Mom is an American sitcom that premiered on September 23, 2013, on CBS. The series was created by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky, and Gemma Baker and distributed by Warner Bros. Television. It stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney in lead roles as dysfunctional mother/daughter duo Christy and Bonnie Plunkett. Sadie Calvano, Blake Garrett Rosenthal, Matt L. Jones, Spencer Daniels, Nate Corddry, French Stewart, William Fichtner, Beth Hall, Jaime Pressly and Mimi Kennedy appear in supporting roles.
The series has received positive reviews throughout its run. Both Janney and Faris have garnered acclaim for their respective performances and have received numerous accolades with Janney having won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series back to back in 2014 and 2015. The show has also garnered multiple nominations at the Critics' Choice Television Awards and the People's Choice Awards during its run.
The show has also received high ratings, which rose from the first to second season with an average viewership of 11.79 million. CBS renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on November 5, 2015. On March 25, 2016, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on October 27, 2016.
Mom follows Christy Plunkett (Anna Faris), a single mother who, after dealing with her battle with alcoholism and drug abuse, decides to restart her life in Napa, California, working as a waitress and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Her mother Bonnie Plunkett (Allison Janney) is also a recovering drug and alcohol addict. Christy's daughter, Violet (Sadie Calvano), who was born when Christy was 16, has also become a teen mother by her boyfriend, Luke. Christy also has a young son, Roscoe (Blake Garrett Rosenthal) by her ex-husband, Baxter (Matt L. Jones), a deadbeat but likable pothead. As the show progresses, added themes of real-life issues such as alcoholism, teen pregnancy, cancer, homelessness, gambling addiction, domestic violence, death, drug addiction, relapse and overdose.
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Anna Faris as Christy Jolene Plunkett: a single mother who has gone a year without drinking and is still struggling with addiction and gambling. Now sober, she strives to be a good example to her son Roscoe, and regain the trust of her daughter Violet, who is revealed to be pregnant herself in the first episode. In addition, she is trying to iron out the rough edges in her relationship with her mother Bonnie, who never learned to play her role well and who would rather go out and drink than baby-sit. Christy later finds out that her biological father ran out on Bonnie on Christmas Eve, the day before Christy was born, and locates the man as a now-married father of two sons who runs an auto repair shop.
Allison Janney as Bonnie Plunkett: Christy's mother, a joyful if cynical recovering addict who is now grateful with life. She tries desperately to regain the love and trust of her daughter, whom she was unable to properly nurture as a child. A single mother, she preferred to party and drink rather than stay home. With time and much therapy, Bonnie managed to find the balance and now wants to catch up, revealing to Christy her past, including who her real father is and how to find him, as well as her past side career as a drug dealer.
Sadie Calvano as Violet Plunkett: Christy's daughter and older half-sister of Roscoe. A senior in high school at the beginning of the series, Violet is hardworking, smart and sure of herself, though upset with her mother, who never had time to take care of her children and failed to fulfill a true motherly role despite now being sober for some time. After having her boyfriend Luke's baby, Violet made the decision to give up her baby for adoption because she felt that this was the best way to break her family's repeated cycle of poor life choices and give her child a better chance than she, her mother, or her grandmother ever had. During season 2, after a brief downward spiral of bad behavior, Violet gets engaged to Gregory Munchnik, a psychology professor at her university, but he breaks the engagement after she relapses.
Nate Corddry as Gabriel (regular seasons 1–2): the manager of the restaurant where Christy works. Married to a domineering woman who scares him somewhat, Gabriel and Christy are carrying on an affair which Christy later ends but which Gabriel himself frequently and desperately tries to renew: they briefly resume their affair in season 2 when Christy is promoted as his replacement. He is a hardworking, competent manager, but often put in his place by his subordinates, particularly Chef Rudy.
Matt L. Jones as Baxter: Christy's ex-husband and the father of Roscoe. Sweet and charming, but very unstable, he is unable to maintain a serious relationship or steady work for much longer than a month. Loves easy life and frequently gets into fraudulent deals to make money. Despite his flaws, he is a loving father who usually comes through for his son. During season 2, under the influence of his wealthy new girlfriend Candace, Baxter gives up his slacker ways and becomes a car salesman.
