MOM V. DAD V. NYC KINDERGARTEN ADMISSIONS

What are the odds that two new TV sitcoms would premiere in the same summer, both of which feature the micro-issue of applying children to NYC’s ultra-competitive private schools as their underlying premise?

Now, I know a lot about applying children to NYC schools. I did it three times. I even wrote the book about how you can do it, too.

But I never thought I’d see a sitcom about it. Much less two. (Though, for the record, there have been several documentaries on the subject, including Getting In… Kindergarten and Nursery University, as well as two independent feature films, The Kindergarten Shuffle and The Best & the Brightest, the latter starring Neil Patrick Harris, no less.)

Nevertheless, both Bravo’s Odd Mom Out, which premiered on June 8, and The Jim Gaffigan Show, debuting Wednesday, July 15 on TV Land, each put NYC private school Kindergarten admissions front and center during their pilot episodes – and beyond.

Besides the obvious mistakes (if writers put what kinds of hoops NYC parents really have to jump through in order to apply their kids to school – private or public, for that matter – no one watching at home would believe it), what struck me most was the different manner in which the parents’ efforts were judged.

How different were they? Find out in my BlogHer post: http://www.blogher.com/two-sitcoms-same-premise-different-results-it-s-mom-versus-dad?page=full