Feature Story

By Rachel Jones TV Media

There’s no such thing as a perfect mom. Everybody’s still trying to figure out parenthood, right? But maybe some of us are having an easier time than others. “American Housewife” is ABC’s side-splitting sitcom about the frustrating yet hilarious journey of being a mom of teenagers. The newest episode airs Wednesday, April 29, on ABC.

Katy Mixon (“Mike & Molly”) narrates and stars in this hilarious family-focused sitcom. She plays the beautiful Katie Otto, a downto-earth wife and mom of three in Westport, Connecticut. Like most moms out there, she struggles with her self-esteem and body-positivity. This was only made worse when her neighbor moved away, leaving her as the self-proclaimed second-fattest woman on the block.

Her husband, Greg Otto (Diedrich Bader, “Better Things”), is a history professor and caring dad who loves his wife’s curvy figure and feisty personality. Their oldest daughter, Taylor (Meg Donnelly, “The Broken Ones,” 2017), is on the cusp of adulthood, a fact that Katie and Greg are having a tough time dealing with. Her constant search for popularity (and her sometimes underwhelming intelligence) makes for some hilarious household tension.

They are also kept on their toes by their enterprising son, Oliver (Daniel DiMaggio, “Burn Notice”), who has a knack for making money and finding loopholes. Thankfully, they get a bit of a break with their youngest daughter, Anna-Kat (Julia Butters, “Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood,” 2019). Despite her slight neurotic tendencies, she often wins the award for favorite child.

And because no mom can do it all on her own, Katie relies on her two best friends to get her through. She meets with recently divorced Doris (Ali Wong, “Always Be My Maybe,” 2019) regularly, as well as Angela (Carly Hughes, “Brampton’s Own,” 2018), a single mother and lesbian. The three of them meet every day for “second breakfast.” Doris is strict with her chil- dren, while Angela takes a much more relaxed attitude.

The two balance out Katie quite well, helping her to find solutions for her daily parenting woes. In recent episodes, Taylor has started to turn to Angela for advice, and Doris and Angela have started dating siblings. All of these things are leaving Katie feeling a little left out. We’re interested to see how their relationships continue to blossom and change as Season 4 progresses.

“American Housewife” has not been ABC’s only attempt to connect with the average American family, and it hasn’t been their only success, either. The sitcom follows the huge success of “Modern Family,” “Black-ish” and “The Goldbergs.” And while “American Housewife” is still growing in popularity, its sharp humor has not escaped the eye of critics. The show was nominated for a People’s Choice Award in 2017 for Favorite New TV Comedy, and in November 2019 the show was renewed for a fifth season.

Written by Sarah Dunn (“Spin City”), this show was originally set to be released under the title “The Second Fattest Housewife in Westport.” While they have since changed the show’s name, this gives you a good clue as to the biting wit of the jokes this show delivers so well. “American Housewife” includes executive producers Aaron Kaplan, Kenny Schwartz, Rick Wiener and Sarah Dunn. And while it was produced by Kapital Entertainment and ABC Studios, it is under the umbrella of Disney, which seems to help the show keep a wholesome edge to it.

“American Housewife” has featured myriad guest stars, several of whom enjoy recurring roles. Some of our favorites have included Nathan Fillion (“Firefly”), Luke Bryan (“Nashville”), Kelly Ripa (“Live with Kelly and Ryan”) and the legendary Lionel Richie (“American Idol”).

Katy Mixon gives us a reliably strong performance as her relatable character. She is the mom we would all want to sit next to at a PTA meeting — the most downto-earth and the most likely to dish about the other crazy parents.