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"I think we just need to accept the fact that there are four people at this table, but three couples."So says Ali (Sophia Bush), summing up Partners' premise in the pilot.Fall TV: Get the scoop on all the new showsPremiering Monday (8:30/7:30c, CBS), the comedy is David Kohan and Max Mutchnick's semi-autobiographical, bromantic spin on their
"I think we just need to accept the fact that there are four people at this table, but three couples."
So says Ali (Sophia Bush), summing up Partners' premise in the pilot.
Fall TV: Get the scoop on all the new shows
Premiering Monday (8:30/7:30c, CBS), the comedy is David Kohan and Max Mutchnick's semi-autobiographical, bromantic spin on their previous show Will & Grace. Joe (David Krumholtz), who's straight, and Louis (Michael Urie), who's gay, are lifelong BFFs and business partners at an architect firm. They each have a significant other (Joe with Ali and Louis with Brandon Routh's Wyatt), but the group dynamic is complicated after Joe proposes — not to mention, after Louis, unaware of the happy news, assumes Joe had dumped Ali instead like he was originally planning. (In typical sitcom form, Louis cleans up his mess.)Here's all you need to know about this four-cornered love triangle and what you can expect this season.Joe and LouisStatus: BFFs for 25 years and business partnersExclusive video: Get a first look at CBS' Partners
Joe and Ali
Status: engaged
Relationship in a nutshell: The average Joe (no pun intended) who landed the hot girl. Of all the pairings, this one is the youngest, with the two having only been together for a year, but Bush believes it will become clear in future episodes that Joe and Ali are meant to be. "It's not some schmaltzy, over-the-top relationship," she says. "They're both smart, witty and make each other laugh. Joe lets her stand on her own in her career because he believes in her, but he also supports her when she needs it and gives her a shoulder to cry on. They're each other's biggest champions."
Three's a crowd: Joe and Louis have 24 years in their relationship on Joe and Ali, but Bush insists that doesn't bother Ali. "There's no way she can compete with that, but sometimes she finds out that Louis knows things that she wishes Joe wouldn't share and would just keep for them." What she is bothered by is the fact that Louis has a key to Joe's apartment after Louis walks in on her in her underwear one morning. "He's the only guy in America that isn't excited about that," Urie laughs. "She's terrified that he's walked in and he is terrified that she is using Vaseline on her elbows."
No wedding bells yet: Don't expect the couple to walk down the aisle soon or even get knee-deep into wedding planning. "Nobody's allowed to enjoy the happiness that they have in the present. I think it's nice we're giving them the space to be engaged and to realize what it means," Bush says. "Whose apartment do you move into? What stuff are you gonna throw out? There's hilarity that ensues and that's something that we don't wanna rush through. I don't even think any of us are thinking about the wedding yet."
Fall TV: Like this show? Try that!
Louis and WyattStatus: Dating for six years