In The Motherhood – TV Review – Semi-Lost In Translation & The WGA Has Outlived Its Usefulness

On March 26th at 8pm, ABC is making the web-to-network jump with In the Motherhood, a show that started out as roughly six-minute episodes online.  The original show was an odd sort of game, and existed in large part to see how many Suave and Sprint product placements we could really manage in such a short time.  It was a show that followed three friends, and was only loosely held together by anything like an overarching plot.  It was a show of snippets on the trials and tribulations of motherhood, with each mother spitting out a strange anecdote here and there.  Child locks mommy in the bathroom because dad put the doorknob on the wrong way around, and you’re off to the races.

The gag of the show, apart from all three moms having very different parenting ideas while remaining equally cynical, was that many of the anecdotes were sent in by real moms and then incorporated into things.  It was a quirky little number that was occasionally rather hilarious.  It was, however, a show that rested squarely on the comedic abilities of Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately).  It also starred Leah Remini (King of Queens) and Jenny McCarthy.  

The ABC version you’ll on March 26th has something of the original concept, but none of the original actresses.  The new version stars Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), Cheryl Hines (one of the most annoying actresses ever), and Jessica St. Clair (insert cricket noises).   The general cynicism is still there, but none of these actresses are nearly as good at it.  Perhaps more problematic, the need to build a lot more of a “plot” into things turns the concept on its ear and makes for a difficult mix.  It still seems to work fairly well (from two episodes), but it isn’t nearly in the same class in terms of overall comedic effect.

The worst thing the show suddenly has on its plate is that apparently the Writer’s Guild has put the axe to the show’s quirky draw, viewer submissions.  You can catch Entertainment Weekly’s story on that here.  ABC was on board with the idea of accepting viewer stories to build into the show, and some remain in episodes already set to air, but apparently the Writer’s Guild threw out its demand that those who submit these stories would have to be paid at least the guild minimum, which is something like $7,000.  

What?  Give me a break.  A show comes along and tries to do something a little inventive, and takes a chance with a very quirky concept, and the Writer’s Guild has to chime in?  Like millions of people aren’t going to be submitting stories, and then 20,000 people aren’t going to file a lawsuit for every story that gets used?  ”Nuh uh, that was my kid that went to the bathroom in the display toilet at the big box home store!”  Come on.  Who couldn’t make a claim to that story?

ABC has put the viewer submission idea on hold for the time being, because God forbid some writer on the payroll be passed over for the chance to steal a bunch of stories he heard and pass them off as some manner of original work.  Whatever.

The show has a chance, and the plot efforts are not without merit, but it just isn’t really doing the same thing as the original.  If you’re going to try and translate a fan base, you’ve got to have something left for them to latch onto, and I’m not sure In the Motherhood quite meets the mark.  The fun of the original was that our mothers were likable and obnoxious (Chelsea Handler’s entire appeal in a nutshell), and were nevertheless every mother to some degree.  Our mothers now, though delivering some decent comedy, aren’t particularly likable, are only slightly obnoxious, and don’t quite manage any universality.  It’s a pretty serious uphill battle. 

Still, the “truth at all costs” parenting style explodes rather cleverly, and the show still tries to deliver with the same quick energy necessary when you’re playing for six minutes.  It might end up working.  It’s a show that is going to have to shoot out of the gates by generating serious buzz fast, and funny or not, I don’t know if it has what it takes to pull it off.  The viewer submission angle might have pulled this show along while it got its feet beneath it.  Nice work Writer’s Guild.

Are You Screening?

Here’s a trailer for the new show, and the first episode of the original.

The show is still trying to keep the general game going, witness the below widget, but for now it’s just community building.  Hopefully, ABC will figure something out, and be able to include their viewers in the show.