CBS premiered its new attention-grab for the female population over 30 last week: "The Ex List." Starring Elizabeth Reaser from "Grey's Anatomy," the show has potential with its interesting premise and star power, but it must compete with a multitude of other similar, already well established series, a fact that could ultimately thwart efforts at true success.
The show begins with Bella Bloom (played by Reaser) taking her soon-to-be married sister Daphne (Rachel Boston) to a psychic as the culmination of her bachelorette party. When Bella takes her turn, the psychic informs her that if she does not get married within the year, she will never be married. The psychic also relays that Bella has already met her soul mate; he is someone she previously dated.
Bella then proceeds to make a list of her exes (hence the title) to help her re-find her "life partner," as she says. Helping her on this journey are her sister Daphne and Bella's three roommates: Augie (Adam Rothenberg), her best friend since college; Vivian, Augie's lover; and Cyrus, currently nothing more than a jobless free-loader.
Complicating Bella's search for her soul mate is her ex-boyfriend Elliott (Mark Deklin) who she recently broke up with because he refused to commit to the institution known as marriage.
As Bella tries to ignore her still-existent love for Elliott and follow the signs leading her to her old flames, she gets into different shenanigans and remembers why these past relationships didn't work out in the first place.
The first ex-boyfriend that Bella tracks down is Johnny Diamont, played by guest star Eric Balfour. Bella left Diamont seven years earlier on his birthday. Bella then discovers his band and their hit song, which describes a woman who breaks up with a guy on his birthday. Bella forces herself to reconnect with Diamont, assuming he will no longer be emotionally handicapped, but she is totally (and amusingly) wrong.
Audiences feel a strong connection to the characters due to the noticeable chemistry between cast members. Many viewers have problems with Reaser, especially due to her absurd role as the psychotic Jane Doe/Ava/Rebecca on the last season of "Grey's Anatomy." Her acting on "Ex List" is questionable in parts, and her potential as a leading lady has yet to be proved. But she handles the flawed Bella Bloom with comedic wit, and there are many laughs to be had at the expense of her character.
The supporting cast is quite funny, especially Boston as the lovable, younger sister Daphne. The roommates lack character development, and so far their roles' purpose is unclear, but they each carry off their minimal roles as well as they possibly can. The subplots built into Bella's search for love are very strange: Vivian gets an interesting wax job and Augie takes the stance of loving women ‘au naturel.'
Another problem the show has to deal with is that it is set over the course of a year — no more, no less. Though there is no rule that units of TV time have to equal units of human time (despite the "24" precedent), there is no possible way that one year in this show can be believably stretched out over numerous seasons. Making matters worse, it is painfully obvious that Bella's soul mate is right under her nose, probably being the non-committal ex-boyfriend or possibly Augie, the best friend/roommate.
All in all, the show isn't as bad as some other new endeavors. With a cute cast and a funny plot, it should be able to last for at least one season, and who knows, maybe a little bit longer.
