With a name like Aliens in America, it may come as a surprise that this new CW show has the makings of becoming a hit.

What the show focuses on is, alien, in the strictest sense of the word: outsider. Enter main character Justin Tolchuck, an adorable loser who is all skin and bones and curly hair. He gets beat up every year, and has never gotten any girl action. Expecting this year to be different with the removal of his braces, he finds, to his horror, his name at number 8 on his high school’s annual list of “Most Bangable Girls”.

In an attempt to cure him of eternal loserdom, his overprotective, overbearing mom gets an exchange student that she hopes will help Justin rise to popularity. What the Tolchucks expected was a strapping, tall handsome young man from Sweden. What the Toluchucks got was Raja, from Pakistan. Chaos ensues. Raja's first day at the American high school consists of comments such as “Abu, where’s my slurpee?” and then having his entire history class blaming him for the 9-11 events.

What makes this show inherently intersting is not only this awkward, randomly unsual situation but also the depth of the characters involved: there is dorky Justin, who is actually quite lovable and humorous in his own right, but trying incredibly hard to fit in. And then there is Raja, who is so outstandingly different from all the other kids at school, but doesn't give a rat's ass about trying to fit in.

My favorite scene is when Raja, after facing an onslaught at his first day of school comes home to a depressed Justin splayed out on the couch:

“Justin, do you pray?” Raja asks.

“Well, I usually eat a brownie or buy a CD or something,” says Justin.

“Justin, that entire pan of brownies is empty.”

“It was a rough week.”

The actors (Dan Byrd, and Adhir Kalyan) who plays these boys work well with each other, portraying humor, wit and sincerity in their characters. Dan Byrd, in particular, plays the loveable, humorous loser so well that you just want to keep watching him. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to seeing whatever social tortures he will face next week.
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Aliens in America, CW 8:30 pm pacific time