Time Slot For Rent

I thought it was settled. Although ABC had made numerous changes in its Wednesday night lineup, it seems that the network finally had one that would be stable enough to last for awhile. Not so fast - "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23" debuts tonight on ABC at 9:30 PM Eastern, displacing "Happy Endings" in the process.

Actually, the premise of this sitcom sounds interesting. June (played by Dreama Walker) is a budding investment broker from Indiana who lands a job in Manhattan at a big Wall Street firm, only to be laid off on her first day when the company goes down in a big scandal, as well as lose her apartment. She needs a roommate - fast - and gets to share an apartment with Chloe (played by Krysten Ritter), who is the bitch in the censored title. Chloe's plan is to fleece June out of extra rent money and drive her out to make room for another patsy. But June makes it clear that she intends to stay and that she isn't going to go anywhere without a fight. The show will eventually depict them forming an unlikely friendship, and Chloe is expected to reveal a soft side under her hard-candy exterior.

So, yes, I might want to see this one, but I don't know if I'll become a devoted viewer. For one thing, the show promises a fair share of crude sex jokes (did I happen to mention it was first offered to Fox?), the kind that would have been too distasteful for "Three's Company" (which starred John Ritter - no relation to Krysten). And the show's title, inexplicably censored at a time when the only person who can't say "bitch" is Barbara Bush, suggests that this series is likely to pull as many punches as it throws. So, yeah, I might go ahead and check it out for myself. I just wish ABC would settle on a more permanent Wednesday night schedule once and for all.

And fans of "Happy Endings" need not worry; the show has been renewed for the 2012-13 season.

Oh yeah, former "Dawson's Creek" star James Van Der Beek plays himself - and Chloe's friend - in this show.