HBO
Hey, there, fellow hip people, how is it hanging? What are you up to – whazzup? – these days? What is on your television box set? What? Pssh, I have something new for you now. You will, like totally for sure, like it.
HBO has been trying to carve out a niche in hip, young people television programming for a while now – if we’re measuring in terms of Girls seasons, it’s been Three Girls Seasons – with somewhat limited returns. Although Girls remains a strong talking point (and its newbie time slot pal, Looking, has similarly inspired more than a few heady think pieces), the ratings for both shows have never been extraordinary, and HBO’s attempts to grab the younger set remain somewhat limited at best. That may be changing, though, as HBO is now folding in another new original program to their Young, Hip Sunday Nights (new term that needs a little work) that has the kind of more general appeal they need. Still, hip, though.
According to the network (via ScreenCrush), Sunday nights will now be the home of Girls, Looking and Togetherness, a triple whammy of relationship troubles sit-dramas that could pull in a very nice cross-section of viewers. If Girls can hold on to its steady audience of twentysomething girls and media members who like to write about it, and Looking can evolve into essentially viewing for twentysomething guys and other people looking for a fresh take on the LGBTQ experience, Togetherness can serve as a satisfying middle road that maybe – just maybe! – everyone can love.
After all, Togetherness does come to us from some of our very favorite people. No, really. Per its official synopsis:
From brothers Jay and Mark Duplass, in their TV debut, the show follows two couples living under one roof on the fringes of Los Angeles. Brett and Michelle (Mark Duplass, Melanie Lynskey) are struggling to rekindle the spark in their relationship, which has puttered out from the stresses of marriage and children. When Brett’s friend Alex (Steve Zissis) and Michelle’s sister Tina (Amanda Peet) move in with them, the foursome engage in a tragically comedic struggle to follow their personal dreams, while still remaining good friends, siblings and spouses to each other.
Oh, look, now you want to watch HBO on Sunday nights. We told you it was going to be hip. (Okay, it’s going to be fun, at the very least.)
But don’t let Togetherness be the lynchpin to your HBO-watching experience. Perhaps it’s time to give Girls and/or Looking another shot. After all, that sounds a lot easier than flipping the channels back and forth.
Girls has issued a new trailer-type thing for their fourth season, and it serves as an introduction to what we can expect form this new season and a bit of beckoning for fans to get on board with a series that looks to be steadily maturing. Come on, you know you want to look:
If you like that, watch it get folded into a more traditional trailer:
We don’t yet have video looks at this season of Looking or the new Togetherness, but we’re already guessing they will pair pretty nicely with these new Girls. Is Sunday night suddenly going to be the hipness night of the week? Well, probably not, but HBO is cobbling together a varied, interesting evening of television that might discover that the coolest thing you can do is mature.
HBO’s new Sunday night block will debut on January 11. Girls will serve as its opener at 9PM, followed by Togetherness at 9:30PM, with Looking wrapping things up at 10PM.
