“Mom” Becomes Broadcast’s Best Comedy: The Top 25 Shows of 2016, No. 8

A brave comedy about mother and daughter addicts in recovery and the impact their behavior past and present has on the people in their lives, Mom boldly takes on the emotional, social, physical and psychological issues that alcoholics and drug abusers must face, including overdoses, suicide, relapses, self-loathing and the despair that comes with the realization that one’s child is experimenting with drugs and alcohol.

Week after week Mom is actually about real-life challenges.  Regardless of the storylines, the bad things in the characters’ lives are never far away -- and when they suddenly push aside the humor and bite, the impact is profound. With the exception of FX’s Atlanta (and Showtime’s Shameless, which is technically a comedy but should really be reclassified as a drama) how many other sitcoms can say that?

The pitch for Mom must have been stupendous in itself, because this is a show that sounded doomed from the start, as there is simply nothing funny about addiction.  And yet the writers and directors and the uniformly spectacular cast have managed to make it one of television’s funniest shows without shying away from the urgency and dangers of the subject matter at hand.

Anna Faris as indefatigable (and sober) Christy Plunkett and Allison Janney as her irrepressible (and not always sober) mother Bonnie have over the course of four seasons evolved into one of the great female comedy duos of all time.  Indeed, Christy and Bonnie are now right up there with Lucy and Ethel, Mary and Rhoda and Laverne and Shirley. (It’s a very short list, isn’t it?) Janney has the Emmys to prove it. Maddeningly, the flawlessly funny Faris, who makes Christy as ferocious as she is fragile, doesn’t seem to get any recognition at all.  That has to change; she’s beyond brilliant.

The supporting and recurring cast on Mom is similarly sublime, especially Mimi Kennedy as Marjorie, Jaime Pressly as Jill and Beth Hall as Wendy, the partners in sobriety to Christy and Bonnie. William Fichtner as Bonnie’s new beau Adam has been a great recent addition to the show.

Mom has become an essential showcase for great guest stars as well, including Ellen Burstyn, Linda Lavin, Octavia Spencer, Rosie O’Donnell, Justin Long and Joe Manganiello, among many others who have appeared through the years.  Up next on January 19 is Faris’ husband Chris Pratt in a side-splitting turn as Marjorie’s nephew, whose instant lust for Christy is surpassed only by her hots for him.  On screen as in real life they are great together.

With or without great guest stars, Mom is a marvel. Not to be inappropriate, but I’m addicted to this one.

Previously in the Top 25 Countdown:

No. 9:   Stranger ThingsHappened

No. 10: Family Comedies on ABC

No. 11: Samantha Bee and Seth Meyers Blow Up

No. 12: The Women of The CW

No. 13:House Hunters and All Things HGTV

No. 14: Grease Live!andHairspray Live!

No. 15: BBC America's London Spy

No. 16: American Idol Bids Farewell (For Now)

No. 17: Colorized Classics on CBS

No. 18: James Corden's Carpool Karaoke

No. 19: South Park Takes on Donald Trump

No. 20: Bates Motel Psychodrama

No. 21: Return of The Exorcist

No. 22:Tosh.0 is Still TV's Funniest Show

No. 23:Kelly Ripa's Cavalcade of Co-Hosts

No. 24:Sarah Paulson, Kate McKinnon on NBC Late Night

No. 25:Hallmark's Happy Yule Log

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