Channel Surfing: Partners

In this installment of our regular column “Channel Surfing,” Laura reflects on her highest-rated show of the week.

I’ll be honest upfront. I only started watching CBS’ new comedy Partners because it was on after How I Met Your Mother and I was too lazy to get up to change the channel. But I’m glad I did. This show about two best friends, one gay and one straight, who are business partners is ground-breaking in that it is completely ordinary. While I’m glad that television shows are embracing gay characters, they tend to be flamboyant cartoons of what gay people are actually like. And while yes, Louis (Michael Urie) is flamboyant and cartoonish, his sexuality is not treated as a novelty. Wyatt (Brandon Routh) and Louis’ relationship is treated exactly the same as Joe (David Krumholtz) and Ali’s (Sophia Bush). The show’s basis premise is that there are four friends and three couples, the third being Joe and Louis’ committed bromance. A recent episode showed Joe and Louis intervening in the other’s romantic life with mixed results. The show is funny in the way of a classic sitcom, with snarky back-and-forth and a dash of physical humor.  While I found myself laughing for most of the episode, this show is not without its problems. Work needs to be done in terms of character development, particularly in the show’s supporting players. Despite this flaw, the core of the show, the friendship and love between the main characters, is one worth watching. I’ll take a chance on it and hopefully so will CBS.