Thirty- & Fortysomething Men Having Angst on 'Men of Certain Age' & 'The League'

We've had plenty of TV shows as of late spotlighting modern mid-life challenges faced by women -- on Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle, The Cougar, Desperate Housewives, etc. And now, two brand, spankin' new freshmen shows have waded into the terrain of men's middle aged issues.

In my Mommy Tracked pop culture column this week I spotlighted the guys of TNT's Men of a Certain Age and FX's The League. One's a dramedy about fortysomething men which provides a kind of serious look at the death of one's life's dreams starring a melancholy Ray Romano, while the other's a crude comedy about thirtysomething men obsessed with their fantasy football league, as well as swilling beer and aiming sexually lewd commentary at one another:

"The guys in this fantasy football league see their hobby as a way to avoid facing the oftentimes difficult responsibilties of adulthood because they know that it's just a matter of time before these guys morph into the guys from Men of a Certain Age."

While The League's very raunchy, it does have funny stuff about parenting, including a storyline about a dad who wants to make his 5-year-old daughter hate a beloved character, Mr. McGibblets (he reminded me of Elmo) which she has in the form of a doll that sings and dances. You can catch the half-hour episodes, including the McGibblets one, on Hulu.

Image credit: FX.