Under the Radar TV Show You Need to Watch: Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life

Here at TVOvermind, we watch a lot of TV. You’d think that was an obvious statement. However, since not every show can have the social media presence of The Bachelor, we wanted to talk about some shows not getting as much attention. The next show on our list, FOX’s Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life.

Here’s a brief idea of what this series is about, without spoiling too much of the fun: 26-year-old Cooper Barrett (Jack Cutmore-Scott, Kingsman: The Secret Service) and his two best friends/roommates Barry (James Earl, Ground Floor) and Neal (Charlie Saxton, Betas) try to figure out life beyond their days of college debauchery. Trying to help them are Cooper’s brother, Josh (Justin Bartha, The Hangover) and his wife, Leslie (Liza Lapira, Battle Creek). If Cooper grows up enough, perhaps it will impress their attractive neighbor, Kelly (Meaghan Rath, New Girl).

In terms of ratings, things could be a lot worse for the freshman comedy. This week’s new episode had about 2.5 million total viewers, and a 1.2 score in the 18-49 demo. While total views seems a little low, the 1.2 rating in the demo is comparable to most other Sunday night offerings. Now, they could be the beneficiaries of following The Simpsons, but I like to think the series is standing on its own merit.

Preliminary reviews compared the pilot to The Hangover, and upon watching it myself it’s easy to see why. Apart from Justin Bartha being a part of both casts,  and a kidnapping situation, there are plenty of differences that have emerged over the next couple of episodes. Though honestly, trying to reach what I would call the “Hangover generation”  is a smart move for a comedy series. There’s an audience out there, still reeling from the end of How I Met Your Mother, just begging to be swept off their feet by a comedy with heart that they can relate to. I believe that Cooper Barrett might just be the one.

Coming of age comedies are nothing new. I’m willing to admit that my struggles to begin my entry into the real world put me right smack in the middle of Cooper Barrett’s target audience. I’m even the same age as the title character! But I turned this show on as background noise, and something about it kept me watching. After a couple of episodes, I realized that this show has tons of heart. It’s relatable to us men of a certain age, and the characters are wonderfully kooky, yet could be just like someone you know.

I really love the ensemble of this show. Cutmore-Scott, Saxton, and Earl could be three guys I really knew in college. They have a strong rapport and it works well for the show. Most of the funny moments come from something ridiculous they’ve done. Justin Bartha and Liza Lapira are delightfully goofy and bring something extra to the show. I’ll watch anything Liza Lapira is in. I hope the show grows to a place where Josh doesn’t have to bail Cooper out of everything, but the married man with a child trying to re-live his glory days is still a fun character to explore. To top off the ensemble, Meaghan Rath is the perfect girl next door. She’s strong, but also vulnerable. She’s smart, but still needs help with things. She’s really the glue that holds this show together. I certainly would not care about this show as much as I do if Rath weren’t apart of it. Kelly is the perfect foil for Cooper.

Have I convinced you? Set your DVR’s for Sundays at 8:30 on FOX. It’s no Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, but it’s just as important of a coming of age story. Cooper Barrett’s Guide To Surviving Life is a strong, relatable, funny show that hopefully gets a real chance to shine.

Catch the show when it returns February 14th at 8:30/7:30c on FOX.