Last summer, ABC sent me DVDs with all of the pilots they had picked up for the coming season. The first show that caught my eye was What About Brian, a relationship drama produced by J.J. Abrams, who created or co-created Felicity, Alias and Lost. Abrams didn't create Brian (that credit goes to Dana Stevens), but his influence, especially from the days of Felicity, is all over the show. Essentially, Brian (Barry Watson) is Felicity 10 years later and male, in his early 30s and surrounded by attached friends: His sister (Rosanna Arquette) is married to a younger man (Raoul Bova). His business partner in a video-game company (David Gomez) is married with three kids. And his best friend, Adam (Matthew Davis), has just gotten engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Marjorie (Polly Shannon). Brian, of course, is single.
Oh, yeah: He's also hopelessly in love with Marjorie.
The pilot played like a well-made romantic movie: It was funny and touching, well-acted and expertly structured. Instead of setting up Brian's unrequited love as an unresolved storyline for the rest of the series, Stevens had him confront it head-on, while also acknowledging that it could never work. That doesn't mean it won't be a driving force in the series, but at least it avoids an endless stream of "I hope she never finds out" plots.
Watson, who did time on 7th Heaven and in some forgettable feature films, brings a sweet likability and realness to his portrayal of Brian, much as Keri Russell did back in her Felicity days. The friendships and romances on the show felt lived-in and genuine, and there was a refreshingly uncynical warmth that made even the most clichéd of scenes—like the last-minute declaration of love—feel fresh.
To my dismay, ABC had mislabeled it on the DVD—Brian wasn't set for a fall premiere but, rather, for a midseason debut. Even so, it was by far the best pilot I watched before the fall season began in September, and I told anyone who would listen how wonderful it was, and how important it was for them to watch it.
It will finally premiere on Sunday, April 16, at 10 p.m., and then settle into its regular time slot, Mondays at 10 p.m., the following day. That's the good news. The bad news: ABC will only run five episodes.
Although it's debuting in a prime slot following the mega-popular Desperate Housewives, it seems as though ABC is cutting off the show's chances before it's even aired. It's tough to build momentum, especially on a serialized drama, over just five episodes. Still, I was happy to watch the pilot again when ABC sent a new screener last week. It's not uncommon for shows to undergo retooling between the pilot phase and when they air, but ABC's done more with Brian than just recast a role. Not only is Polly Shannon out as Marjorie, replaced by Sarah Lancaster, but the entire structure of the first episode has been changed, with scenes deleted or moved around, new scenes added and the chronology completely altered.
It's tough for me to judge how good the new first episode is. The changes don't strike me as improvements—the jumping around in time serves no purpose, and Lancaster is a little blander than Shannon was—but they don't fundamentally change the nature of the show nor destroy what made the episode so good in the first place. One of the new scenes is a perfect encapsulation of the show's concept, with poor Brian the odd man out in getting a ride to the movies with his coupled friends.
Unfortunately, no other episodes were available for review, so I can't say how good the series really is. I'm rating it now on some Platonic ideal of what it can and should be, and since it's only got five episodes to prove itself, I can still say with certainty that you need to watch it.