As Larry David developed "Seinfeld," he openly and unabashedly acknowledged it was "a show about nothing." Now, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Larry David's show about Larry David similarly is a show dedicated to complete dramatization of practically nothing. Somehow, it manages to be funny anyway. Larry David stars as Larry David, who is a fictionalized version of Larry David. No narcissism in that set-up. The coincidences persist through the rest of the cast: Cheryl Himes plays Cheryl, Jeff Garlin plays Jeff, and Susie Eastman plays Susie, making it much easier to play along on the home version. A semi-retired television writer, David has trouble adapting to the social conventions in Los Angeles, and he devotes a great deal of time and energy to correcting or making-up for his mistakes"¦except when he correcting other people's rude or outrageous behaviour. In its way, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" testifies to David's and the cast's comic genius, because he outlines the plot for each episode, but the actors improvise all of the dialogue, keeping their own enthusiasm well under control.

So does that make this a reality show or a TV sitcom with a personal touch? Louis C.K. is well known in comedy circles as an award winning comedian, writer, and producer and that's what he does on his own self titled show, Louie. The show has been named on numerous top ten television show lists for 2010 and garnered Louis C.K. a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series on the Primetime Emmy Awards. Somewhat loosely based on Louis C.K.'s real life as standup comedian, Louie plays father to two girls and has occasional girl friends (referred to as playdate friends) like Pamela who keep life interesting for the world weary Louie. Look for some stand up comedy skits as well as conversations between Louie and his therapist. Not one to be bashful when it comes to treating sensitive material gingerly Louie covers a wide variety of subjects including Catholic guilt, sexual orientation, sex, depression, as well as divorce (which he is very familiar with). A comedian's life is never boring or without complications.

Sketches are a comics best format for television and Nick Swardson has a show that's loaded with them. Each episode displays some sort of rank and raunchy humorous ingredients that will make 7th graders giggle and adults cover their heads. But along the way some of it is actually funny even if rather dark. Skits about cats in wheelchairs, snipers who masturbate, and incestual dreams involving the Nightmare on Elm Street movies are unusual fare for family television nights and when the show's main character sits and tells us about what we are about to see we begin to wonder what world this is. Nick's dead cat, Fitzgerald, is fair game for another episode as are a fatherly bucket list for a dying son, urine powered cars, and even a Gay Robot. Never one to be short on "off the wall" ideas, Nick Swardson's Pretend Time will give viewers a peek into a rather weird place, the mind of Swardson. Imagine, if you will, recovering a time capsule full of sex objects, or following Gay Robot as he buys airplane tickets to visit the alien probe site (area 51 come to mind?), or maybe learn how a forest ranger steps in to break up intimate moments between homosexuals. All this and more can be found on the Nick Swardson's Pretend Time show.

Kenny Powers can play baseball with the best of them but when his career as a professional pitcher is on the downslide he decides to go back home to Shelby, North Carolina and become a physical education teacher. Some may wonder where those coaches come from and this might be a clue. Plenty of pro athletes return to their roots when they find there are only so many positions to go around and lots of excellent potential superstars to fill them. Helping mold and train those brilliant young athletes is what coaching is all about and Kenny Powers plans on doing his best to help build the best. Danny McBride stars as Powers and this Will Ferrell produced television show made for HBO is excellent programming that shows the difficulty and rewards of becoming the best that you can be. The trip back to his middle school and home town give this burned out ball player a new lease on life and is an inspiration for young athletes and physical education in general.

If your family drama cannot be "Modern Family" or "Brothers and Sisters," then what can it be? It almost inevitably will be NBC's "Parenthood," a mid-season, post-Olympic experiment boldly launched in February, 2010. The "Parenthood" experiment tests the hypothesis that good writers and actors can find the middle ground between "Modern Family's" understated but outrageous satire and "Brothers and Sisters'" intensity. Producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are re-working the basic premise of Parenthood, the 1989 movie starring Steve Martin as a frazzled father trying with all his might to do the right thing for everyone he loves. The New York Times accurately observes, "'Parenthood,' with its polished scripts and beautifully shot exteriors, seems like a last gasp of television past," big-big production values and a cast of small-screen all-stars including Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia, and Lauren Graham. "Parenthood's" plots and dialogue exploit the irony in everyday family life, winning empathetic laughs and wry smiles where other teams might push too hard for punchlines. Some of the dialogue has the same brilliant serrated edge that distinguished "Gilmore Girls," but, as Lauren Graham points out, "I do not have to talk so fast." Like all good comedy, the teasing and quirkiness are fundamentally good-natured, and every episode features at least one weep-worthy segment. Because "Parenthood" is not "Modern Family" or "Brothers and Sisters," it has become the rarest of rare productions at NBC"”a hit.

Does "Californication" have an audience outside Los Angeles? "X-Files" hero and heart-throb David Duchovny plays a novelist who's addicted to both sex and drugs but takes a shot at raising his teenage daughter on his own. For the real Hollywood housewives, this Showtime staple may seem at least as ripped-from-everyday-life as their own weekly melodrama, but how does it play Omaha and Schenectady? If blocked writers really were seductive, a million part-time bloggers would feel empowered to rewrite Lady Chatterley's Lover. Two salient features keep premier cable viewers tuning in for their weekly dose of SoCal self-pity: First, son of a playwright and alumnus of Princeton, Duchovny has enough empathy for his ostensibly tortured character that he can invest "Californication's" uninspired screenwriting with a little angst, a lot of sex appeal, and a soupcon of roguish charm. Second, whatever "Californication" lacks in substance and depth, it more than makes-up in graphic sex. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of relevant family drama woven-in there somewhere?