The big theme in television these days: Make it young.
Programmers serve up stories about young adults to please viewers in that age group and the advertisers who covet them. Fox’s “Free Ride,” a diverting comedy premiering at 8:30 tonight on KDVR-Channel 31, focuses on a hapless college graduate who moves home to his impatient parents.
Dick Wolf, creator of “Law & Order,” concentrates on young assistant district attorneys in NBC’s “Conviction,” debuting at 9 p.m. Friday on KUSA-Channel 9.
Wolf installs Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” as a bureau chief of the district attorney’s office in New York. Cabot displays a serious manner that reflects the “Law & Order” brand.
The other lawyers in “Conviction” come across as attractive, driven and two-dimensional. There isn’t one as remotely dynamic as older, grayer Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) of “Law & Order.” Nick Potter (Jordan Bridges, son of Beau) is the enthusiastic newcomer who left a high-paying firm for the chance to try cases. Jim Steele (Anson Mount) is the relentlessly tough boss. Sara Finn (Julianne Nicholson) is the tightly wound prosecutor stumbling through her first case.
“Conviction” is minor Wolf, diffused and slick. He overstuffs the premiere with characters and cases, then takes awkward detours into private lives. “Conviction” strives to be frisky with tepid results.
The main issue in one sexual liaison is the dark, confusing photography. How’s that for hot? With time, Wolf might fix these problems. He explores the law with more finesse than the personal stuff. But his “Law & Order: Trial by Jury,” a stronger drama, failed last year after only a half-season.
In catering to youth this time, Wolf has delivered a ho-hum show.
More successful is “Free Ride,” an offbeat comedy that’s partly improvised. Filmed as a movie, “Free Ride” sheds the laugh track and studio audience. Instead, it offers fresh humor that should appeal to fans of “My Name Is Earl.” Creator Rob Roy Thomas is clear-eyed about his central character.
Nate Stahlings (Josh Dean) is handsome, witty and directionless. After graduating from a California college, Nate has landed back in his small Missouri hometown. His unhappy parents plop him in the garage and want him out soon.
In charming scenes, Nate yearns for former classmate Amber (Erin Cahill), and they seem right for each other. There’s just a small hitch: She’s engaged to another. In wackier moments, party animal Mark Dove (Dave Sheridan) flails at showing Nate a good time in a deadly dull place.
Two later episodes are funnier than the premiere, always a good sign. Nate finds work at an Australian-themed restaurant, where he must fake an accent. In another installment, he takes his father in for a medical test with scary but uproarious consequences.
The parents, Margo (Loretta Fox) and Bob (Allan Havey), emerge as the funniest and most likable characters. “Free Ride” has mastered a quirk of today’s TV: It delivers a youth-oriented show that should appeal to older viewers too.
