I found one of the main character just so annoying. Interesting concept, some good characters. Like the partner, love the surrogate and her daughter. The mother is a bit over the top but she's meant to be. Just can't stand the main guy - so fake and rubs me the wrong way. It's like the annoying guy in the bar who talks really loudly about his so-not-interesting life that you just want to smack so he can stop. Everything is soooo... larger than life and dramatic! Karen and Jack from WIll and Grace rolled into one, but without any of the lovable character traits. Plots are also boring. For dysfunctional families and the new normals, go to the much more sensational Modern Family.

This show started out with a lot of potential and just keeps getting better and better. It hits many of the hard issues related to same-sex relationships, but also ties in a lot of humor and heart. The main characters, Bryan and David, are truly in love and the on-screen chemistry between them is obvious. Sometimes the writers can be a little over the top with the "gay" outfits and one-liners (modern gay people are more likely to act exactly as everyone else), but the show does a great job of showing how normal their lives are otherwise.Shania and Goldie are also excellent characters with their own lovable quirks. Rocky's character is funny, but needs to become more than an African American cliché. Finally, Golie's grandmother Jane is probably the least believable character and needs the most work. It is understandable that the show wants to dichotomize her bigotry against Bryan and David's love, but it really needs to be toned down to seem realistic (actual bigotry is much more discrete).Overall, the New Normal is definitely worth watching!

I was skeptical when when I read reviews and saw ads for "The New Normal", because I felt that in most shows gay guys are very flamboyant and "heeeeeyyyyy"- like, which is not necessarily bad, however a lot of these characters don't have any depth, no feelings and only seem to be there to have a gay person in the show, who is basically just acting funny, and doesn't seem to have any real problems.But "The New Normal" is very funny, has a good and very clever storyline, dealing with real and current issues in a funny way, like this year's election, gay marriage, racism, intolerance, interracial dating, same sex parents, and a lot of fringe groups and topics.The main characters are interacting so believably sweet and honest with each other, that at some points you forget seeing two men. You see a couple having issues, like everyone else. The grandmother is hilarious! Someone said, she is acting like she is from the 1860s and the worst character. I strongly disagree, I think she is representing the opinion of a very conservative woman, YES these kind of people are out there, please don't act surprised, because you know I am right. IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH DON'T WATCH IT! Is she over the top? Of course! Are the other characters over the top and sometimes stereotypical? Most definitely. That's why it is so funny. "The New Normal" is an honest, funny, over the top sitcom that addresses very serious issues while taking itself not too serious all the time, and I believe everyone should watch it.

I believe they were trying for a Modern Family type show, but this is just not as funny. There are some good parts - a few funny jokes, but mostly it's just tiresome. When the show tries for heartfelt, they just come up as tedious. There is a scene where the mother has a heart-to-heart with the little girl after a disaster at her wedding (the child's, not the mother's - very weird) and that scene just goes on forever. The character of the little girl was supposed to be quirky and lovable but is instead bizarre and preachy. The little actress does a great job with what she's given but her part is lame. The gay couple isn't so bad but really, why do these shows always have to make one of the gay characters so much of a stereotype? The grandmother is positively hateful. Where Archie Bunker had his good points, this character has none. If you are looking for a laugh-out-loud comedy like Modern Family with some lovable character, this show has none and it drowns in weepy(and sometimes creepy) sentimentality.