I had the pleasure of meeting the cast of Mike & Molly after attending the tapings of the season premieres of seasons three and four. Aside from being a talented, hilarious ensemble, they are also very gracious and thankful for their fans. I even got most of them to sign my insert included with the season three DVD!
Mike & Molly’s cast is a powerhouse of talent that includes the very talented and funny Melissa McCarthy (Spy, The Heat, Tammy), Bill Gardell (My Name is Earl, Monopoly Millionaires’ Club), Katy Mixon (Eastbound & Down, Two and a Half Men), Rondi Reed (Jungle 2 Jungle, The Astronaut’s Wife)Reno Wilson (The Cosby Show, Martin), Swoosie Kurtz (Cruel Intentions, Liar Liar), Louis Mustillo (The Young and the Restless, The Sopranos), Cleo King (The Hangover, Pineapple Express), and Nyambi Nyambi (Law & Order, Saint Janet).
This amazing group of people deliver laugh after laugh each week in one of the last remaining consistently hilarious multi-camera sitcoms on TV. It never fails to amaze me how this series is able to play raunchy comedy and heartfelt sentiment within the framework of the same episode and make you like and care about the characters even more. It’s also hard to find a series that doesn’t lose its spark by season five. Mike & Molly still has that spark and has no signs of it extinguishing anytime soon.
For the uninitiated, Mike & Molly is a romantic-comedy about two people who met at an Overeater’s Anonymous meeting. Over the course of the previous four seasons, Mike and Molly dated, got engaged, got married, tried to have a baby, and dealt with Molly’s meltdown at her job as a 4th grade school teacher that resulted in her quitting her job and becoming an aspiring novelist.
In season five, Molly’s dreams of becoming a published author finally come to fruition, and the craziness only escalates from there. I love how this series utilizes one storyline arc over the course of the whole season. While there are a number of standalone episodes, the show definitely takes great strides to be more serialized in its approach to storytelling.
It’s hard to find a traditional situation comedy that incorporates big laughs with big heart, and Mike & Molly delivers on both counts. I love that the show doesn’t shy away from being politically incorrect and that it let’s its characters say what they want how they want. It’s one of the staples of Chuck Lorre’s (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Mom) work that I feel makes him one of TV’s greatest comedy minds.
Along with all 22 season five episodes, the DVD also includes a great Gag Reel.
I highly, highly recommend Mike & Molly: The Complete Fifth Season! If you’ve never seen the show, I recommend watching from the start. For fans of the show, this is a definite must-watch. I loved every minute of it and I know you will, too!
Mike & Molly: The Complete Fifth Season is available Tuesday, August 18 on DVD.
What’s your favorite episode from season five? Leave a comment and let us know!