Terry Morrow: ABC keeps it fresh with 'The River,' 'Apartment 23'

Photo by Mario Perez, © 2011 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The search team for a missing adventurer keeps "The River" rolling for ABC this mid-season. The network has a couple of interesting offerings for viewers early in 2012.

Far from perfect, ABC's mid-season programming looks to be the best any network has to offer right now.

The alphabet network is offering up two shiny bobbles that will be worth your while: paranormal adventure "The River," which premieres on Tuesday, and the comedy "Don't Trust The (B-word) in Apartment 23," coming April 11.

"The River," which can be seen in a two-hour premiere starting at 9 p.m., traces a family's attempts to locate its missing patri arch (Bruce Greenwood), a TV nature adventurer. The show comes from Steven Spielberg and some of the guys behind the "Paranormal Activity" movies.

And the "Paranormal" tie-in is evident: A camera crew documents the family's search on the Amazon River, and the chills come from the same raw place that made the "Paranormal" flicks so much fun.

"The River" is an ambitious piece. It's a weekly chase to track down information while also featuring standalone episodes, making it convenient for new viewers to jump right in.

And if "The River" is canceled before the main mystery can be resolved? Well, the producers say the season-one ending can serve as a nice-enough wrap-up to keep the audience satisfied.

On the other end of the scale is "Don't Trust The (B-word) in Apartment 23," a sitcom that is far less raunchy than its CBS counterpart, "2 Broke Girls."

"Apartment 23" centers on two female roommates, one of which terrorizes the other constantly. The nicer of the two catches on to her roommate's schemes quickly enough, making it an all-out war between the two. James Van Der Beek, in a delightful turn, plays the "mean" roommate's BFF. The humor is smart and sassy without resorting to the gutter comedy of "2 Broke Girls."

Terry Morrow may be reached at 865-342-6445 or morrowt@knoxville.com.

© 2012, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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