The Father Life had the privilege to screen a preview of TNT’s new drama Men of a Certain Age, which premiers December 7th at 10:00pm. Men of a Certain Age was created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce, who had both worked on ABC’s long running Everybody Loves Raymond. Men of a Certain Age follows three college friends, Joe played by Ray Romano, Owen played be Andre Braugher, and Terry played by Scott Bakula, and their adjustment to life not quite how it was planned.
Ray Ramano’s character, Joe, was a pretty good golfer growing up, but life started happening. He got married, owns a party store, had two kids, and got separated. Now he’s adjusting to his new life. Older and grayer, he’s trying to figure out how to make the most of the years going forward. He gambles, is a little neurotic, and is adjusting to a new relationship with his ex-wife.
Andre Braugher’s character, Owen, is overweight, diabetic, and works for his father at a car dealership. Owen is struggling to balance his home with work. He is pressured to show he deserves to be the heir to the car dealership by being there more, but his busy home life with his wife and kids may slip away if he does.
Scott Bakula’s character, Terry, is a struggling actor who is moving from temp job to temp job and is hanging on to whatever slim celebrity status he has left. He’s single and can still get women much younger than himself, much to the dismay of his friends, but he is finding out that this can only last for so much longer, and then what?
So is this a show that readers of The Father Life can get into? Absolutely. The show is funny at times, touching, and feels very real. Ray Romano playing a decidedly more dramatic role from his more comedic past delivers a very genuine performance. Andre Braugher is fantastic. I’ve been a fan of his work since Homicide: Life on the Street, and he was fantastic in Fox’s House season premier this year. It’s good to see him back on TV. He deserves to be on a strong series. Speaking of welcome back, Scott Bakula is back and it’s been a long time. He didn’t waste time after this year’s performance in The Informant!, and he’s cast perfectly as an actor has-been. All three do a fantastic job depicting the various parts of life while in a certain age.
The question, though, is will audiences tune in regularly to this show? TNT is doing everything they can to get the word out, and based on early reviews it is a great show, but great shows come and go. Is there enough to get viewers to come back for more? Will audiences make time to see this with all the other distractions out there? TNT’s target audience is middle-aged men, and the distractions middle-aged men have in their lives makes this is a very tough demographic to tap into. I have a hard time picturing a few buddies getting together weekly to watch Men of a Certain Age, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. 
Gabe Stampone and his family live in Rochester, NY.
Great review! I enjoyed it also.