Splitting Up Together Series Premiere Review

While most people have been exciting for this big night for ABC comedy due to Roseanne's triumphant return to TV, I've also been excited about it due to the premiere of Splitting Up Together. I'm a huge fan of the Office, and I'm very excited for Jenna Fischer to return to TV in this series, my most anticipated new series of the 2017-18 season.

Lena and Martin are having some marital issues, as their marriage has evolved from a passionate one to one that is the opposite of that. Because of this, they decide to divorce, though they'll still keep living together. They tell their friends this, and they're all pretty shocked by this revelation. Lena and Martin have a plan for how they'll manage this change. They've made a chart, and will switch off parental duties. And also, one of them will be living in the garage, which sounds like a real blast. Martin shows the garage space to the couple's friend Arthur, and he's not too impressed. Meanwhile, Lena finds out from their kids that Martin never makes breakfast for the kids. Or lunch. She goes to talk to him, and the garage is super damp. He's not listening to anything, and I'm honestly scared for these poor children.

Lena is complaining to her dad about Martin when she gets a text from an unknown person relating to a private matter. It's from Mason, and his testicles are in pain. Just what she needs right now! Meanwhile, Arthur tells Martin to look at things from Lena's side, and he tries. Back to Lena, she's still dealing with Mason's issue, trying to handle it without Martin's help. She talks with her friends about her issues, both romantic and family-wise. She tells them that he never wanted to have sex. And then a woman comes looking for Martin. Lena is less than thrilled.

Lena takes Mason to a specialist, who tells her he's going through puberty. He tells her that Mason should masturbate, which is not the most comfortable thing for Lena. But don't worry, the doctor hits on Lena and she's loving it. Meanwhile, the woman from earlier turns out to have been a dance instructor, who Martin hired because

It's now Martin's week with the kids, and he finds Lena in Mason's "masturbation lair." He's not happy that she didn't ask for his help, but at least he makes a helpful suggestion about the lair! Later on, Lena is texting the doctor, all while the rest of the family plays inside.

Wrap-Up:
This was a really solid pilot, though it did have some issues. My favorite part was that, despite having a family aspect, it really is a relationship sitcom. That's something you don't really see on ABC and I appreciate that, especially since they actually executed it really well. Jenna Fisher's Lena is an intriguing protagonist, and I'm excited to go on her "journey" with her. I think it'll be really interesting to see how she deals with her divorce, and it will make this show even better. My only real issue with this pilot was the plot with Mason, which was both very uncomfortable to watch and pretty uninteresting in general. At least it seems to have introduced an important plot that may influence how the rest of this sitcom will unfold.
Score: 9/10
Grade: A-

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