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In the first episode, the main character, a white-collar criminal named Steve Unger, played by John Ralston, winds up doing exactly as the title suggests after he finds himself penniless.

It’s quite a step down for a man who used to run his own company. But notably, with Unger serving as the protagonist of Living in Your Car, the TV world may have shifted a full 180 degrees from the days of Dirty Sexy Money.

We recall clearly that when ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money, with Donald Sutherland and Peter Krause, debuted in 2007, some grumbling started among television critics who started to notice: Why are so many TV families so stinking rich?

The easy answer is that making your characters rich is a form of lazy writing. If money is never a concern, you can send your characters on all sorts of crazy adventures, or have them concoct all sorts of evil plots, or throw all sorts of lavish parties.

Characters who have to think about who’s going to pay for stuff are real downers. Just like in real life. But when the economy went into the dumpster in 2008 and 2009, shows about rich people and their petty concerns seemed more out of touch than ever. TV had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the real world.

Thus, in the past couple of years, we have seen quite a few dramas, comedies and even reality shows that better reflect the economic climate. Living in Your Car may be the apex of that genre. But here are a few other significant shows where money is not taken for granted:

HUNG (HBO CANADA)

 All you have to do is watch the opening title sequence, with its shots of an economically devastated Detroit, to get the gist of this dark comedy.

Thomas Jane stars as Ray Drecker, a high school teacher who has lost his wife and kids, whose house has burned down and whose job is in jeopardy. Ray turns to the only thing that hasn’t deserted him – his enormous “manhood” – to try to improve his precarious financial situation.

“A man trying to survive,” Jane said at a recent press junket for the series. “Most of us never have to think about a tank of gas or breakfast. I came to (Los Angeles) when I was 18 and spent time homeless, living on park benches. So I just say, ‘Welcome to my party.’”

SONS OF TUCSON (FOX, GLOBAL)

 As the series opens, sports-store employee Ron Snuffkin, played by Canadian Tyler Labine, is living in his car. He tells a friend on the phone that he has just moved into a nice new place “with lots of natural light.” No argument there. Ron is hired by three young boys to pretend to be their father so they can enroll in school and maintain their secret independence. The boys are by themselves because their banker/criminal dad has been whisked off to prison.

“The money I’m earning from the kids is much greater than what I’m getting at my menial day job,” Labine said when describing the series in L.A. recently. “Life is funny even when it’s at its worst.”

DRAGONS’ DEN (CBC)

This may seem like a strange show to include. But while the stars are the rich “dragons,” the audience identifies with the people presenting their products and ideas, thirsty for a life-changing moment.

“This is invigorating. I enjoy it because I’m an investor and I love to see the deals,” said Kevin O’Leary, one of the dragons.

“I mean, wow, I’m buying 50 per cent positions in businesses for $200,000 that are real companies with real sales. I’m going to own control of something because he can’t raise a dime from a bank. I mean, I would have paid a million bucks for something and I’m getting it for $200,000. It’s incredible.” Hey, they don’t call them dragons for nothing.

THE MIDDLE (ABC, A)

Patricia Heaton stars as the matriarch of a Midwest family trying to make ends meet. In one of the episodes, her teenage daughter’s self-esteem depends entirely upon the purchase of an extremely expensive pair of jeans that the family can’t afford. That never happened to all the rich kids who peppered the TV landscape just a couple of years ago.
Whether this current TV trend of acknowledging fiscal limitations has staying power beyond the ups and downs of the stock market remains to be seen.
But the surest way to tell if the economic recovery has truly taken hold will be when most of the characters on TV once again have money to burn.

Bill Harris is the television columnist for the Toronto Sun.