The most controversial new series is NBC’s “The New Normal,” designed to offend several special-interest groups at once. Gays, because it skewers the fashion-obsessed superficiality of the culture. Heterosexuals, because it’s premise — a male couple hiring a surrogate for their first child — defies Christian doctrine (and has caused a network affiliate in Salt Lake City to refuse to air it). Grandparents, because the cast’s most senior character, played by Ellen Barkin, is a racist.
The gist of the comedy, created by Ryan Murphy (“Glee”) can be summed up in an observation made by Bryan (Andrew Rannells) to his partner, David (Justin Bartha): “Face it, honey, abnormal is the new normal.”
Enter Goldie (Georgia King). So far, not much has gone right for Goldie: At 15, she had a baby, Shania (Bebe Wood) and married the loser of a father. When she catches him cheating, she takes an impromptu road trip to California, thus escaping the scrutiny of her grandmother, Nana (Barkin).
“I certainly think the most controversial character will be Ellen Barkin’s,” says Murphy. “I remember Thanksgivings growing up when my grandmother would actually say these jaw-dropping things, and then we would call her out on it, so it felt very familiar to me, and I hope it will feel familiar to other people, as well.”
For example, Nana calls Bryan and David “salami smokers” Her granddaughter defriends on her Facebook when she says, upon seeing a lesbian couple nuzzling their new baby, “Just look at them strutting down the middle of Buckeye Road in broad daylight like a couple of gay peacocks.”
Executive producers Murphy and his latest collaborator, Ali Adler, don’t mind poking a little fun at themselves, our current culture and a variety of viewpoints. The result is a smart comedy about a very unconventional family that sticks a message in there in between all of the witty references and clever asides.
“Everyone needs family,” says Bartha, 34, who says he called Murphy when he heard about the project just because he wanted to read the script. “That is what the whole show is about. It’s about all of these people coming together to create what family really is.”
“This is a dream role in an important, edgy script,” says King, 25, who relocated from Edinburgh, Scotland, to play Goldie, although you’d never know it from her spot-on American accent. “The show deals with such important issues with so much finesse and humor.”
“Goldie is light and innocence,” says Adler, “and she’s the audience’s way in. To me, the boys are there to learn lessons from Goldie and her daughter, and they are there to teach her lessons about being who she is and valuing herself.”
“The New Normal” draws its stories from the experiences of the producers. Murphy, 46, is considering having a child with his partner and has met with surrogates. Adler, 45, has two children with her former partner, Sara Gilbert, co-host of “The Talk.”
“It’s a show about the family you’re born with and the family you find, and as you mature, you realize that you forgive the faults of both, and you create a larger world,” says Dante di Loreto, another one of the show’s executive producers.
That said, Murphy has shown time and time again that he loves tweaking the status quo and “The New Normal” does that in spades.
“When I was growing up, I remember one of the most memorable times I would have with my parents was watching ‘All in the Family’ and being young and hearing people talk that way and then having a discussion about what we had just seen,” says Murphy. “‘Was that good? Was that bad? What was that?’ So I like that about our show. I think people will talk about some things the characters say, obviously, but I think that’s a good thing.”
THE NEW NORMAL
Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., NBC