Hello Ladies Trailer: Just a Little Boy Lost

HBO has released the first trailer for upcoming comedy Hello Ladies, co-created by Stephen Merchant (The Office), Gene Stupnitsky (Bad Teacher), and Lee Eisenberg (Year One). Merchant is set to star as a gawky English web designer who moves to Los Angeles to find the excitement that he was missing in his life prior. However, he soon discovers that he doesn’t exactly fit in with the image-conscious elite of the city, his desperation to find a woman to share his life with growing and eventually pushing people away. Can Stephen learn to accept that while he’s not ever going to be apart of the Los Angeles inner circle, there’s a whole world out there full of people who will accept (and love) him for who he is?

Judging by the trailer, the series seems like a more overtly comedic, less wistful version of Christopher Guest’s Family Tree, which aired on HBO earlier this year. In fact, the second half of that series, currently in limbo in terms of its renewal status, focused on the main character traveling from England to California, though his journey was less about finding excitement and romance and more about figuring out his family history. Regardless, though, it seems that Hello Ladies will touch on the same general themes as Family Tree (identity, self-acceptance, the definition of loneliness/family) through Merchant’s comedic lens, something that will differentiate it from the latter and possibly garner it more attention/acclaim.

In addition to Merchant, Hello Ladies stars Christine Woods (Perfect Couples) as struggling actress Jessica; Nate Torrence (Mr. Sunshine) as recently divorced Wade, reentering the dating pool for the first time in years; and Kevin Weisman (Alias) as Kives, who uses his disability to pick up women.

The series premiere of Hello Ladies is set to air Sunday, September 29th at 10:30 on HBO.

Will you be watching Hello Ladies? Does the show look like it will fit well with Eastbound & Down? Do you think Stephen will find love this season?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAR7YNcNgRU