The Return of Jezebel James Preview

The Return of Jezebel James will be premiering on FOX in a special one-hour look into Amy Sherman-Palladino’s new comedy.

Friday, March 14th from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT, the "Pilot" episode and the second episode, “Frankenstein Baby,” will air.

I have seen both episodes already in screener version (slightly different than the final versions will be), and will run down a preview of what you can expect, as well as a new trailer of the first episode. (spoiler alert!)

Sarah Tompkins (Parker Posey) has everything in her life, except a baby. The HarperCollins children’s book editor has recently ended a long relationship, and is finding her footing on her own. Sarah is in a no-strings-attached casual relationship with her co-worker Marcus Sonti (Scott Cohen) – basically enjoying the ‘benefits’ of a relationship without the emotional attachments.

Sarah works to get what she wants – and doesn’t know how to accept "you can’t do that" in any aspect of her life. But, when it comes to having a baby, Sarah discovers it’s not something she can overcome on her own. Sarah has decided to have a baby and be a single mother, her relationship with Marcus being only casual. But she must enlist the help of her younger sister Coco (Lauren Ambrose) to have a baby. Coco is everything that Sarah is not – spontaneous, disorganized, ecclectic.

Coco and Sarah have been estranged for some years – complete polar opposites. Sarah explains her desire to have a baby and her wish that Coco carry the child for her as a surrogate. Coco has little interest in doing so, until she finds out something touching about her sister.

Coco finds out that Sarah is publishing a sequel to her young adult novel, The True Adventures of Jezebel James, a series based upon Coco’s imaginary friend. This insight lets Coco see her sister in a more gentle way. Touched, she agrees to move in with Sarah and to carry her baby.

The premise of the show is very good, and it is incredibly well scripted. Which should be no surprise considering it is written by Amy Sherman-Palladino. Fast-paced comedy with touching sub-plots. Comedy comes in unexpected places, like in the diner or from Sarah’s assistant, and it is easy to relate to the characters. Scott Cohen has a very well developed character, one struggling between wanting to be more than just a ‘casual’ guy to Sarah and with her decision to be a mother. He plays a more comedic role here, from his measurement of square footage to my favorite scene of his character, Marcus, admiring how he looks in his boxers.

I have nothing but praise for the script, for Scott Cohen, for Lauren Ambrose and for most of the characters and actors. But I do have some issues with Parker Posey, who has the lead role in The Return of Jezebel James as Sarah. I find that Parker struggles to deliver the quick-paced dialogue and sarcasm that her character requires. In these ways, Sarah is very much like Lorelai Gilmore, and the success of this character depends very strongly on the deliverance. But Parker Posey is no Lauren Graham, and her delivery fails to inspire. I found her acting very obvious, her emotions very forced, and was annoyed by her. I do hope that scenes have been re-shot since the early screener, as I find it difficult to imagine this show succeeding with Parker Posey at its helm.

Tune in yourself on March 14 to watch the 1-hour premiere of The Return of Jezebel James - and tune in here the next day for a full recap. Here are some teaser clips from the premiere:

Cr: Eric Liebowitz/FOX Tags: the return of jezebel james, parker posey, lauren ambrose, scott cohen, amy sherman palladino, dan palladino, fox, jezebel james