Mom (TV series)

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Mom
File:Mom intertitle.png
Genre Sitcom
Created by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Opening theme "Overture" from Ruslan and Lyudmila by Mikhail Glinka
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 66 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 18–21 minutes (without commercials)
Production company(s) Chuck Lorre Productions
Warner Bros. Television
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network CBS
Picture format 1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Audio format Dolby Digital
Original release September 23, 2013 (2013-09-23) –
present
External links
Website

Mom is an American sitcom that premiered on September 23, 2013, on CBS. The series was created by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky, and Gemma Baker and distributed by Warner Bros. Television. It stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney in lead roles as dysfunctional mother/daughter duo Christy and Bonnie Plunkett. Sadie Calvano, Blake Garrett Rosenthal, Matt L. Jones, Beth Hall, Jaime Pressly and Mimi Kennedy appear in supporting roles.

The series has received positive reviews throughout its run. Both Janney and Faris have garnered acclaim for their respective performances and have received numerous accolades with Janney having won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series back to back in 2014 and 2015. The show has also garnered multiple nominations at the Critics' Choice Television Awards and the People's Choice Awards during its run.

The show has also received high ratings, which rose from the first to second season with an average viewership of 11.79 million. CBS renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on November 5, 2015.[1][2] On March 25, 2016, the series was renewed for a fourth season.[3]

Synopsis

Mom follows Christy Plunkett (Anna Faris), a single mother who, after dealing with her battle with alcoholism and drug abuse, decides to restart her life in Napa, California, working as a waitress and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Her mother Bonnie Plunkett (Allison Janney) is also a recovering drug and alcohol addict. Christy's 17-year-old daughter Violet (Sadie Calvano), who was born when Christy was 16, has herself become a teen mother by her boyfriend Luke. Christy also has a younger son Roscoe (Blake Garrett Rosenthal) by her ex-husband Baxter (Matt L. Jones), a deadbeat but likable pothead. The show, as it progresses, adds themes of real-life issues such as alcoholism, teen pregnancy, cancer, homelessness, gambling addiction, domestic violence, death, drug addiction, relapse, and overdose.

