So did you check out the first episode of In The Motherhood? Flat and obvious, it featured a trio of funny women — Will & Grace’s Megan Mullally, Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Cheryl Hines, and Jessica St. Clair of Best Week Ever and Worst Week — as moms who pal around and joke about the stresses in their lives. When, early on, Hines’ character made a circular motion around her, ah, pelvic area and said, “No one has seen this in a very long time,” you (a) immediately understood the level of the entire show and (b) knew it was time to change the channel.
Motherhood, as you may know, is based on a series of webisodes with a different cast, including Chelsea Handler and Leah Remini, which was more coarse and funnier. So why would Mullally and Hines, who know how to make coarse-and-funny work for them, agree to this watered-down half-hour of sniping and wine-drinking? The lure of prime-time network-TV exposure? Who needs that? Handler’s become a TV and book-author star just by making lush-jokes on E!
The TV world has changed, but ABC continues to make sitcoms the old-fashioned way: the According To Jim way. Which is to say, the groaningly obvious way.
Grade: C-
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In the Motherhood: Show won’t use submissions from real parents
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This was really bad.
“Notes from the Underbelly” was basically the same show only a lot better. Can’t they just uncancel that?
i wanted to like this show, given the set of actors and their previous work… but the show was really flat and boring… even the parts that seemed like it would be entertaining (Megan Mullalley pretending to be pregnant; using it for personal advantage), just completely missed the mark and came off unfunny. plus the acting and presentation was off, it was difficult to keep watching.
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They get rid of a perfectly great show like “Pushing Daisies”, and give us THIS? Barf.
I sent the following to ABC:
I am outraged at ABC for the comments made on In the Motherhood.
I was watching this vile show with my young son this evening when out of the blue it is announced that Santa is a made up character and parents are lying to their children about Santa being real.
The look on my son‘s face was one of shock & disappointment. I was outraged that this could happen. Outraged more that a network would allow this shameful act to take place at 8pm when families are gathered together watching TV in primetime. There was no innuendo or pretense here, just straight out that parents are lying to their kids and Santa is made-up.
How utterly cruel, senseless & disrespectful to every child and parent watching this awful show. You can be assured that ABC will never cross my screen again.
I am so upset considering what damage this has caused to the fantasies of young imaginations across the country, not to mention my own household.
Shame on you.
So hard to be believe they could make such an unfunny show with such a great cast.
I only saw this show in pieces, as I “flicked” to it during the commercial breaks of the other show I watch during that time slot. The clips I saw were funny enough, I suppose. As a person who doesn’t indulge in lying to kids about Santa, etc., that particular story hit the mark with me – so, I found it hilarious. (Of course, I know my philosophy is in the minority, so I do understand how others could be upset with the network for airing such a story.) In any event, perhaps this is the kind of show that can only produce a few good clips as opposed to a full episode of good TV. If that’s the case, I’m sure it won’t last long. It really is too bad, with such a great cast. Even they guys involved are great.
Buffy — I couldn’t have said it better. Apparently you throw too many funny people in one show together and you get a boring, unwatchable joke.
Bad, bad show! I can’t recall one even remotely funny moment.
As a stay at home mother of three, I was actually looking forward to this show. So imagine my profound disappointment watching these three pathetically self indulgent, unrealistic women parading across my screen. One is so annoyingly shallow that she resents a pregnant woman so much she decides to lie to people by pretending to be pregnant to get “free stuff.” Then the hypocritical writers give us another idiot mother who tells her kids there is no Santa because lying is so awful. Interesting that this sentiment comes from ABC, which is owned by Disney, which makes its billions from selling fantasy and lies, if you will, to children and adults. And the third woman with her power job, perfectly coiffed hair and infant son (an oxymoron of a situation if ever I saw one), is so ridiculously self-centered, she immediately assumes her “manny” is hopelessly attracted to her. ABC should be ashamed of themselves for replacing recently canceled quality shows with horrible drivel like this.
Wow, Ken. Way to be generous. You only gave this piece of crap a C-? I give it an F with lots of exclamation marks. I could not even get through the entire episode because it insulted my intelligence as a mother so painfully often. Even Viva Laughlin was better than this pile of dung.
This show is awful. An insult to women. The worst part was revealing Santa and the tooth fairy on national television. This show is a disgrace.
For this schlock we missed Betty.
I thought it was quite funny.
I really loved the original with Leah Remini and Chelsea Handler, can’t believe it was turned into such crap. And i really thought Megan Mullalley could’ve been funny.
Seriously people, it’s just supposed to be funny. It’s not an insult to women/Mother’s across America – they just want to get some LOLs. Couldn’t we all use a little of that? With comments like the one’s I’m seeing, it’s no wonder the entire world views women as UPTIGHT! We all need to laugh at ourselves a little more.
I wanted to like the show, but it was weak – really weak. I won’t watch it again.
I didn’t think it was an insult to women, I just thought it was awful. There was so much screaming and shrieking voices I had to hit the mute button until Samantha Who came on. Now that’s a funny show!
I wanted to like it. The webisodes were fab, but man this was bad. Hopefully it will have a better show next week. I liked two of the moms but the “we need to be honest mom” was beyond annoying. I didn’t buy her character at all.
I’m happy to say I was watching Idol and DVRing Smallville. This show looked like a train wreck of ABC proportions.
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I refuse to watch it. Bring back Betty!!!!
I refuse to watch it. Bring back Betty!!!!
I thought it was funny. I laughed out loud more than a couple times.
I wanted to love it, but didn’t. I’m a huge fan of Mullally and was greatly disappointed by the lack of laughs it provided. I’ll give it one more shot next week.
WE WANT UGLY BETTY BACK!!! That show has class and charm. I can’t believe ABC pulled Betty to put on this horrid pile of garbage.
They cancelled my Pushing Daisies and came up with this. By the way, the webisodes were very funny, but this is just tiresome. Some male executive’s idea of what moms talk about. A show by committee.
They THREW Santa under the Bus!!!!
I was watching with my Grand Kids
What the Crap are thay doing!!!!
Then Sex Sex Sex
Iam not ABC anymore!!!!!