What is it about that guy on every TV show? You know, the one who always seems to be without a girlfriend, even though he’s relatively good-looking, super nice, and making enough money to support himself and possibly three of his friends. From the oh-so-adorable George from Grey’s Anatomy to any of the guys in Four Kings who never seem to be able to hang onto a girl no matter what, America (or maybe it’s just me) can’t seem to get enough. This winter, there seems to be an increase in TV shows that focus on hopeless guys. CBS is dominating this type of show with two new shows about hopeless guys: How I Met Your Mother and Love Monkey. How I Met Your Mother is a comedy about Ted (Josh Radnor) and his quest for true love. Ted gets help along the way from friends Marshall (Jason Segal), who is soon to be married to a long-time girlfriend, and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), who is opinionated and great with women. Love Monkey, based on the book by Kyle Smith, is about Tom Farrell (Tom Cavanagh), a single record executive trying to make his way in New York City. Tom was living the good life until he was fired from his job and dumped by his girlfriend on the same day. He keeps it together with the help of his friends Mike (Jason Priestley), who is married to Tom’s sister, Shooter (Larenz Tate), his street thug-like friend who has lots of money, and Jake (Christopher Wiehl), a baseball player who is now a sportscaster. With a new job and new infatuation Tom is ready to start over. Unfortunately, Love Monkey has been temporarily taken off the air with no plans for a return. NBC steps it up with four pretty much hopeless guys living together, but don’t worry, this isn’t like Brokeback squared. Four Kings is about friends Barry (Seth Green), Bobby (Shane McRae), Ben (Josh Cooke), and Jason (Todd Grinnell), who inherit Ben’s grandmother’s apartment and begin their lives as adults. Along with learning to get with and deal with women, the guys learn what it’s like to live on their own and become adults. ABC is also set to join the bandwagon with its new show, What About Brian, set to premiere in March. Brian (Barry Watson) is the good guy, the one that everyone loves. However, he ends up being the only one of his friends who isn’t married or in a serious relationship. Brian wants to find true love, but can’t help but still have a crush on his best friend’s girlfriend. This show sounds like its going to be interesting, but nowhere near as funny as the rest. I’m still not sure what it is about these hopeless guys that makes me want to watch them week after week. Maybe it’s the fun of seeing them suffer, or just the fact that it’s more fun than homework. But regardless of the reasons, I’m sure I’ll keep watching, and I think deep down inside, there’s a part of all of us that can relate to these underdogs. Maybe we keep watching to finally figure out whether good guys ever do finish first.