Trophy Wife deserves a second season. You keep hearing that from fans, critics, blogs. Many reasons are given. Well I have a few more.
ABC has a long and distinguished history of memorable quality family comedies, beginning with The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet in 1952, and including: The Partridge Family, Diff’rent Strokes, The Brady Bunch, The Addams Family, Roseanne, Growing Pains, The Wonder Years, and Modern Family.
Enter Trophy Wife. This is a series about a blended family and how they are trying to make it work. The adults are basically good and realistic people. They each have their flaws, of course, so making everything work smoothly is sometimes no small challenge. Three kids are in the mix as well – each adorable in their own way, but realistic kids. We are on a journey of sorts with this series. With each episode we learn more about each of the characters – they are becoming more multidimensional.
It is obvious the writers are determined to move forward on that journey instead of perpetuating the complicated situation solely for laughs, as is true of some TV comedies. The adults truly care about the kids, and they begin to work together, because of the kids. In the process, they are starting to get to know each other and in the process, beginning to respect and appreciate each other’s strengths, instead of continuing to focus on their weaknesses. This is particularly true of the current and two former wives. We are seeing their growth as they begin to trust and then slowly become comfortable sharing responsibility for child-rearing and disciplinary issues and problems. We are also seeing the developing interrelationships among the children, as well as between each child and the adults. In addition, we are starting to see each of the former wives beginning to work through the issues of their failed marriage.
I’ve not enjoyed, and so not watched many comedies on network TV during the last many years because they seem to think we want to watch characters that are cynical and engage in “gotcha” or arrogant behaviors. And, children who are openly disrespectful of parents and adults. And parents who are way too tolerant of their children’s rude behavior. You won’t find these themes predominating on Trophy Wife. Instead, real-life situations are handled realistically by real-life type parents. They are not only going for the laughs; but also for the messages. And the messages are clear, upbeat, and positive. How radical is that?
But this IS a comedy and it IS funny. Not at the expense of each other (characters or actors). Just funny. Classic comedies-type funny: physical comedy, banter, high jinks, zingers, slapstick. Make fun of the behavior, not the person. For heavens sake, don’t only watch the pilot – watch the Christmas Show (“Twas the Night Before Christmas…Or Twas It”) to see what I mean. One joke – turned into a full episode of continuous out-loud and belly-hurting laughter. Happy laughter – haven’t you missed that? Many of us have! And it takes a thinking brain to catch some of the jokes and nuances – oh, that is so appreciated by many of us today – treating us like an Intelligent Audience, and why not? And with each episode, it all gets better and better.
ABC, you have an incredibly talented and experienced ensemble cast who love working together – and who episode after episode provide us with Emmy-worthy performances. Plus a very special group of writers and directors who create magic each week. And you have us, the fans – one heck of a dedicated group of people who love these actors, these writers, these jokes, and these episodes that have us laughing – and coming out of it with – not just the jokes and the great acting, but Messages – positive, good, wholesome, messages that maybe we needed to hear that night. Positive life messages from a comedy – now how about that?
Just please give us another year to get the ratings up.
RedRacePony Speaks 