White Man (TelevisioN Thoughts: Happyish, Showtime)

Oh, the white man mid-life crisis - that's not a well documented phenomenon, is it? Well, looks like we have another new television show that - if the pilot is to be believed - will focus on it. Steve Coogan stars as Thom in "Happyish," where he stars as a 44 years old man who resists the changing of the times. Here it deals specifically with how a Gen Xer has to adapt to a world dominated by the digital age and social media. He resists it, even as the advertising company he works for is bought by young Swedes. Coogan is good, delivering the right amount of angst. The role was originally intended for Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and I do think Coogan is a much different actor that I wonder if the tone of the show was changed after he took over. The supposrting cast is wonderful - Bradley Whitford stars as Coogan's boss, and the wonderful Carrie Preston (from The Good Whife) is his co-worker. If the show evolves to something beyond the white man angst, I could just be interested more.