Comedy ‘Trust Me’ lacks allure of ‘Mad Men’

By HAL BOEDEKER

The show centers on two work partners.

Charm is an essential sales tool, and TNT’s “Trust Me” has two of the most charming salesmen around: Eric McCormack of “Will & Grace” and Tom Cavanagh of “Ed.”

But they don’t have the goods and can’t close the deal in this fast-talking comedy, which debuts at 10 p.m. Monday.

“Trust Me” plunges viewers into the high-tension world of a big-time Chicago advertising agency. It is a workplace marked by screaming, whining, putdowns and job uncertainty.

The show is a modern “Mad Men,” but without the mystery or the allure. “Trust Me” all too often feels like going to work. Couldn’t there be more fun in this office?

The sniping takes a toll on best friends and work partners Mason (McCormack) and Conner (Cavanagh).

Mature art director Mason wins a promotion. Childish copywriter Conner fumes. They bicker.

The best line goes to Mason: “I’ve been carrying you so long I’ve got scoliosis.”

They make up and they collaborate on a text-messaging campaign. Even so, the bitterness will linger.

The actors portray the friendship with conviction, but they deserve sharper material. In a cringe-inducing scene, Conner attends a funeral, bad-mouths the dead person as selfish, then turns preachy about the important things in life.

Cavanagh seems to be doing a neurotic variation on Ed. But McCormack isn’t repeating himself; he gives a serious, low-key performance.

The good cast includes Griffin Dunne as their worried boss, Monica Potter of “Boston Legal” as a determined copywriter and Sarah Clarke of “24” as Mason’s wife.

Jason O’Mara of “Life on Mars” is electrifying as a mean boss with a volcanic temper. “Trust Me” needs more of his edge.

The show was created by veteran ad men Hunt Baldwin and John Coveny. But for now, “Trust Me” is like an ad campaign in search of an inspired tag line.