French Stewart as Chef Rudy (regular seasons 1–3): the head chef for the restaurant where Christy works as a waitress. A dominant and difficult self-made man, Rudy acts superior in his relationships with others. He is boastful and arrogant, often yelling at his subordinates without mincing words and will not hesitate to humiliate anyone who opposes him. He is secretive about his past and distant from people, but briefly dates Bonnie at one point: during this time, he is revealed to be a (bi)sexual fetishist with expensive tastes and hobbies who enjoys stealing food from the restaurant.
Spencer Daniels as Luke (regular seasons 1–2; guest season 4): a young student who loves to enjoy life and adventure. He had been dating Violet for a little over a year and got her pregnant. Luke is considerably airheaded, smoking marijuana often, but always tries to prove to Christy that he is not as crazy as he appears: he seems to genuinely love Violet, staying beside her and supporting her throughout her pregnancy, and he is often more sensitive towards Christy than her own children are, perhaps because his parents are right-wing religious extremists with whom he does not connect.
Blake Garrett Rosenthal as Roscoe: Christy's son by Baxter and half-brother of Violet. Unintelligent, bratty and simplistic even for his age (nine years old at the beginning of season one), he loves and idolizes his father, even if he is not the best example to follow.
Mimi Kennedy as Marjorie Armstrong-Perugian (recurring season 1, regular season 2–present): an old friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend-again of Bonnie, who meets Christy at AA and they become great friends as well as sponsor and sponsee. She has had many problems with alcohol and drugs in the past and is now facing a greater threat after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Through Christy she meets Victor Pergian, Christy's former landlord, who she dates then marries him.
Jaime Pressly as Jill Kendall (recurring season 2, regular season 3–present): A new AA member whom Christy sponsors, Jill is a wealthy, divorced socialite who is prone to relapses and violent behavior.
Beth Hall as Wendy Harris (recurring season 2, regular season 3–present): an attendee at the women's sobriety meetings who is frequently crying. She is a registered nurse and a member of Mensa.
William Fichtner as Adam Janikowski (recurring season 3, regular season 4): Bonnie's new love interest, a wheelchair-bound former stunt man whom she met over the phone after he dialed the wrong number.
Octavia Spencer as Regina Tompkins (seasons 1–3): A fellow AA member and money manager who embezzled from her clients and is now facing a prison sentence. While a close if questionable friend to Christy, Regina and Bonnie typically hold each other in contempt, but beneath the surface they bear some affection for each other. In the middle of season 2, she is given early parole and becomes a born-again Christian, eventually moving in with Jill. Regina drifts apart from her friends after she decides she is no longer an alcoholic, essentially choosing wine over her friends, and struggles alone with the dissonance after moving into her own apartment and out of Jill's mansion.
Kevin Pollak as Alvin Lester Biletnikoff (seasons 1–2): Christy's father and Bonnie's ex-boyfriend who abandoned them when Christy was born. When Christy found Alvin he was married with two sons; despite that he loves Christy and does what he can to be in her life and help out, including fixing up a used car to give her and attempting to reach out to her children as a grandparent. He and Bonnie initially treated each other with contempt and hatred over the various mistakes each of them has made in their past, but they rekindled their relationship after his wife left him and he survived a heart attack. In season 2, Alvin has a second heart attack while in bed with Bonnie, and dies.
Courtney Henggeler as Claudia (seasons 1–3): Gabriel's wealthy and snobbish ex-wife, who has taken over the restaurant from him and briefly appointed Christy as manager.
Reggie de Leon as Paul (seasons 1–3): Chef Rudy's silent and often submissive sous-chef.
Don McManus as Steve Casper (season 1–present): A fellow AA member, Steve is a competent but creepy lawyer and occasionally aids Christy, who becomes his intern and trainee in season 2. He has a casual sex relationship with Bonnie in season 3.
