TV show about a girl and her boys is light-hearted fun

There are few things ‘mdash; and certainly nothing else on television ‘mdash; like the dose of… There are few things ‘mdash; and certainly nothing else on television ‘mdash; like the dose of urban-tomboy living delivered by the TBS sitcom ‘My Boys.’ Entering its third season on Tuesday night, ‘My Boys’ follows the life of female Chicago sports journalist P.J. Franklin (Jordana Spiro) and her group of male friends, including her brother Andy (Jim Gaffigan) and fellow sports journalist Bobby (Kyle Howard). Despite the gender disparity, P.J.’s tomboyish personality lets her fit right in and be ‘one of the guys’ ‘mdash; of course, the same disparity brings up a number of humorous, awkward situations that would certainly not happen if P.J. were a man.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ In the season premiere, P.J. and her gang are staying at a ranch in Italy for Bobby’s wedding to a Swedish nanny. While P.J. deals with having a fling with Bobby’s brother, the guys decide to have a contest to see who can grow the most impressive mustache.’ The drama escalates quickly after a night of debauchery, and without revealing too much, by the end of the episode a great deal has changed. More ‘Arrested Development’ than ‘Friends,’ ‘My Boys’ leans heavily on pithy dialogue and extended sports metaphors ‘mdash; delivered via voice over by P.J. ‘mdash; rather than overly convoluted situational humor and physical comedy. Because of this and the lack of the ever-irritating laugh track, the show is an unusual specimen among sitcoms. A lot of cleverness can pass right by a casual viewer (although the show never comes close to ridiculous ‘Gilmore Girls’-style speed dialogue). Also unlike most gang-of-friends TV comedies, the personalities are not drawn so broadly as to invalidate any potential poignancy in their stories. P.J. in particular feels no need to inflict herself on every other character onscreen (a la the nearly unbearable ‘Samantha Who?’). In addition, the drama ‘mdash; while certainly present ‘mdash; is never ridiculous or overblown, and the characters are down-to-earth enough that by the end of each half-hour episode, P.J. and the others are usually sitting around playing their trademark poker game, laughing heartily at the absurdity of urban living. The acting in ‘My Boys’ is thankfully quite solid. Spiro keeps P.J.’s tomboyish nature in check, making her an extraordinarily believable character ‘mdash; a refreshing change from the near-caricatures that have been tomboys in sitcoms of the past (Jo from ‘The Facts of Life’ immediately springs to mind). While the rest of the cast holds their own, Gaffigan stands out from the rest, making great deliveries while never seeming to stray into comfortable standup comedy territory. In general, the relationships between the characters are remarkably genuine. The season premiere itself is something of an aberration among the other episodes of ‘My Boys,’ imbued with a good deal more (melo)drama than the average half-hour sitcom. However, this makes the episode a good liftoff point for a season that promises to be full of unusual plotlines, throwing almost all the major players into unusual situations ‘mdash; the slacker opening up a business, the geek hiding a massively awkward affair, and so on. Fortunately, despite all the drama and posturing in the premiere, the episode wraps itself up nicely and leaves itself in comfortable territory, not threatening to undermine the casual, friendly underpinnings of the show’s nature and humor. While a welcome relief from the generic, laugh-track-laden sitcoms that dot the television landscape (see ABC Family’s new show ‘Roommates’ if that tickles your fancy), ‘My Boys’ doesn’t impress itself on its audience quite as strongly as critically acclaimed shows like ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ Instead, it presents a third option: a laid-back, easy-to-watch comedy with the occasional laugh and a lot of smiles.