Mike and Molly: Season 2 Premiere

Mike and Molly hit season two pretty much right where it left off: with the newly engaged couple beginning to plan their wedding. Mike (Billy Gardell) – in stereotypical male fashion – isn’t as into the whole planning thing as Molly (Melissa McCarthy) is (shocker), and they end up in the inevitable fight. You spend the episode wondering if they’ll make up all while knowing that, of course, they will.

This episode seemed like it fit snugly into the TV-sitcom mold; it had a few laughs – mostly at the expense of one of the overweight characters – but overall it just left me with an ‘eh’ feeling. It met my expectations (granted, they weren’t that high), but I wasn’t wow’d by the episode, which isn’t a great way to start off a show’s sophomore season.

The few laughs that the show had felt cheap and made me feel like one of the mean girls in high school; having a chuckle at the overweight woman being felt up by her pilates instructor or chortling at the fat guy who sinks his fishing boat just felt mean and way too easy. But beyond the cruel fat jokes, the thing that really killed this show, at least for me, was the laugh track; as a viewer I don’t like being told when I’m supposed to laugh, and it cheapened the jokes even more.

But Mike and Molly does have some redeeming qualities. CBS made a bold move by creating a show centered on an overweight couple who met at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, and although it does poke fun at the size of the two main characters, humor doesn’t seem to be the main motivation for the show. The characters are dealing with an issue that a large percentage of Americans are concerned with: weight loss. This makes these characters very relatable for a lot of the show’s audience – definitely more than physically flawless actors that dominate a lot of TV (see: Mad Men) – and the writers are smart in that they put the characters in very relatable situations, such as planning a wedding.

But, other than having a relatable show, Mike And Molly doesn’t offer its audience much more. The show is a sit-com, but the situations aren’t that imaginative and the jokes aren’t that creative. Overall, it feels like the show just isn’t trying as hard as it could be. Melissa McCarthy is definitely the show’s saving grace – her comedic timing adds humor to the jokes that are otherwise lacking.

Largely, I’d say that Mike And Molly is a show about big people that doesn’t offer big laughs. In its second season we are going to continue to see the happy couple plan their wedding, and if the season premiere is any indicator of what the rest of the season will be like, I’m sure the wedding planning process will offer more stereotypical arguments that lead to sentimental moments and formulaic jokes.