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Even the publicity photo looks like one for a Real Housewives show.

I watched the first two hours of Mr. Selfridge last night. Overall an amusing period diversion, but has the potential to be as shallow and laughable as Downton Abbey.

Just like when I watch any of the Real Housewives shows, all I could think was “can’t everyone just get along?”

In particular, poor Agnes Towler. Already within the first two hours she has the following to worry about:

• A supervisor who has it in for her from day one
• Trashy co-workers who also have it in for her and make fun of her
• A developmentally disabled brother who is unknowingly getting caught up in a theft scheme
• A father who is a mean drunk and embarrasses her at work
• A chief of staff who thinks she is trying to blackmail him
• A soon to be boyfriend who almost became a high class hooker

As for Mr. Selfridge, he is doing himself no favors by:

• Embarking on an affair with a mercenary actress
• Becoming beholden to Lady May who will, no doubt, ask for more than a pound of proverbial flesh at some point
• Alienating his wife who is probably going to embark on an affair with a hottie artist
• Taking advice from his Machiavellian mother who will probably just enable his bad behavior but could also cause him trouble in other ways

Other observations:

• The opening scene where Mr. Selfridge interacts with the floor walker at Gamages. I have had similar customer service experiences in England.
• Jeremy Piven seems unable to act preferring to utter every line as a proclamation. But he looks sexy as all get out with his beard.
• The scene where Mrs. Selfridge meets the hottie artist at the National Gallery would have been much more believable if they had written the scene so that the artist was sketching/painting in the gallery and the greenhorn from America struck up a conversation with him in her enthusiasm for his work. As it was written the way the artist approached her, and her non-reaction was totally unbelievable.
• I keep waiting for Mrs. Slocombe to make a pussy joke.