Mrs. Fletcher

Based on the merits of its premiere episode, I'm cautiously predicting "Mrs. Fletcher" to be a potential winner.

The critics who've viewed the entire limited HBO series (based on the eponymous novel by Tom Perrotta) seem to be giving it restrained praise, so we'll see.

My brief take is thus:

It has a tight half-hour format, fresh premise (dual stories of a sexually curious, middle-aged empty-nester mom and boorish, un-woke college freshman son simultaneously "coming of age"), realistic dialogue and nicely drawn secondary characters.

And it showcases the ever-wonderful Kathryn Hahn. God, I love that woman! I could watch her do her taxes.

My only wish is that "Mrs. Fletcher" will live within the confines of its limited series format and won't overreach for more episodes- even if it rates well with viewers.

Because sometimes less is...perfect.

This series will hopefully ripen in its subsequent episodes and leave us with completed sense of satisfaction after its brief stint.

But this is Tom Perrotta territory, so we might end up with vague and uncertain conclusions...

But as long as this short-run series stays lean and avoids the bloat of tacked-on future seasons, I'm wagering it will be worth the watch.

I loved Eve, and rooted for her, was on the edge of my seat wondering how she would finally break loose. The parts focusing on Brendan...the kid is such a schmuck as to be unwatchable. Maybe this was by design, but I eventually just fast forwarded any segment where his face appeared. Figures he would end up messing up the whole deal.....

PROS:

-Short entertaining episodes with a good pacing.

-The actors fit right with their characters and they do a good job in the acting department, giving every character a unique personality.

-Good plots about self-discovery in a new environment. Mrs. Fletcher is trying to find out who she is when she's not just a mother and his son is trying to discover who he is when he's not the popular guy. There's a lot of sex discovery too. It's a very sexual show.

-Inclusive. They have transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, fat, black, white, straight, old and more representation and it doesn't feel forced or trying to make an statement about today's world.

CONS:

-It feels unfinished. Like, I know they want us to believe that is a limited miniseries but I don't felt like that was it. I feel like, yeah, they really close many plots of the season but I feel like they open many plots for a second season with that ending. It feels like they were cancelled and give it the excuse of a miniseries.

-Sometimes the sexual aspect is like too much that I just couldn't focus much on the plot.

-The son's a jerk. I didn't empathize so much with him so I didn't care about what happen to him. It feels like he didn't fulfill his character arc.

I don't generally think of Kathryn Hahn as a leading lady, but she acquits herself nicely here, and this show is entertaining (at least it has been so far, two episodes in). what does figure into the plotline here, but let's be honest, if that bothers you, you won't be watching this or reading reviews of it, either. I think the limited series arc will serve it well.

I laugh out loud every episode. I've seen the first six episodes and it's really not like any other show I've ever seen. Kathryn Hahn is fabulous. The awkwardness feels real. Hard to explain. But people are flawed and this shows them in a funny way.