Eileen (played by Martha Plimpton) and Pat O'Neal (played by Jay R Ferguson) are an Irish-Catholic couple whose lives revolve around the church and the family, which is kept under tight control by Eileen, who even decides what each member of the family will order for brunch. Eileen and Pat have three children: the oldest, Jimmy (played by Matt Shively) is the family athlete, and the youngest, Shannon (played by Bebe Wood) is the family brainiac. The middle child is Kenny (played by Noah Galvin), whose life the show revolves around.
The O'Neals seem to be the perfect family, organizing a big Bingo night fundraiser, and having their priest congratulate them on being selected to be featured in the church's monthly newsletter. However, this perfect family facade quickly tumbles away after Kenny's girlfriend wants to move too quickly in their relationship. After being pressured, Kenny freaks out and realizes that it's time for him to come out of the closet.
After gathering his courage, Kenny decides to hold a family meeting during the fundraiser. Before he can tell his family his big story, Pat has a mini-freak out about the lack of communication among their family, and tells everyone that Eileen and him are getting a divorce. After this confession, Jimmy reveals that he's been fighting anorexia, and Shannon tells everyone that she's a kleptomaniac. Little do the O'Neals know, the seemingly private and sound-proof room they were in was actually connected to the room where the Bingo fundraiser was occurring. Eileen's friend opens the door connecting the two rooms, revealing a room full of church go-ers staring at the O'Neal's. Mortified, Eileen quickly grabs the family's coats and leads their dramatic exit.
This episode was fantastic and shows the great potential this show has. I had several laugh out loud moments, and the jokes incorporated were all well written. Although the characters all seem to be pretty ordinary, they're very likable and their revealed issues give them a chance to be developed further.
The casting was also very well done. Martha Plimpton has had a lot of experience playing hard-edged but sympathetic moms in shows such as Raising Hope. Although she's an overbearing type-A crazy mom in this show, the audience can't help but root for her. Jay R Ferguson who played Stan Rizzo on Mad Men has perfected the archetype of the typical American dad, just trying to find out what's best for his family. Finally, Noah Galvin, who surprisingly has never worked in the TV industry before, portrays the perfect angsty teenager just trying to figure out who he is.
All in all, this show holds a lot of potential in being a great show. The set up reminds me a lot of ABC's other family sitcom, Modern Family, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store.
Father Phil: “Hello Shannon!"
Shannon: “Welcome!"
Father Phil: “I will take four cards please."
Shannon: “But everyone's looking to you to set the bar. You gotta go high Father Phil."
Father Phil: “Well... I took a vow of poverty."
Shannon: “Does your Lexus know that?"
Sounds like an interesting show. I think there has definitely been a movement toward having imperfect, but more realistic characters that we as an audience can relate to. I think it makes the shows more enjoyable.
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