What do you do when your husband leaves, your teenage daughter is out of the country and you really need a job after 15 years or so on the employment sidelines?
You might need to get Younger.
Sutton Foster (Bunheads) stars here as Liza, a 40-year-old looking to rejoin the work force after a messy divorce. She quickly learns the publishing business has changed over the last 15 years and is now filled with 20-somethings not interested in hiring someone who’s not sure what IRL means in real life.
Her friend Maggie (Debi Mazar) convinces Liza to get a makeover and pretend she is 26. The scheme quickly works, as Liza lands a job as an assistant to a demanding 43-year-old executive who needs someone adept with the new social-media marketing lingo. Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire) plays Liza’s work buddy and confidante, Kelsey.
Liza struggles with her new younger persona at first, coming up with a clever idea to promote a new Joyce Carol Oates book, but then forgets to add the hashtag to the tweet. She also nearly blows her cover in the locker room after a dance workout with Kelsey and another female co-worker, who remark on a part of Liza’s anatomy that looks a bit different than theirs. Awkward!
Then there’s Josh (Nico Tortorella), the 20-something tattoo artist Liza gets involved with while maintaining her age deceit. And Liza’s daughter will clearly add some spice when she eventually returns home.
With smart dialogue, the charming Foster and a solid supporting cast, this comedy should draw some “younger” viewers to TV Land’s usual boomer mix.
