Kerr Smith, Dawson’s Creek). Lux has been listening to Cate’s voice on the radio for as long as she can remember and feels an instant connection with the mother she has never met. When Baze takes Lux to meet her mother, Cate is shocked and saddened to learn that Lux has grown up in foster care; but is thrilled to meet her daughter.

Unexpectedly, a judge decides that Lux is not ready for emancipation and decides to grant temporary joint custody to Baze and Cate, who agree to move beyond the awkwardness and give Lux the family she deserves.

Critics have been raving about this new series since its inception and the buzz has continued to build, especially since the recently held winter press tour by the Television Critics Association earlier this month.

Will the CW have a winning drama on their hands? Tune in and decide for yourself; but I would trust the critics this time around as this looks like a return to the days of old.

Life Unexpected premieres tonight (January 18) on the CW at 9/8c and the pilot episode will reair on the network at 8/7c on Wednesday, January 20. The series will remain in this time slot until March 8 when it moves to its new timeslot of 8/7c and should conclude its final episode on April 12.