Tonight on ABC, Jake McDorman and Analeigh Tipton star in MANHATTAN LOVE STORY, premiering at 8:30/7:30c after SELFIE.  The show follows Pete (McDorman) and Dana (Tipton) as they traverse the rough waters of dating in Manhattan.  The entire time we’re watching their blind date (and subsequent attempts) implode (they were set up my his brother and his brother’s wife (Dana’s best friend)…still with me?), we’re made to listen to their inner monologues that include but aren’t limited to Pete’s comments about looking down Dana’s shirt, and Dana contemplating a mugging on the street to steal someone’s bag.

Dana has just arrived from Atlanta to start a new career in NYC and she’s excited about what adventure awaits; Pete is cynical and completely over the city he’s spent his life in.  They are perfectly mismatched, and they’re charming.  I like their chemistry, and I think that both McDorman and Tipton deserve to be huge stars, as I’ve been a fan of their work for years.

I don’t know that this is the show that will do it for them – they’re charming; they’re romantic; they’re lovely together, even when they get into one of their many arguments / misunderstandings over the course of the first two episodes.  But the combination of the overly-used inner monologues (they get in the way), plus the rest of the supporting cast, left a lot to be desired.  Dana’s best friend is a Type A nightmare; Pete’s brother is a “generic bearded sidekick;” Kurt Fuller is once again under-served (get this man a starring role on something again). There could be something here if they shake off the cliches.  For now, I’ll tune in to watch the charming moments around the two leads as they fall in love; but I’ll likely fast forward through anything else.