The New Normal (2012-2013)

About a decade before Covid made the phrase forever associated with social distancing and quarantines, in 2012 NBC put out a sitcom all about the uniquely modern family situations people were finding themselves in at the time called The New Normal. On the show, Bryan (Andrew Rannells), a successful obstetrician and David (Justin Bartha), a television producer for a show that's a thinly veiled Glee parody, are a happy gay couple living together in LA. With their professional and personal lives going well, the only thing they’re missing is a child. Since their form of boom boom doesn't involve a womb, to attempt to fill their void, the dapper dudes cross paths with Goldie Clemmons (Georgia King), a single mother and waitress looking for some extra cash and an opportunity to escape her dead-end life. Being fertile and open-minded, Goldie agrees to become a surrogate for Bryan and David. It seems like a win for everyone, but between Goldie's homophobic Nana Jane (Ellen Barkin), her naive nine-year-old daughter Shania (Bebe Wood), the contrast between the flamboyant Bryan and the straight passing David, and the general chaos that comes from pregnancy, things aren't so simple. For a sitcom with the word normal in the title, there's a whole lot of wackiness on it! Created by Ryan Murphy, The New Normal never caught on with fans and only lasted one season. But there was one scene that deserves to be replayed over and over. Soap opera star Peter Porte shows off his amazing physique during a daydream striptease. He bends over while dressed in office clothes, but all Georgia King can imagine is him hopping on the table and taking it all off! Well, not all of it, since he stops when he's down to his skivvies. Let's not make stopping at underwear a norm. No, it's not the nude normal, but go ahead and pleasure yourself to that body. It’s normal!