They've got Dallas, The OC, Beverley Hills 90210. We've got ... Auckland Daze and hopefully one day, CSI Roto-Vegas. Next on Hollywood's list: Nashville (TV One, Wednesdays, 9.30pm) and Fargo (SoHo, Wednesdays, 9.30pm), two successful settings-reliant pilots that screened this week.
Nashville may not have Fargo's stunning cinematic landscape - (who knew Nashville was so green?) - and although it takes itself just a bit more seriously than its far north TV cousin, it's shaping up to be a show worth settling in for. It's a simple enough premise. Connie Britton (American Horror Story) plays Rayna James, a veteran country star whose upcoming tour risks losing money, so her record company suggests she go on the road with hot young ingenue, Juliette Barnes. Rayna's appalled. Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) is the country music equivalent of Miley Cyrus, a snide wild-child who uses her sexuality to get what she wants. She sings (with Auto-Tune's help) about boys and buses. And she might just have stolen Rayna's lead guitarist Deacon, who might just turn out to be The One.
Like every good soapy drama, Nashville deals in power, sex and money. On top of Rayna's popularity woes, she's dealing with a tyrannical father who wants her wet blanket husband to run for mayor. The guy is as alpha as a tortured lamb.
The other subplot seems to exist if only to pull in younger viewers - that of the pretty young waitress who should really be a star, quite possibly because the writers want us to know that not all of Gen Y are A-holes. Some of them are even quite poetic. And despite some rushed set-ups - Rayna literally running to support her husband at the mayoral campaign (like she didn't know?), the show felt comfortable in its own skin. No doubt the soundtrack is coming to an iTunes account near you.
Meanwhile, like the classic Coen Brothers' 1996 film, Fargo is set in rural Minnesota and the tale is steeped in its snow-drenched culture, much like the agoraphobic film was on which it was based. Its droll delivery has since become familiar - Breaking Bad took that irresistible combination of danger and the mundane to the extreme - and it's the kind of drawn-out pace that'll either have you clinging on for dear life or scratching your head and saying "aw jeez".
