The Best Comedy on Television That You’re Not Watching: Raising Hope

From the moment of the show’s series premiere this past fall, Raising Hope became my favorite Fox comedy and one of my favorite comedies on television ever.

Photo Credit: Matthias Clamer/FOX

I’d love to say that I enjoy talking to one of my friends about the show as each new episode is airing…but only one of my friends watches the show! And she accidentally stumbled upon the single-camera comedy from Emmy Award winner, Greg Garcia while channel surfing. Raising Hope is getting decent ratings and has already been picked up for season two but this show deserves more viewers! I’m afraid there are too many families across the nation who are unaware that a show this hilarious is currently on the air. More people need to know about this crazy family and watch all of the mad situations that they get themselves involved in!

So I’ll start by telling you what this show is all about:

Months after a romantic encounter with a wanted felon, 23 year old Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff) learns he is the father of a bouncing baby girl. Once coasting along through life in the slow lane, Jimmy now faces his toughest job yet: being a dad. Jimmy’s quirky family members – mother Virginia(Martha Plimpton), father Burt (Garret Dillahunt) and great-grandmother Maw Ma (Cloris Leachman) – are less than enthusiastic about the little one. His parents, who had him when they were 15, never knew anything about raising a child and have little interest in trying again. And Maw Maw…well, keeping her in check is a full-time job.
Photo Credit: Greg Gayne/FOX

Jimmy may be able to get some help from SABRINA (Shannon Woodward), a sardonic checkout clerk he met at the supermarket if only he can work up the nerve to ask her out. Despite it all, Jimmy is determined to take care of his baby – whom Virginia named HOPE.

With very few useful skills but their hearts in the right place, will the Chances be successful in the unpredictable and immensely challenging world of parenting?

What I love about the show is that Raising Hope is nutty while still being realistic. Also, as I mentioned in my Season 1 Episode 15 Recap & Review, Raising Hope is both shameless and inspiring! The writing is just genius. The writing team is so talented and seems to be so effortlessly bold. Of course they spend hours upon hours, day after day, week after week in the writing room…and every single moment is worth it. The cast is fantastic. Casting Garret Dillahunt, Lucas Neff, Martha Plimpton, and Shannon Woodward to lead this series was the best casting decision Fox has made in awhile for its half hour comedies. Really, every single element of this show comes together wonderfully.

Photo Credit: Matthias Clamer/FOX

“Who am I to her again?” – Maw Maw
“You’re her Great Great Maw Maw.” – Jimmy
“That is so sweet! I wonder what it is that makes me so great.” – Maw Maw

In the next new episode of Raising Hope, Jimmy takes Sabrina to visit her college boyfriend, Wyatt who is cheating on her and Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman) believes that she is enjoying a wonderful affair even though her husband has long since passed away. There’s a moment in the episode that I love more than any other in the episode. This moment comes Virginia is explaining the cheating concept to Burt through a hypothetical situation and Burt says, “I don’t like this. What’s going on with us that you can’t ask me for 50 cents?” It might be so funny that viewers might miss how much depth the character, Burt has and just how much work Burt and Virginia continue to put in their marriage. There’s so much love there! With so many broken families in today’s world, I almost forgot what a genuinely happy family of five looked like. Raising Hope has comedy on the surface but it definitely has messages to share about love and life.

I am in love with this show and I know that you all will love it too! I shared the first preview clip for the show last May, Paley Fest coverage last September, and listed the comedy as one of my favorites this season back in December. I’m telling you about this show again because I cannot express enough how much more entertaining your Tuesday nights will be and how much laughter will come into your life each week when you watch Raising Hope!

So take a chance on the Chance Family and watch the last 5 episodes of Season 1, Raising Hope The Complete First Season on DVD this summer, and Season 2 this fall. You will not be disappointed.

Watch an all new episode of Raising Hope, “Cheaters” with guest star, Jerry Van Dyke (“Yes, Dear”) on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 9/8c on Fox.

The next episode, “Everybody Flirts…Sometimes” with guest star, Tichina Arnold (“Martin”) airs May 3, 2011 at 9/8c on Fox.