Take My Wife is a six episode series, but this review is only based on the first episode. Because to see the rest, you have to join their dodgy service, and that's not happening.
The premise is that two married female comedians (Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher) play themselves in the story of their relationship. It's kind of interesting, which is why I felt compelled to write about it. I guess to bottom-line it, I'd say it's a generally well-made, single camera sitcom that's just never actually funny? But then I'm not even sure how funny it's trying to be. It's about comedians, and they're regularly kidding with each other; but there's never really anything that feels like jokes in the script. Like, for instance, there's a scene where Cameron asks Rhea to show her a dance, and she does, leaning against her. Cameron says, "oh, it's very close," to which Rhea replies, "yeah, it is. Up close and personal. Close Encounters... of the Fourth kind." I don't even feel like the show expects us to laugh at that, and that it's really there just to show how they have a cute and jovial relationship, two comedians living together. But the episode's made up entirely of those, and none of them are actually meant to make the audience laugh.
So if you go into the show prepared for that, maybe you won't be disappointed. It works better as a light-hearted romance than an actual comedy. It's also possible that episode 1 is getting all of its set-up and story out of the way, and the laughs come pouring in for episodes 2-6, but I doubt it. This show almost goes out of its way to avoid big laughs. For instance, as soon as one of the comics starts to do their act on stage, the volume dips on them and instead we hear the conversation of the other comics back stage. That's sending a surely deliberate "don't expect big jokes here" message to the audience, but there also aren't funny situations or humor developing out of character. It's just a straight-forward narrative and a lot of pontificating. By that I mean, characters regularly stop the plot to agree with each other about how bad sexism is, or homophobia, etc. And they're good messages that I readily agree with, but it definitely feels like we're in After School Special territory at those points.
But there are definitely pros. The show is shot surprisingly well, even for a single-camera sitcom. Someone really took the time to make sure the framing and images looked good. And while the "wacky neighbor" might be the sitcom's most overplayed card, comic Laura Kightlinger really shines as theirs. A part of me almost hopes this show gets a second season just so she can see this part through.
That takes us into a con, though. (Almost?) the entire cast is made up of comics. Looking at the IMDb's list, I see a ton more stand-up comedians in the upcoming episodes, too. And with this show leaning so much more on drama than comedy, they could've really used some actors. The dramatic moments, like Cameron pushing Rhea to quit her job live on stage, fall flat in the clumsy hands of wooden performers. Not that they're all bad. In fact, I'd love to see Rhea in more shows. I think she's really got what it takes to star in television like this. But unfortunately, other cast members seem to be struggling to get through all their lines. I guess it would be a tough sell to the creators' egos to say "maybe just one of you should play yourself, and we'll cast a professional as the other lead," but it really would've helped.
Ultimately, I was interested enough sitting through the pilot, but I'm fine never seeing any more of this show. I feel like somebody thought, "two lesbian comics married to each other - what a wild and hilarious premise!" But it's really a pretty ordinary relationship, and not enough to carry a show if they're literally just going to document their day-to-day lives. The pilot already took them from a perfectly in-sync couple, intimately familiar with and accepting of each other's quirks, living together but afraid to fully commit, to Cameron's proposal. We don't really need 5 more eps to see them off to their actual wedding. There's no real conflict or tension; they're perfectly amiable and comfortable together from the first frame to the last. Shouldn't there be character arcs, daunting challenges they face, or something? We're introduced to them as successful, financially well-off and perfectly in love from the start, and their Odyssean journey is just to get to the same place, but with a marriage certificate? Yeah, subscribe to SeeSo for that, folks!
