e.tv has announced the acquisition of
Courting Alex, a sitcom starring
Dharma & Greg beauty
Jenna Elfman, which will premiere on the channel early in January next year.
Elfman plays the title role of Alex Rose, an attractive and successful young attorney who has no social life. She works at her father, Bill's (
Dabney Coleman;
The Guardian) law firm in New York.
Bill, more than anyone would like to see his daughter in the dating scene and tries to set her up with fellow lawyer, Stephen (
Josh Stamberg;
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip).
Though she is not interested, Jenna still wants to find a man and has her close friends supporting her endeavours.
They are her British neighbour, Julian (
Hugh Bonneville;
Tsunami, The Aftermath) who is an artist and her brutally honest and loyal assistant, Molly (
Jillian Bach;
Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place).
Alex meets Scott (
Josh Randall;
Ed) while in court defending a giant corporation who wants to demolish his grandfather’s pub. Scott is a spontaneous and a worldly gentleman who is not swayed easily.
Alex falls for Scott’s irresistible charm but fraternising with the opposition is forbidden.
The series was cancelled on CBS after only eight episodes had aired, although 12 were filmed in total (e.tv will screen all 12).
The show has
a Metacritic rating of 39/100, based on 19 reviews from some of the top American television publications.
According to the Hollywood Reporter the show is "simultaneously sexy and relatable, (and) Elfman wins us over with a convincing performance that shows vulnerability just beneath a placid surface."
The Los Angeles Times, however, called it "neither a disaster nor a triumph" while USA Today called it "nothing if not dull". According to the Boston Globe it is "a charmless sitcom with absolutely nothing original in it."
You be the judge when Courting Alex premieres on e.tv on Wednesday 2 January 2008, at 20h00.