A few weeks ago on this blog I said farewell to Entourage, a show that while in its prime, reached a generation of 20- and 30-something guys who could escape their real life problems for 23 minutes at a time to live vicariously through the boys from Queens.
Meanwhile, I belatedly discovered (courtesy of HBO on Demand) a very Entourage-like show, How to Make It in America, which premiered in February 2010 and made its season 2 debut last night.
In season 1, Ben and Cam, two late 20s underachieving wannabe entrepreneurs, haven’t yet found the financial success they crave. Either for lack of ambition, know-how, or follow through, they seem to stall at every turn. The polar opposite of Vinny Chase and his pals, for whom everything seemed to go right, nothing works out for Ben and Cam.
When Entourage debuted in 2004, the pilot opened with Vince at a premiere for his first starring role in a fictitious feature film, Head On, co-starring Jessica Alba. So when we meet Vince for the first time, he is already a star. The rest of the episode focused on choosing his next multi-million dollar script and whether he should attend his 10-year high school reunion.
But when we meet Ben and Cam, they’re still smarting from a skateboard business venture gone bad which has resulted in some money trouble. Rather than getting the “how to” manual implicit in the show’s title, we’re not really sure if things will work out for Ben and Cam. We have to keep watching.
Eventually, if Ben and Cam do Make It in America, loyal viewers like myself will probably complain that they’ve become too successful and that the show was more entertaining when they were struggling.
But for now, I’m rooting for them.
The 250 Square Foot View 
That season 2 debut was so good that it makes the whole first season seem unnecessary. Who cares that they were ever getting into the denim business?