Underemployed

Set to the backdrop of a metropolis and narrated by writer-type Sofia, the show borrows many of its style elements from predecessors like Sex and the City and Friends, making the comedy feel trite and predictable. What's more, it moves so fast through its unremarkable plot (unplanned pregnancy and birth, sleeping with the boss for a promotion, a virgin's sexual explorations, all in the pilot episode?) that it leaves little new ground to cover in the future, essentially burying itself in its own haste.

Underemployed does have one very important factor going for it in its very likable cast, though. With such diversity of personalities, it's easy to get caught up in the struggles of one or more of the characters, and their plight sets out to reflect the very real economic troubles that plague today's college grads. That said, these supposed minimum-wagers manage to live in some pretty nice digs and have little trouble buying diapers or hosting dinner parties, so there's a pretty large element of fantasy to their situations as well. The bottom line? This series doesn't break any new ground, and it actually does more to romanticize the "starving artist" scenario than it does to give a realistic look at it, so it offers little more than cheap laughs and sexy lifestyles to teens.