Having a crazy roommate horror story is a rite of passage for New Yorkers. Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt 23, ABC’s newest comedy, takes that idea and runs with it. Starring our April/May cover girl Krysten Ritter as the titular b named Chloe, the pilot episode is up right now for a limited sneak peek on Hulu.
It’s hard to glean much from a pilot episode, but Don’t Trust the B— looks like it’s going to be an Odd Couple style buddy comedy about two women with completely opposing perspectives. Chloe is a borderline sadistic New Yorker who runs a grift on naive new-comers, over charging them for rent and emotionally abusing them until they move out. June, played by Dreama Walker, is the golden-haired goody-two-shoes from the Midwest who turns out to be Chloe’s foil.
As far as pyscho roommates go, Chloe takes the cake (literally.) The opening minutes of the pilot find her screwing her roommate’s fiancé on her birthday cake. It looks like it’ll be the classic brunette vs blonde/good vs evil dichotomy, but time will tell if this show runs deeper. In the pilot episode, Ritter’s character is already showing signs of complexity–while she is no doubt evil with, “the morals of a pirate”, it’s hinted that she may have moderately good intentions….sometimes. June is the protagonist of the show, but her character seems a bit flat. James van der Beek may be the biggest selling point, making his return to television playing a bizarro, egotistical version of himself reveling in his 90s fame and groupies galore, but I worry the jokes there may become easy and crude.
The pilot episode was hit-or-miss in my opinion, but I’m so excited to see a badass, independent woman character like Chloe on primetime television. I hope the writers don’t go the catty, mean girl route that comes so naturally to Hollywood, because this show has some promise.
Watch the pilot on hulu and let me know what you think.