Cast and characters

Main

Character Portrayed by Seasons
1 2 3
Christy Plunkett Anna Faris Main
Bonnie Plunkett Allison Janney Main
Violet Plunkett Sadie Calvano Main
Gabriel Nate Corddry Main
Baxter Matt L. Jones Main
Chef Rudy French Stewart Main
Luke Spencer Daniels Main
Roscoe Blake Garrett Rosenthal Main
Marjorie Armstrong Mimi Kennedy Recurring Main
Jill Kendall Jaime Pressly Recurring Main
Wendy Harris Beth Hall Recurring Main
  • Anna Faris as Christy Plunkett: a single mother who has gone a year without drinking and is still struggling with addiction and gambling. Now sober, she strives to be a good example to her son Roscoe, and regain the trust of her daughter Violet, who is revealed to be pregnant herself in the first episode. In addition, she is trying to iron out the rough edges in her relationship with her mother Bonnie, who never learned to play her role well and who would rather go out and drink than baby-sit. Christy later finds out that her biological father ran out on Bonnie on Christmas Eve, the day before Christy was born, and allocates the man as a now-married father of two sons who runs an auto repair shop.
  • Allison Janney as Bonnie Plunkett: Christy's mother, a joyful if cynical recovering addict who is now grateful with life. She tries desperately to regain the love and trust of her daughter, whom she was unable to properly nurture as a child. A single mother, she preferred to party and drink rather than stay home. With time and much therapy, Bonnie managed to find the balance and now wants to catch up, revealing to Christy her past, including who her real father is and how to find him, as well as her past side career as a drug dealer.
  • Sadie Calvano as Violet Plunkett: Christy's daughter and older half-sister of Roscoe. Violet is hardworking, smart and sure of herself, though upset with her mother, who never had time to take care of her children and failed to fulfill a true motherly role despite now being sober for some time. After having her boyfriend Luke's baby, Violet made the decision to give up her baby for adoption because she felt that this was the best way to break her family's repeated cycle of poor life choices and give her child a better chance than she, her mother, or her grandmother ever had. During season 2, after a brief downward spiral of bad behavior, Violet gets engaged to Gregory Munshnick, a psychology professor at her university, but he breaks the engagement after she relapses.
  • Nate Corddry as Gabriel (regular seasons 1-2): the manager of the restaurant where Christy works. Married to a domineering woman who scares him somewhat, Gabriel and Christy are carrying on an affair which Christy later ends but which Gabriel himself frequently and desperately tries to renew: they briefly resume their affair in season 2 when Christy is promoted as his replacement. He is a hardworking, competent manager, but often put in his place by his subordinates, particularly Chef Rudy.
  • Matt L. Jones as Baxter: Christy's ex-husband and the father of Roscoe. Sweet and charming, but very unstable, he is unable to maintain a serious relationship or steady work for much longer than a month. Loves easy life and frequently gets into fraudulent deals to make money. Despite his flaws, he is a loving father who usually comes through for his son. During season 2, under the influence of his wealthy new girlfriend Candace, Baxter gives up his slacker ways and becomes a car salesman.
  • French Stewart as Chef Rudy: the head chef for the restaurant where Christy works as a waitress. A dominant and difficult self-made man, Rudy acts superior in his relationships with others. He is boastful and arrogant, often yelling at his subordinates without mincing words and will not hesitate to humiliate anyone who opposes him. He is secretive about his past and distant from people, but briefly dates Bonnie at one point: during this time, he is revealed to be a (bi)sexual fetishist with expensive tastes and hobbies who enjoys stealing food from the restaurant.
  • Spencer Daniels as Luke (regular seasons 1–2): a young student who loves to enjoy life and adventure. He had been dating Violet for a little over a year and got her pregnant. Luke is considerably airheaded, smoking marijuana often, but always tries to prove to Christy that he is not as crazy as he appears: he seems to genuinely love Violet, staying beside her and supporting her throughout her pregnancy, and he is often more sensitive towards Christy than her own children are, perhaps because his parents are right-wing religious extremists with whom he does not connect.
  • Blake Garrett Rosenthal as Roscoe: Christy's son by Baxter and half-brother of Violet. Unintelligent, bratty and simplistic even for his age, he loves and idolizes his father, even if he is not the best example to follow.
  • Mimi Kennedy as Marjorie Armstrong (recurring season 1, regular season 2–present):[4] an old friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend-again of Bonnie, who meets Christy at AA and they become great friends. She has had many problems with alcohol and drugs in the past and is now facing a greater threat after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • Jaime Pressly as Jill Kendall (recurring season 2, regular season 3):[5] A new AA member whom Christy sponsors, Jill is a wealthy socialite who is prone to relapses and violent behavior.
  • Beth Hall as Wendy Harris (recurring season 2, regular season 3):[6] an attendee at the women's sobriety meetings who is frequently crying. She is a registered nurse and a member of Mensa.

