For a long while I designated as the best comedy ABC’s little miracle “The Middle,” which has managed to survive and creatively thrive for five seasons even though it addresses and makes entertaining life as most working class Americans experience it today, struggling financially with little hope of a comfortable future but never giving up as they endure perpetual challenges and take what pleasure they can along the way.
And then there is CBS’ “Mom,” which ends its second season tonight with an episode that isn’t nearly as turbulent or troubling as so many have been in its sophomore cycle. Instead, “Fun Girl Stuff and Eternal Salvation,” as the episode is titled, gives the characters a chance to regroup, reflect and recover from recent events in their lives while they figure out what to do next.
I find it increasingly difficult to not designate “Mom” as TV’s top comedy, if only because it surpasses even “The Middle” in actually being about something. That statement isn’t entirely accurate. “Mom” is about many things: Family dysfunction, family togetherness, friendship, forgiveness, financial hardship and, at its core, the perils of addiction and the pressures of economic discrimination.
Christy Plunkett and her mother Bonnie – played with striking sensitivity and fearless comic enthusiasm by Anna Faris and Allison Janney – are both addicts with rich histories filled with self-destructive behavior. Christy has been sober since the series began (two years in her time). Bonnie had been, until a back injury and sudden access to painkillers a few weeks ago sent her back to her old behavior. As of tonight’s episode she is 26 days sober and counting.