Why You Should Watch Six Degrees, the New ABC Show After Grey’s Anatomy

As if you weren’t already glued to the TV for Grey’s Anatomy, here is yet another reason to stay up a little later. On September 21, ABC launched a new ensemble series called Six Degrees that has an interesting approach to storytelling and a complex series of vignettes weaving in and out of each other. It is sure to grab your attention if you sit down to check it out.

The fundamental premise of this show is that, just like in the game Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon, people are connected to others by less than six degrees. It explores the intermingling of these relationships in a way that offers a little something for everyone. The opener is narrated by Carlos (Jay Fernandez), a gritty NYC cop who is just about to meet the girl he will chase after against his better judgment, and against the interests of his career as a police officer.

Other characters are introduced as the story moves along, from the newly single widow of a war correspondent (Hope Davis), to a self made successful career woman who suspects her man is straying (Bridget Moynihan), to a struggling photographer who is coming to terms with bottoming out (Campbell Scott), to a black man struggling to leave his criminal past behind, along with his criminal family (Dorian Missick) and finally to the girl who is the object of Carlos’s crush, the girl with a dangerous past we are tantalized with (Erika Christensen).

The fact that it is an ensemble piece means that we are given only a brief glimpse into most of the characters, but the taste is enough to tantalize and draw the viewer into the story. Will Christensen’s Mae find a new place to sleep before the people she is trying to avoid find her? Will Hope Davis’s Whitney be able to catch her man in the act? Will Dorian Missick’s Damian continue to walk the line despite his gambling debts?

It is not just the diversity of the stories, but rather the honesty of the characters that jumps out and catches the viewer. although the producers are not above cliche. One particular scene that did not work was the scene leading to Mae’s arrest, and her first meeting with the steamy Carlos. She is running down the street with a group of friends that look like an overdone Benneton Ad updated to 2006, and decides to jump on the front of a street cleaner and rip her top off. Now I know this story takes place in Manhattan, and I know most parties in Manhattan break up around dawn, but the scene bugged me. It was way too contrived. However, once that garbage was cleaned up, the characters really settled in and you began to see layers pulled back to reveal what we really wanted to see as viewers – real people with real problems.

The show appeals to the voyeur in most of us, and comfortably reinforces the idea that there are those out there who are worse off than us. I mean, isn’t that the appeal of shows like Desparate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy and Law & Order anyway? Isn’t it always more fun to watch people whose lives are more screwed up than our own. We get to root for them, and when they succeed, we feel better, but if they fail, at least it wasn’t us, right?

I have a feeling that there will be no shortage of drama, success and failure in this no-miss ensemble piece. It is no accident that it comes from the same folks who produced Lost and Alias. They managed to balance reality with sex appeal and drama for a good story that will draw in the audience. I highly recommend you stay up next Thursday and see what shakes down and how the paths will intersect in Six Degrees.