Military Entertainment, Air Force Television, TV, Must See TV - Air Force Times

TNT establishes ‘Trust’: New show delves into ‘Mad Men’ territory

It used to be that if you wanted to experience the inner workings of a high-powered ad agency on television, “Bewitched” was the closest thing you were going to find. Then the boozy, bed-hopping guys in “Mad Men” came along and changed everything.

Of course, once something works on TV, variations appear. That leads to TNT’s “Trust Me,” a comedic drama set at (surprise!) a high-powered ad agency.

“Is there room for two advertising shows on TV?” asks Tom Cavanagh, who plays Conner, an impulsive copywriter. “Well, is there room for two cop shows on TV?”

Indeed, the workplace setting is about all the two shows have in common. “Mad Men” is brooding, dark and richly textured; “Trust Me” is fast, light and enjoyably flippant.

“Hopefully, the commonality is that they’re both two good shows,” says Cavanagh, brushing aside any rivalries. “I’m friends with (‘Mad Men’ stars) John Slattery and Jon Hamm. They’re literally great guys, and I’m sure they are completely nonplussed about our show, as they should be.”

One aspect of the “Mad Men” success pleases Cavanagh immensely. The show airs on AMC and became the first basic cable show to win an Emmy for outstanding drama series.

“The fact that (the media) is paying attention to the stuff that happens on what used to be considered a television hinterland is a good thing,” he says. “We’re doing this show on a cable network that isn’t HBO, so the success of ‘Mad Men’ is a huge positive for us.”

Perhaps even more than “Mad Men,” “Trust Me” boasts an air of workplace authenticity. That could be due to the show’s creators, Hunt Baldwin and John Coveny, both veterans of the advertising industry.

“These guys are unsparing in a good way,” Cavanagh says. “They understand the tone of the advertising world. They understand that when someone says, ‘I can give you a hand with that,’ it actually means, ‘I’m going to steal your account and bankrupt you.’ It’s fun to watch that veiled meanness.”

The show also benefits from the relaxed chemistry between Cavanagh, best known for the NBC series “Ed,” and Eric McCormack, who chose “Trust Me” as his first post-“Will & Grace” series.

“We’re both Canadian,” Cavanagh says with a laugh. “Canadian actors by osmosis just happen to have chemistry. We’ve kind of circled each other for years.”

McCormack plays Mason, the agency’s creative director. He is a level-headed family man with his feet on the ground. Cavanagh plays more of a live wire; in the second episode, he comes up with a winning ad slogan in the middle of a very, um, coital situation.

“What is great is that in a heartbeat, McCormack responded to Mason and I responded to Conner,” Cavanagh says. “It was kind of a no-brainer for us both. It’s like there was something ephemeral in the air. We’re both doing the roles we wanted to do with the person that we wanted to be doing it with. I think that translates to the screen.”