Each week, I take a look back at a pilot from the 2010-11 season, first reviewed on my blog during that season. This week, I am looking at CBS's modest hit Mike & Molly!
The Details:
Premiered: September 20, 2010 on CBS
Starring: Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy, Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, Nyambi Nyambi and Swoosie Kurtz
Created by: Mark Roberts
What I Thought Then:
"Mike & Molly resorted too often to fat jokes in the pilot but there is an inherent sweetness to it that if the writers can bring out more, would make this comedy a winner."
"The standouts are easily the two charming leads. They instantly are people you want to root for."
"Mike & Molly shows more promise than any of last year's sorry bunch of live audience-filmed sitcoms."
"It needs to focus on the sweetness and the relationship, not the overweightness and we may have a charming new romantic comedy."
What Others Said:
"Gardell and McCarthy are two of the more realistic-feeling, instantly appealing sitcom personalities in ages." - Diane Werts, Newsday
"A conventional-looking sitcom that manages to be very funny in a format that's been around for more than 50 years." - Ellen Gray, Philadelphia Daily News
"There's enough comedy content in this first seating to warrant keeping Mike & Molly on the TiVo menu, even if it's not quite love at first bite." - Brian Lowry, Variety
"The potential for cringeworthiness is high, and the pilot sometimes falls on the wrong side... but there's a real sweetness to the tentative romance brewing." - Sarah Rodman, Boston Globe
"There's something blandly nutrition-less and sugary about Mike & Molly, CBS's new Hostess Twinkie of a Monday night sitcom." - Hank Stuever, Washington Post
What I Think Now:
Mike & Molly was a pilot that was at war with itself. On one hand, there was a very sweet love story between the title characters and there was some crackling chemistry between them in the pilot. Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy had several genuine moments that had self-deprecating humor mixed with heart. Reno Wilson fit into this plot well as the wisecracking best friend. On the other hand, you had Molly's home life. Swoosie Kurtz and Katy Mixon seemed to be appearing in a completely different show. One that was filled with drug and sex jokes. Sometimes the difference was jarring. You had Swoosie Kurtz say a line about "lesbo clubs" and "beefy girls" followed immediately by the soft jazz theme song that had so much class. I know a common complaint when this pilot aired was how often they made fat jokes and yes, they were relying on those quite a bit. I think it was clear they wouldn't keep doing fat jokes all the time and they were trying to establish the premise. But the fat jokes were less of a problem for me than the home life for Molly which Melissa McCarthy tried valiantly to save. The main scenes worked, but the side scenes didn't so the whole thing felt quite disjointed.
What Happened to the Show:
Mike & Molly premiered on CBS's prized Monday night sitcom lineup to decent reviews (62 on Metacritic) and went on to have a healthy six season run where it was mostly used as a utility player that could be plugged into any timeslot necessary. Initially airing after Two and a Half Men, it survived the Charlie Sheen meltdown in 2011 that led to half a season of a repeat lead-in just a few months into its run. The summer after Mike & Molly's first season, Melissa McCarthy broke through in a big way with an acclaimed role in the blockbuster movie Bridesmaids. That fall, she was a surprise winner for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy for Mike & Molly at the Emmys (after a very funny Amy Poehler-led bit for the nominees). There was (probably correct) speculation that voters were rewarding her as much for Bridesmaids as they were for Mike & Molly. Despite McCarthy turning into a big movie star, she loyally stayed with the series through the end of her contract. It quietly left the air in May 2016 and has had a so-so afterlife with some presence on cable, syndication and streaming. Though he didn't become a movie star like McCarthy, Gardell went on to another CBS comedy success in Bob Hearts Abishola, which ran from 2019 to 2024.
Final Episode: May 16, 2016
Episode Count: 127
Where to Watch: Netflix, Roku, available for purchase on DVD
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