Playing House

With all the reality shows that portray women stabbing each other in the back, I am So grateful for a show that gives us an example of a selfless friendship. They are great role models for how we should treat our best friends! Love love love this show!

Much of the appeal of this show lies in the chemistry between the leads, who co-created it and have worked together for years. They're portrayal of best friends is very real and also very funny. The show manages to touch at the underlying emotions of the characters in a way that never seems saccharine or that even stops the comedy; even the most emotional scenes have humor.

I don't love the premise of a woman who gives up her high-powered job to raise a friend's baby. It's a strange scenario, and presumably the ex executive is living on savings now and at some point will need to get a job. I would like to see that, since raising babies and flirting with your married ex doesn't seem like enough for someone who has spent years in a job she appears to have loved and been good at. But even if the show is a little shy of sense, it is very funny and charming.

ADDENDUM: I wrote this after watching the first season, and had nothing new to say after the second. But the third season is genuinely bad. The writing just fell off a cliff. It's embarrassingly bad sitcom stuff. I don't know what happened!

I have watched the first five episodes of Playing House and this is my review. Bravo to USA for such a funny, well-made sitcom. This show is hilarious - as I knew it would be since Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair are writing as well as starring in it. The acting is great - Lennon and Jessica really work well off each other. The supporting cast is a treat, from Keegan Michael Key to the always superb Jane Kczmarek are pretty much perfect. The writing is clever and sharp and although the "returning to small town" trope is not new, Playing House somehow makes it fresh. The guest stars have been great too (Andy Daly, Jason Mantzoukas!) Can't wait to see what else these funny ladies have up their sleeves!

Emma Crawford (Jessica St. Clair) returns to her hometown of Pinebrook, Connecticut to attend her best friend Maggie Caruso (Lennon Parham)'s baby shower. When Maggie discovers her husband Bruce had been cheating with an online cam girl, Emma decides to quit her high power job to care for Maggie and her pending baby. Emma's first love Mark Rodriguez (Keegan-Michael Key) is married to "Bird Bones" Tina. Zach Harper (Zach Woods) is Maggie's weird younger brother.

Jessica and Lennon have a simple best friends chemistry from their real life relationship. They are also good comedy creators. They do have to be careful not to make it inside jokes. That's not the case here. Keegan-Michael Key adds another great character. He's both funny and a great boyfriend material. Sadly, it got cancelled after three short seasons. It has more room to grow. I thought the cancer story was going to turn into something deeper and darker although maybe it's not the gals' style. They are more lighter and quirkier.

I saw these two on a reunion of sorts on Bless this Mess. I loved their short-lived sitcom Best Friends Forever and had no idea this existed. I'd seen the show on streaming sites, but the title really turned me off. Watched the first episode and I was hooked! The chemistry between the two is electric and Keegan Michael Key is the perfect compliment. I love all the UCB cast cameos as well. You won't regret watching!