HART OF DIXIE: Rachel Bilson Returns in Charming New Series

The CW rolls out the last of their new Fall series tonight when Hart of Dixie premieres, and it also happens to be my favorite of their new offerings. I didn’t expect that. In fact, when I heard the premise for the series, it didn’t sound like something that would be on my To Watch list. Imagine my surprise when the CW sent over the pilot and it was charming and delightful, with just the right amount of snark to keep it from being twee.

Rachel Bilson stars as Zoe Hart, a recent medical school graduate in New York City who dreams of becoming a cardio-thoracic surgeon. Bilson handle the role well, with a nice mixture of earnestness, consternation, and quirkiness. As the lead of a series, she has a lot of roles to fill – doctor, friend, confidante, mentor, love interest, boss – and it looks like she’s up to the task.

When Zoe doesn’t get the prized fellowship she thought she had in the bag, her mentor advises her to spend a year working on her bedside manner and connecting with her patients. In other words, this aspiring heart surgeon needs to get in touch with her own heart. Thanks to circumstances you’ll only see in fiction, Zoe is bequeathed half of a practice in Bluebell, Alabama, deep in the heart of Dixie (get it?).

What worried me about this premise was the tendency for Big City meets Small Town to either make the Small Townfolk look utterly backward and stupid with the Big Cityfolk there to save them all, or the Big Cityfolk to be shown up as inept and heartless with the Small Townfolk there to save them. Hart of Dixie strikes a nice balance, showing the strengths and weaknesses of both without being too heavy handed about it. Zoe mocks an antebellum group, and is gently reminded that history is important. The older male doctor who owns the other half of the practice doubts Zoe’s medical skills, but she proves herself without making a big production of it. A variety of other interpersonal relationship issues crop up, including an instant romantic quadrangle, made all the more delicate because everyone knows everyone else in this small town.

Both sides are navigating the waters and while there is conflict, the benefits of Zoe establishing roots in Bluebell are worth the effort. The show itself is not without flaws (pacing is an issue, as it is with so many first episodes), but Hart of Dixie is worth the effort.

Hart of Dixie premieres tonight at 9/8c on the CW.