But clinging to the possibly outmoded idea of grouping like-minded shows together, it's moved the brash "Whitney" to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and paired it with "Are You There, Chelsea?" a watered-down drink of a sitcom that's loosely based on E! star Chelsea Handler's memoir, Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.
Handler, who's already plenty busy on NBC's new corporate sibling, E!, where she hosts a talk show, "Chelsea Lately," and also stars in "After Lately," a pseudo-reality show based on it, doesn't have time to portray herself. So Laura Prepon ("That '70s Show") plays Chelsea while the real Chelsea dons a brunette wig to play her character's older, born-again sister, Sloane.
Which, honestly, isn't the most confusing aspect of "Are You There, Chelsea?" that starts with its main character in jail for a DUI - no, I'm not laughing, and neither should you - but that didn't quite have the guts to keep "Vodka" in its title.
"Well, some people like tequila, you know. Some people like beer. Not everybody likes vodka," said Prepon, disingenuously, when asked about the title change.
"We don't want to discriminate," added Handler.
Discrimination isn't a big part of "Are You There," which also stars Lenny Clarke ("Rescue Me") as Chelsea's father and Ali Wong as her best friend, but it might be a good fit for a "Whitney" audience if Prepon herself were a good fit for "Chelsea."
Truth is, even a heavily disguised Handler is more charismatic than her usually appealing co-star, who seems to be trying much too hard here to be a bad girl we're supposed to find irresistible. But then I'm not confident enough in "Whitney's" ability to attract viewers without "The Office" as a lead-in to think it's going to matter much for long.