Sara Rue as Candace Hayes (season 2–present): Baxter's wealthy new wife, under whose influence he has reformed. She delivers many subtle jabs at Christy's poverty and seems to be trying to force Christy aside to replace her as Roscoe's mother. The hostility becomes much more obvious in season 3, when Candace's wealthy father Fred (Harry Hamlin), starts dating Christy and Candace accuses Christy of only being with him for his money.
Jonny Coyne as Victor Perugian (season 2–present): Christy's Armenian former landlord who becomes attracted to Marjorie, marrying her in season 3.
Amy Hill as Beverly Tarantino (season 2–present): One of the tenants in the apartment building where Christy and Bonnie lives, who is always trying to get Bonnie out of the manager position.
David Krumholtz as Gregory Munchnik (seasons 2–3): Violet's older ex-fiancé, a psychology professor at the college she attends.
Emily Osment as Jodi Hubbard (season 3): A young drug addict whom Christy and Bonnie try to help get sober. She later dies from a drug overdose.
Mom was one of the many projects that became a priority for CBS and Warner Bros when it was pitched in December 2012, in part due to Lorre's new four-year deal with Warner the previous September. It was green-lit by CBS for a series order pickup on May 9, 2013. This pickup also gives Lorre the distinction of having four sitcoms airing on one network starting in the 2013–14 season. The following week, the network announced that it would place the sitcom in the Monday night 9:30 pm (ET/PT) time slot following 2 Broke Girls. However, after the cancelation of We Are Men, 2 Broke Girls was moved into the show's 8:30 pm slot, with repeats of The Big Bang Theory occupying the 9 pm lead-in time slot to Mom until the season debut of Mike & Molly on November 4, 2013. The show received a full first season order for 22 episodes on October 18, 2013.
On March 13, 2014, CBS announced the second season renewal of Mom. The series moved from Mondays at 9:30 PM to Thursdays at 8:30 PM for the first fourteen episodes until the series moved to Thursdays at 9:30 PM following The Odd Couple series premiere and the series finale of Two and a Half Men.
By season three, the focus became more about Christy and Bonnie and their group from AA, while the restaurant set, the kids and Baxter roles were reduced significantly.
The series gives Faris, who had guest-starred in various television programs between her film projects and been sought-after for other television projects (including a failed pilot called Blue Skies that was being produced for NBC), her first full-time television role, as she landed the part of the lead character, Christy, in January 2013. On January 28, 2013, Janney was next to come aboard the project, playing Christy's mother. Matt Jones and Spencer Daniels were added to the cast in February 2013, with Jones playing Christy's ex-husband, Baxter, and Daniels taking the role of Luke, the boyfriend of Christy's daughter, Violet.
Mom has been met with positive reviews, with much praise going to the cast, especially leads Allison Janney and Anna Faris. The show received a Metacritic score of 65 out of 100 in its first season, based on reviews by 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season was given a 67% approval rating based on 36 reviews and an average rating of 5.7 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states: "Anna Faris and Allison Janney share an undeniable comedic chemistry, and if the jokes are sometimes too crass, Mom represents a sincere (and often witty) attempt to address addiction issues." Boston Herald critic, Mark A. Perigard gave a positive review, writing "This is dark material, yet Faris balances it with a genuine winsomeness, able to wring laughs out of the most innocuous lines." New York Magazine critic Matt Zoller Seitz praised the cast, calling it "just about perfect".
For the second season the series was met with even more positive reviews. The show received a Metacritic score of 81 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim". On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 100% based on 6 reviews and an average score of 8.5 out of 10.
The third season was also met with positive reviews from critics, receiving a Metacritic score of 82 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".
In Australia, Mom debuted on Nine Network on April 9, 2014. In Canada, City airs the series simultaneously. In Greece, Star Channel debut the series on 25 of October 2014. In the United Kingdom, ITV2 debuted the show on January 20, 2014, with season two debuting on March 2, 2015. In India, Comedy Central has been broadcasting the series through 2015.
