PILOT REVIEW: Bob Hearts Abishola

BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA

Starring: Billy Gardell, Folake Olowofoyeku, Christine Ebersole, Matt Jones, Maribeth Monroe, Shola Adewusi, Barry Shabaka Henley, Travis Wolfe Jr., Vernee Watson

Created by Chuck Lorre, Al Higgins, Gina Yashere & Eddie Gorodetsky
Written by Chuck Lorre, Al Higgins, Gina Yashere & Eddie Gorodetsky, Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller

One of the very first shows I ever reviewed on this blog was Mike & Molly almost exactly nine years ago. I didn't know who Billy Gardell was then and to be honest, I don't know that much more about him now because I only watched one season of Mike & Molly. Well, he's back and this time he's living out a little bit of a middle-age white guy fantasy where he falls in love with his nurse, Abishola (newcomer Folake Olowofoyeku).

To enjoy Bob Hearts Abishola, you kind of have to look past the creepiness of it all (especially when Bob goes to find Abishola at her apartment and when you consider that Bob is 50 and Abishola seems like she's maybe in her mid 30s). Truthfully, I don't know if I can get past that so let's get that out of the way now before I continue on with the rest of the review. Oh and also, there was a fart joke in the first 30 seconds of the show so I wondered immediately if this is going to be closer to Two and a Half Men than Mom on the Chuck Lorre continuum.

The best part of the show is Abishola's family. We haven't really seen many characters on sitcoms with direct African heritage so those family scenes feel a little bit different and fresh. Olowofoyeku may be a newcomer, but she showed a lot of potential here, and Abishola's aunt and uncle (Shola Adewusi & Bob Shabaka Henley) got off a couple funny moments. I actually would have preferred a sitcom about a family of African immigrants than one about a middle aged white guy falling in love with one of them.

While Abishola's family has potential, Bob's family did not come off well in the pilot. Christine Ebersole has done great things in her career, but I get the feeling that she is going to overact in this setting (and she also doesn't seem like she would have a 50 year old son). Matt Jones seems to be playing a very similar (though not as funny) role as he did on Mom. I guess the best thing you can say about Billy Gardell in this is he's not as obnoxious as his on-screen family members even if he's playing pretty much the same character he played on Mike & Molly. The pilot tries to get a lot of mileage out of Bob working in the sock business but that joke is stuck in neutral and doesn't work at any point in the pilot. My best hope for this show is Bob Hearts Abishola becomes an outdated title quickly and the show moves in a more ensemble-driven direction. I mean, it happened with Mom, so maybe Chuck Lorre can move this in a better direction.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Eh. I may check in on it but I don't see myself watching this regularly.