TV is the New Reading

‘The Ex List’ a show whose time has come … and gone

“The Ex List” is a concept whose time has gone – probably sometime in the mid-’60s.

See, a psychic told Bella Bloom she’s already met the man she’s destined to marry. But she must find him and marry him within the next year or she will never get married at all.

Two things: First, the presence of a psychic. Who’s paying attention to psychics these days? Ah, but she’s a psychic at – No. 2 – her sister’s bachelorette party, so ... Bella was already feeling the pressure to get married anyway.

There just generally seems to be less pressure on people – especially women people – to get married or, for that matter, to stay married. In shows like “Mad Men,” set in the 1960s, there’s a palpable social stigma against singleness – or, as it was called, “spinsterhood.” But then there was a stigma against gays and single parenting and divorce and against calling the police to stop domestic violence and alcoholism, too. People in the ‘60s seem pretty comfortable wading into and passing judgment on each other’s private lives.

But that’s not the problem with “The Ex List.” After all, it’s just a conceit to build the show around. Honestly, Bella could be seeking out all sorts of new men, looking time after time for “The One,” and the show would be just as compelling.

Bella basically encounters old beaus in the course of her day-to-day life and renews a relationship with them. She then comes to the conclusion she was right about them the first time and spends the rest of the show breaking up with them. Meanwhile, her wacky friends and family provide wacky commentary, and it’s honestly hard to really care much about any of them.

The difference is in the zeitgeist, the context in which she’s conducting this search: All the men she’s already met and rejected as inappropriate for one reason or another, she’s encountering with a fresh view not only of their history together but what the guys have done with themselves in the interim.

Second guessing

Not surprisingly, there’s a lot of insecurity here. First, as she re-encounters each prospect, Bella’s got to second-guess her rejection. Also, there’s the question of what if the guy is her soulmate but he’s already married someone else or ... I don’t know, grown a bunch of back hair or has in some other manner become unacceptable. Does she pursue it anyway? What new insights or criteria will she use in approaching the ex, and will she now discover true love?

And if she does, will she recognize it as such? The universe isn’t always so helpful with directing beams of sunlight or angel choirs bursting into song when we encounter “The One.” The One is occasionally distracted by The One in The Way. Or he left the apartment without shaving that morning and is looking a little scruffy. Or he didn’t realize he was meeting his “The One” that day and wore a grubby old sweatshirt. Or he’s bathed and charming and gregarious but because his “The One” thinks she’s having a bad hair day she doesn’t want to talk to him.

How, honestly, does anyone meet anyone these days? Even with a psychic and a deadline and a finite list of old frogs to kiss, when none of them turned into the handsome prince before, what’s their excuse now?

“The Ex List” is a fluffy, vaguely amusing romantic comedy in which pretty people look for love and obsess over whether they’ve found it. As viewing goes, it’s not especially demanding, and it’s about average in terms of storytelling. If you watch it, great, but you’re not missing much if you don’t.

“The Ex List” airs at 8 p.m. Fridays on CBS.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this column went to press, CBS announced that it was, in fact, canceling the show.

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