Before you raise your rifles to lock-and-load because you genuinely still believe HBO's cable throne can never ever be usurped (are you still stuck in 2002?), bear in mind that because neither HBO nor rival pay-cabler Showtime make a habit of publicizing viewership estimates, we have to gauge their success by old-fashioned measures. Ancient things like "buzz," "word of mouth," and "ubiquity of posters around the New York City subway." And on those merits alone, Showtime has racked up an impressive reputation since the demise of some overcooked drama that starred the guy who does the voice of Chief Wiggum on The Simpsons and Blythe Danner, years ago. For example, who could forget their side-by-side pin-up posturing of Mary-Louise Parker and Billie Piper? Or even the fervent hush of whispers that surrounded their love-child with Diablo Cody? But in spite of Showtime's lead and HBO's bone-headed decision to constantly renew Entourage, the almost-also-ran net's luck may be turning around (especially with new seasons of Big Love and Flight of the Conchords having passed, along with last fall's rolling out of the Anna Paquin-led True Blood). And now, with their boldest programming choice, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, HBO might finally be rounding out a formidable line-up, the likes of which we haven't seen since Six Feet Under went, well, six feet under.

Set in the Botswanan capital of Gaborone, Agency has all the trappings of a soap forged in dark times, designed to inspire hope, not shock and outrage. Jill Scott (yes, that Jill Scott) is instantly likable as the chipper Precious Ramotswe, who reasons that because there are no other lady detectives in the country, she's the top lady detective. And there's no arguing with a woman who reasons that well. You could argue that the series lays the chocolate cake and bush tea on too thick, even forgoing the "real Africa", but then you'd be missing the point. The series aims to be more fairy tale than edgy gumshoe thriller. Apart from the President's prime-time press conferences, Agency is one of the first series spawning from the Obamafication of America. A culture, where, driven by hope, a bleak outlook on culture finally starts its full 180-degree turnaround. That one of the most liberal-minded forerunners of edge would lead the rest of the nets in such a shift in TV tropes only makes sense.

Also, Agency thrives in the fact that it's a veritable anti-Sex & the City. With broadcast networks co-opting material girls, cougars, and vapid single mothers, the edge that used to be the sole hook about wealthy single women who like to buy things, have sex, and talk about buying things and having sex has been dulled to a dreadful knob. And the "new edge" lies somewhere around characters who are capable of demonstrating more layers and setting out to achieve lofty goals.

Which is where Jill Scott's Precious is refreshing. Although her character has no problems leveraging her sexuality when needed, in Precious, we find a modest, unlikely heroine. Fresh from a messy divorce, she swaps her life savings in to start up a detective agency, looking to make her living by fixing other people's problems and patching up the shaky, corrupt foundations of a country that she continues to respect, flaws and all. And her pleasant nature practically invites all of us who've been bitterly nestled left-of-the-center, to reflect on our own battered country, maybe making peace with its shortcomings.

Sure, the whodunnit doesn't quite fit in with the pay-cable universe's predilection towards familial dysfunction, sexual perversion, blood and gore, and hipster appeal. But that's also what makes it so nichey. Without resorting to contrivances, it provides both escapism and some substance, but unlike most of HBO's top players, it also asks us to lighten up already. And if the people responsible for broadcasting filthy prison drama Oz asks such a thing of us, it only makes sense to acquiesce.