You Me Her, DirecTV's "polyromantic comedy," debuts tonight

Mainstreaming continues. NBC's Today Show yesterday morning interviewed Greg Poehler, the starring guy in tonight's You Me Her, which DirecTV calls "a polyromantic comedy... DirecTV's answer to the modern rom-com." The series of ten half-hour episodes starts tonight at 9 ET/PT on Audience Network, which is carried by DirecTV (channel 239) and U-verse TV (channel 1114).

● Here's the Today Show interview, in which polyamory is declared a trend that everybody's talking about. (Be prepared for it to autoplay; to shut it up, hit stop or mute.)

● The summary on IMDb:

What begins as an impulsive "date" between suburban husband Jack and neophyte escort Izzy, spins into a whirlwind three-way sexual affair including Jack's wife Emma, whose been keeping secrets of her own. Over a span of just 10 days, their "arrangement" breaks free of its financial bonds to become something else entirely: A real romance, with real stakes, involving three real people, confronting viewers with the compelling question: What if your best, truest, happiest life looked nothing like you thought it would? Would you be brave enough to live it?

● One-minute trailer:



● More video clips.

● A half-hour interview program with the creator and cast, posted on AOL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQXRD9gj2UM

● A preview showing at SXSW last week is reviewed: Series premiere of You Me Her at SXSW had audience laughing.

The audience watched the premiere of two episodes, laughing at many scenes, and provided positive feedback afterwards. One audience member said, as someone in a polyamorous relationship, he thought the creators did well in portraying the relationship without over-sexualizing it.

“The whole idea of season one is to take this unconventional construct and make it fit in a conventional romantic-comedy flow,” said John Scott Sheperd, screenwriter and executive producer. “That’s kind of how season one goes, with some huge surprises along the way.”

The series is not about sex, it’s about connection and how sexuality is fluid, [actress Priscilla] Faia said.

“What we’ve talked about is the idea ‘what if your truth and happiness look nothing like you ever imagined, what if it didn’t fit in to your immediate society, would you have the balls to live it?’,” Sheperd said.

● On iDigital Times:

You Me Her can lean a little too hard on its “rom-com” genre at times, but its premise is genuinely thought provoking. Through the first two episodes screened at SXSW, You Me Her appears to exploit its loaded concept from a variety of angles — romantically, socially and professionally. And though these ideas may seem like heavy themes to ponder, the show maintains a light, easy-going tone that makes it easy to binge-watch in one sitting.

If You Me Her streamed on Netflix, it would be hit. Its odds to succeed would remain high even on network television. Unfortunately, however, You Me Her will make its home on DirecTV’s Audience Network. The platform is only available to DirecTV subscribers, and even they probably don’t know of the Audience Network’s existence. So then, who will watch this TV show?

It’s a shame, considering the quality of You Me Her....

● Expect more publicity to pop up today.

● The show's Facebook page.

● And now it gets silly/creepy: As part of its publicity push, Audience Network offers a Facebook gimmick, "Would You Me Her?", a hokey little spin-the-bottle game matching you up with two of your Facebook friends who presumably might also be interested:

What better way to find your ultimate polyamorous relationship than cruising your friends on Facebook. Let’s get your relationship status to a heightened “it’s complicated” and get started!

I tried it and got random triple-ups with known poly Facebook friends. Thankfully, it made no attempt to push us together. But maybe that's because I was careful to share the results with only myself.

● Another promotional stunt: A See-Through Bedroom in Times Square Is Inviting Couples for a Threesome today, as told in this morning's New York edition of Metro (March 22):

Today beginning at 10 a.m., a totally transparent bedroom will open for “business” in Times Square. That business is to promote the premiere of You Me Her, a new sitcom about a polyamorous relationship — by asking couples to get inside, climb into bed with a model and pose for a faux threesome. Oh, and it could be broadcast on the Sony digital billboard at 1 Times Square, so, smile?

We’re not sure where to even start with this one, but equating jumping into a stranger’s bed with an actual polyamorous relationship seems like a bad way to promote what may actually be a legit show. [Thank you for saying this! –Ed.]

You Me Her co-stars Greg Poehler, brother of feminist comedian Amy, as a husband who hires an escort to spice up his loving but sexually stale marriage. It’s a grotty premise, but Amy wouldn’t let him steer us wrong, right?...

I don't get DirecTV or U-verse. If you watch the show, tell us in the comments what you think? Thanks.

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