Three new shows debut Sunday — a reality contest from Oprah, a new Farrelly brothers comedy from Fox and more “Dirt” from FX.
* In its first season, “Dirt” was a disaster. The show, which stars Courteney Cox as a gossip magazine editor, managed to make the more salacious aspects of L.A.’s surreal tabloid industry boring. It didn’t seem possible, but the pretentious “Dirt” (9 p.m. Sunday on FX) managed it.
The second season of the show is a vast improvement on the first. It’s not really a must-see — the characters are too thinly written — but it’s a mildly enjoyable, better-paced romp through celebrity scandals.
Central to the Season 2 revamping is a much more likable Lucy Spiller (Cox’s character). She’s still a demanding taskmaster in black stilettos, but Spiller is far less harsh and cold than she was in Season 1.
* At least you know what you’re getting with the new Fox comedy “Unhitched” (8:30 p.m. Sunday, WFLD-Ch. 32). An extended joke at the beginning of the first episode dwells on the amorous proclivities of apes. Yep, this is a Farrelly brothers project all right.
Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the filmmakers behind “There’s Something About Mary” and “Kingpin,” created this largely forgettable ensemble comedy about four friends who can’t find love. The people they date have bizarre flaws — but haven’t we seen those kinds of plots a million times? Though “Unhitched” stars the immensely likable Rashida Jones (“The Office”) and Craig Bierko (“Boston Legal”), “Unhitched” just isn’t particularly original or funny.
* Oprah Winfrey’s touch is supposed to be magical, but there’s something off-putting about her latest venture, a reality contest called “Oprah’s Big Give” (8 p.m. Sunday, WLS-Ch. 7). Ten contestants are challenged to help individuals who need everything from a new home to school tuition.
In the first episode, the 10 would-be helpers are put into five teams, and at the end of the hour, celebrity judges such as TV chef Jamie Oliver rate how well they did at working together to pull in donations, including those from celebrities and corporations.
But the show raises a lot of questions as it tries to wring tears from the viewer (there’s lots of weeping when the recipients get their gifts). How many of those corporate donations were lined up in advance and came from companies that were eager to be part of a prime-time Oprah endeavor?
And it’s strange that the staples of reality television — fighting and the ejection of an unsuccessful player — come to the fore in a show that’s supposed to be about altruism. Actually, it’s weird to be rating altruism at all.
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