It was nice to have Eliza Coupe back on TV, especially in her own series, after ABC broke a lot of hearts by canceling Happy Endings. In Benched, she starred as a disgraced corporate lawyer mocked by her peers for destroying her career and an expensive vase, all while belittling her coworkers after being passed over for the partnership she knew she deserved. I’m using the past tense there, because according to The Wrap, USA has canceled the series due to its 800,000 viewers per episode is just not going to cut it.
The premise was cute in the pilot, as Coupe’s Nina Whitley gave us a fun fish-out-of-water, riches-to-rags story that had all the makings of a classic sitcom – the unlikely love interest, a rivalry with the successful and handsome ex, a boss that doesn’t really give a crap, quirky co-workers, no-nonsense judges, a by-the-books bailiff, and a carousel of wacky criminals. And while she was insanely desperate to get back to the top, she’d learn a lesson about the things that really matter in life along the way. However, as nice as that all sounded, Blended just wasn’t very interesting, fresh, or funny.
ABC Studios hope that another network might pick it up, but hopefully Coupe will find something better that still suits her talents. Perhaps she could join NBC’s upcoming series One Big Happy, on which she might play, oh I don’t know, Elisha Cuthbert’s professional and hard-nosed older sister, who is also married to a man played by Damon Wayans, Jr. Then the show could merge with Marry Me, and if it’s necessary, the guy who played Dave could join them, too. In conclusion, I really miss Happy Endings.
