Mike and Molly, which was created by Chuck Lorre, a name that has since become synonymous with modern sitcoms, starred Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Identity Thief) and Billy Gardell (Young Sheldon, You, Me, and Dupree) as the eponymous couple, one of whom was a teacher and the other a cop. The story centered on their meeting at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, where they eventually fell in love as they supported one another through their personal challenges with food, and on Molly’s decision to quit teaching to pursue a career as a writer.
Mike and Molly Was Classic Sitcom Fare
It likely comes as no surprise that the series was relatively heavy-handed in treating its two main characters’ weight as the narrative’s centerpiece (one critic calculated that a single episode contained 48 fat jokes, or 35.56% of the jokes). And that may be why it was never particularly popular with critics, who had little more than middling critiques of the show, though some found that the chemistry between McCarthy and Gardell was enough to save the series from being a total bomb, with Diane Wertz of Newsday saying that they are “two of the more realistic-feeling, instantly appealing sitcom personalities in ages.”
Overall, Mike and Molly wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, aside from its choice to center its narrative on two people who didn’t fit the typical mold of sitcom stars. Which, while a brave choice for the time, wasn’t enough to truly set it apart from other series of the time, as it still chose to center more on its characters’ unhappiness than their joy, using their weight as the punchline for most of the jokes—a choice that turned a lot of fans off. “This show is just a terrible cliche full of fat jokes and miserable parents. It broadens absolutely nothing for the sitcom genre,” said one casual viewer. Though some found the series relatable to their own struggles and, again, felt that Mike and Molly themselves made it worth sticking with.
Will you be catching Mike and Molly now that it’s streaming on Netflix? Let us know your favorite moment from the series in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forum to see what other fans are saying.
