As 2016 drew to a close the cast of ABC’s American Housewife had good reason to celebrate. The freshman series, which returns tonight from its winter break with a new episode, recently received an additional nine-episode order (rounding out its season to 22) and just when the cast thought it couldn’t get any better, the brass at ABC added an additional episode as the ultimate topper to their Christmas tree (rounding the season to 23 episodes). “There’s a little more job security, but we’ll see what happens for a next season,” series star Diedrich Bader, who plays Greg Otto, the loving husband of the title character, told me just after the news broke. “It’s really exciting for us as we all really like each other and have a good time shooting the show.”
The series, which stars Katy Mixon (Mike & Molly) as Katie Otto, has fast become a bright spot in ABC’s Tuesday night family block, one that also includes The Middle, Fresh Off the Boatand The Real O’Neals. Good-natured Katie is certainly not one of the perfectly coiffed, tightly toned and often snobbish women that populate the wealthy town of Westport, Conn., where the series is set. The statement, “One of these is not like the