Recurring

  • Octavia Spencer as Regina Thompkins (season 1–present): A fellow AA member and money manager who embezzled from her clients and is now facing a prison sentence. While a close if questionable friend to Christy, Regina and Bonnie typically hold each other in contempt, but beneath the surface they bear some affection for each other. In the middle of season 2, she is given early parole and becomes a born-again Christian.
  • Kevin Pollak as Alvin Biletnikoff (seasons 1–2): Christy's father and Bonnie's ex-boyfriend who abandoned them when Christy was born. When Christy found Alvin he was married with two sons; despite that he loves Christy and does what he can to be in her life and help out, including fixing up a used car to give her and attempting to reach out to her children as a grandparent. He and Bonnie initially treated each other with contempt and hatred over the various mistakes each of them has made in their past, but they rekindled their relationship after his wife left him and he survived a heart attack. In season 2, Alvin has a second heart attack while in bed with Bonnie, and dies.
  • Courtney Henggeler as Claudia (season 1–present): Gabriel's wealthy and snobbish ex-wife, who has taken over the restaurant from him and briefly appointed Christy as manager.
  • Reggie de Leon as Paul (season 1–present): Chef Rudy's silent and often submissive sous-chef.
  • Don McManus as Steve Casper (season 1–present): A fellow AA member, Steve is a competent but creepy lawyer and occasionally aids Christy, who becomes his intern and trainee in season 2. He has a casual sex relationship with Bonnie in season 3.
  • Sara Rue as Candace Hayes (season 2–present): Baxter's wealthy new wife, under whose influence he has reformed. Christy has an initially one-sided rivalry with her, until both of them start sparring in season 3 when her father starts dating Christy.
  • David Krumholtz as Gregory Munschnick (season 2–present): Violet's older fiancé, a psychology professor at the college she attends.
  • Jonny Coyne as Victor Perugian (season 2–present): Christy's Armenian former landlord who becomes attracted to Marjorie, marrying her in season 3.
  • Emily Osment as Jodi Hubbard (season 3):[7] A young drug addict whom Christy and Bonnie try to help get sober. She later dies from a drug overdose.
  • William Fichtner as Adam Janakowski (season 3): Bonnie's new wheelchair-bound love interest, a former stunt man whom she met over the phone after he dialed the wrong number.

Episodes

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See also: List of Mom episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired Nielsen ratings
First aired Last aired Rank Viewers
(in millions)
1 22 September 23, 2013 (2013-09-23) April 14, 2014 (2014-04-14) 42 8.34[8]
2 22 October 30, 2014 (2014-10-30) April 30, 2015 (2015-04-30) 26 11.79[9]
3 22 November 5, 2015 (2015-11-05) May 19, 2016 (2016-05-19) 40 9.64[10]

Production

Development

Faris in 2012 was first cast.

Mom was one of the many projects that became a priority for CBS and Warner Bros when it was pitched in December 2012, in part due to Lorre's new four-year deal with Warner the previous September.[11] It was green-lit by CBS for a series order pickup on May 9, 2013.[12] This pickup also gives Lorre the distinction of having four sitcoms airing on one network starting in the 2013–14 season. The following week, the network announced that it would place the sitcom in the Monday night 9:30 pm (ET/PT) time slot following 2 Broke Girls.[13] However, after the cancelation of We Are Men, 2 Broke Girls was moved into the show's 8:30 pm slot, with repeats of The Big Bang Theory occupying the 9 pm lead-in time slot to Mom until the season debut of Mike & Molly on November 4, 2013. The show received a full first season order for 22 episodes on October 18, 2013.[14]

On March 13, 2014, CBS announced the second season renewal of Mom.[15] The series moved from Mondays at 9:30 PM to Thursdays at 8:30 PM for the first fourteen episodes until the series moved to Thursdays at 9:30 PM following The Odd Couple series premiere and the series finale of Two and a Half Men.[16][17]

By season three, the focus became more about Christy and Bonnie and their group from AA, while the restaurant set, the kids and Baxter roles were reduced significantly.

Casting

The series gives Faris, who had guest-starred in various television programs between her film projects and been sought-after for other television projects (including a failed pilot called Blue Skies that was being produced for NBC), her first full-time television role, as she landed the part of the lead character, Christy, in January 2013.[18] On January 28, 2013, Janney was next to come aboard the project, playing Christy's mother.[19] Matt Jones and Spencer Daniels were added to the cast in February 2013, with Jones playing Christy's ex-husband, Baxter, and Daniels taking the role of Luke, the boyfriend of Christy's daughter, Violet.[20]

Reception

Janney has won two Emmy Awards for the role.

