Tune In Alert: FOX’s Breaking In 

Tonight’s Breaking In could be the last time fans get to enjoy this little gem of a show. When FOX’s new fall schedule was announced, the comedy wasn’t part of the lineup. , But word is the-powers-that-be are playing the wait-and-see game. They’re going to look at the ratings for the finale before killing it completely or committing to another season. Here’s where things get a little dicey for the show. For some reason, FOX is choosing to air the comedy’s Season 1 finale on a new night. Yes, it’s no longer in the cushy post-American Idol slot. Instead, it’s airing after renewed newbie Raising Hope. Yup, you heard me. Instead of airing after a show that pulls in roughly 21 million + viewers it’ll be airing after a sitcom that delivers solid numbers but nothing at all that compares to Idol’s gargantuan status. Still, I’m going to think optimistically and hope that two comedies back-to-back could yield some compatible numbers. That is, if FOX and the media can get the word out about Breaking In’s sudden move to Tuesday night at 9:30/8:30C.
To me, Breaking In isn’t a perfect show but It’s a pretty good one. I hope viewers will find their way to the finale and bask in all the reasons that make it a comedy worth watching:

• Christian Slater (Oz). I’ve tried to watch Slater’s foray into primetime television before, namely in the NBC drama My Own Worst Enemy and ABC’s The Forgotten. Something just didn’t compel me to tune in more than a couple weeks. Maybe because those shows were two dramas. They were solid but didn’t hook me at all. In Breaking In, he plays the boss of the operation (Oz). He’s a bit of an egomaniac; he tries to teach his employees valuable lessons using completely inappropriate means; he’s smart, quirky, cool, sarcastic and manages to live life on the edge yet at the same time he’s the guy everyone wants to be. This character is as close to Slater’s iconic role in the supremely magnificent film Heathers as he’s gotten on the small screen (except without all that pesky murdering business that went on, of course). Oz is ridiculous but in such an endearing way. And Slater tears it up week after week.

• Michael Rosenbaum (Dutch). I was a bit afraid that Rosenbaum wouldn’t have as big of a role in Breaking In as I thought. The first couple of episodes, his scenes were made in drive by fashion. As the boyfriend of the resident beautiful girl/tomboy, he literally would drive up in his car, spout a few funny lines and then zip off. So how great was it when Oz hired him at Contra? This way, he was folded into the show on a regular basis and I could have my Rosenbaum fix now that he no longer called Smallville his home. Seriously, anything that brings him back to TV is a good thing. And the character he plays is so utterly silly and completely over-the-top in love with himself and his girlfriend, you can’t help but dig him. In fact, I know they’re slowly working towards a Cameron-Melanie match, but is it wrong of me that I never want her to break up with Dutch? I’m sorry but that’s how I feel.

• The pop culture references. It’s no accident I am drawn to shows that constantly refer to all things in the pop culture world. It’s probably way overdone by now but I don’t care. I get the same fix from Community, Parks and Recreation, Cougar Town, Chuck and Supernatural, so it’s only natural I’d gravitate towards Breaking In as well. The character that feeds my pop culture addiction the most? Alphonso McAuley‘s Cash. It took a little bit for me to get used to him. But once I was on board, I started loving all his Star Wars, Goonies and Harry Potter references. I even love the fact that he created a comic book dubbing him the Black Zeus. Genius.

• The premise. On paper, I don’t think I’d buy this show about a big time security company that goes to extreme lengths to test their clients’ vulnerabilities by robbing them. But it works. There’s this family element of this ragtag group of people; add a major geek quotient with the aforementioned pop culture references as well as the high tech tools used to carry these missions out; and you get a funny series that should get more than seven episodes to prove itself. Just saying.

Like I said earlier, the show isn’t perfect. The entire cast isn’t gelling for me but any given episode, it keeps me entertained and it keeps improving. I feel Breaking In should at least get a second chance at proving it can be a show with breakout potential.

The season finale has a great title: “21.0 Jump Street” and involves the gang going back to high school to help a student battle some cyber bullies. Maybe Johnny Depp can make a cameo and boost the sitcom’s ratings. And if Depp isn’t available, then how about Richard Grieco? He should be available, right?

Remember, Breaking In airs on a special night, tonight at 9:30/8:30C on FOX. Mike Tyson guest stars alongside Slater, Rosenbaum, McAuley, Bret Harrison, Odette Annable and Trevor Moore.