Ty Watches "Playing House"

This past Friday "Playing House" returned to our television sets. I was so thrilled to see this show again after the long layoff. I was confused why it took so long for season three to come back on, but after hearing about Jessica St. Clair's battle with breast cancer, it all made sense. I have heard that the cancer is going to be a storyline, and I bet that they will tackle this tough subject matter in a very proper, yet very funny way. Both Parham and St. Clair are comedic geniuses. they are skillful actors, great improvisersand exceptional writers. I know they will create something magical when they get to the cancer story arc of this season.

With that being said, the first 2 episodes of season three did not touch on that subject, yet I still loved them as much as I loved all the episodes from the first 2 seasons. The first episode started with both Parham and St. Clair at a mommy self defense class. This whole bit was a riot. Parham was one of the stars of the class, and she used St. Clair as her partner, whom she deployed her newfound strength on. It was all played for great laughs. The instructor of the class was hilarious too. She was a total badass that, upon hearing Maggie(Parham) and Emma's(St. Clair) story of how they came together, she pauses for a moment and points at them aggressively and tells the whole class, "this is what true friendship looks like. I want you all to admire this". She then goes back to kicking ass.

It is later found in the episode that Maggie's ex husband, Bruce(Brad Morris), has a new girlfriend, and it is the self defense instructor. Maggie is thrown off by this, not because she still has feelings for Bruce, but because she is the only one on her core group without a signifigant other. Emma and Mark(Keegan-Michael Key) are officially a couple as well, after the season 2 cliff hanger. The story of the 2 of them trying to be intimate with each other,  but they both have concerns over their aged bodies, the motto of the episode seemed to be, "this is 40", was very funny. They do eventually get intimate, and they both love it.

Later on, Maggie has a big freak out at a party she has at her house for Bruce, his new girlfriend and Emma and Mark. They are playing a game where they guess movies with vague clues and she gets "Home Alone", and the party guests are all saying that she is alone, that no one except an old man likes her, that she has been forgotten, everything from the movie, and she blows up.

After Maggie's moment, her and Emma have a great moment in the kitchen, and things seem to be smoothed over. I love this about the show. Their moment doesn't seem hacky or tacked on for sympathy sake. Parham and St. Clair are lifelong friends, so their conversations, even in their characters, seems so real.

There was a second episode immediately after the first, and this one finds Emma and Tina, AKA "Bird Bones"(Lindsay Sloane), Mark's ex wife, trying to smooth things over after all that has happened. Tina says she is okay, but she looks like she is on razors edge. She isn't so much mad at Emma as she is overwhelmed with her new career. She has unfortunately gotten involved with a pyramid scheme, even though she keeps saying that she is a business woman. This leads Emma, after profusely apologizing for being with Mark, to try and help. She was a big time business woman herself before she moved back to help with Charlotte, Maggie's baby. She thinks she can take down the head of this pyramid scheme. This only leads to her being too cocky and deciding that she is going to prove to this lady that she can sell all the product. I know, it sounds like your typical sitcom nonsense, but again, all the people involved, mainly Parham and St. Clair are so sharp witted and funny, they make this seemingly typical story line absolutely hilarious. When Emma applies lip balm to Maggie, and it makes her swell up because she is allergic to bees, it was gold. Tina's constant flip flopping of emotions was great and funny. Emma's hubris, then realizing she had screwed up, it was all very well done.

Maggie's other story arc of the episode involved her and another nurse working with a new doctor, possibly Maggie's love interest for the season, who was very cold and no nonsense. The scenes with all three of them, Maggie, the male nurse and the doctor, are comedy gold. The scenes with just Maggie and the male nurse might have been even better. It was all great.

I'm beyond thrilled that "Playing House" is back. I've been a fan of this show from day one, and I've been a fan of Parham and St, Clair since I have been listening to podcasts. I highly recommend this show for everyone. It hits all the comedy marks that one could want out of a 30 minute sitcom, and they hit them so much better than any piece of garbage on CBS. I love this show so much and I cannot wait to watch it again on Friday. "Playing House" is a must watch TV show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time went to a daddy self defense class. After hearing the rules, Ty figured out he was at a fight club.

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