Ratings

Season Time slot (ET) Episodes Premiered Ended TV season Rank Viewers
(million)
Date Viewers
(million)		 Date Viewers
(million)
1 Monday 9:30 pm 22 September 23, 2013 7.99[21] April 14, 2014 6.86[22] 2013–14 42nd 8.34[23]
2 Thursday 8:30 pm
Thursday 9:30 pm
Thursday 9:00 pm		 22 October 30, 2014 11.13[24] April 30, 2015 8.78[25] 2014–15 26th 11.79[9]
3 Thursday 9:00 pm 22 November 5, 2015 7.28[26] May 19, 2016 8.14[27] 2015–16 40th 9.64[10]
4 TBA October 27, 2016 TBA TBA TBA 2016–17 TBA TBA

Critical reception

Mom has been met with positive reviews from critics, with much praise going to the cast, especially leads Allison Janney and Anna Faris. The show received a Metacritic score of 65 out of 100 in its first season, based on reviews by 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[28] On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season was given a 67% approval rating based on 36 reviews and an average rating of 5.7 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states: "Anna Faris and Allison Janney share an undeniable comedic chemistry, and if the jokes are sometimes too crass, Mom represents a sincere (and often witty) attempt to address addiction issues."[29] Boston Herald critic, Mark A. Perigard gave a positive review, writing "This is dark material, yet Faris balances it with a genuine winsomeness, able to wring laughs out of the most innocuous lines." New York Magazine critic Matt Zoller Seitz praised the cast, calling it "just about perfect".

For the second season the series was met with even more positive reviews. The show received a Metacritic score of 81 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".[30] On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 100% based on 6 reviews and an average score of 8.5 out of 10.[31]

The third season was also met with positive reviews from critics, receiving a Metacritic score of 82 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".[32]

Accolades

Awards
Year Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
2014 People's Choice Award Favorite New TV Comedy Nominated
Favorite Actress in a New TV Series Anna Faris Nominated
Favorite Actress in a New TV Series Allison Janney Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Award Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Won
Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series Mimi Kennedy Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Allison Janney Won
2015 People's Choice Award Favorite Network TV Comedy Nominated
72nd Golden Globe Awards[33] Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Allison Janney Nominated
Prism Awards Performance in a Comedy Series Anna Faris Nominated
Allison Janney Won
Comedy Series Episode or Multi-Episode Storyline Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Award Best Comedy Series Nominated
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Allison Janney Won
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Won
2016 People's Choice Award Favorite Network TV Comedy Nominated
Favorite Comedic TV Actress Anna Faris Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Award Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Allison Janney Nominated
Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series Ellen Burstyn Nominated
Art Directors Guild Awards Excellence in Production Design in a Multi-Camera Series John Shaffner Nominated

Broadcast

In Australia, Mom debuted on Nine Network on April 9, 2014.[34] In Canada, City airs the series simultaneously.[35][36] In Greece, Star Channel debut the series on 25 of October 2014.[37] In the United Kingdom, ITV2 debuted the show on January 20, 2014,[38] with season two debuting on March 2, 2015.[39] In India, Comedy Central has been broadcasting the series through 2015.

References

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  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ "CBS Orders Single Mom Comedy Pilot From Chuck Lorre & 'Two And A Half Men' Writers" from Deadline (December 12, 2012)
  12. ↑ "Chuck Lorre's CBS Pilot 'Mom' To Get Series Order Tomorrow" from Deadline (May 8, 2013)
  13. ↑ CBS Announces 2013–2014 Primetime Schedule from The Futon Critic (May 15, 2013)
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Finally! Anna Faris coming to TV in new Chuck Lorre CBS comedy, 'Mom' (from Hollywood.com) (January 4, 2013)
  19. ↑ "Chuck Lorre's new sitcom casts 'West Wing' star" from Entertainment Weekly (January 28, 2013)
  20. ↑ Duo Cast In Chuck Lorre's CBS Pilot 'Mom' from Deadline (February 11, 2013)
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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