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Mike & Molly follows the romance of police officer Mike Biggs (Billy Gardell) and fourth grade teacher Molly Flynn (Melissa McCarthy), who find love where they least expect it – at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting in Chicago. As their relationship progresses, Mike & Molly deal with the trials and tribulations that many real life couples experience at one point or another including intimacy, family and weight issues. The good-hearted couple must also deal with constant disruptions and chaos from their opinionated friends and family. The sitcom premiered on September 20, 2010 and began its third season on CBS in September.
Mike & Molly starring Melissa McCarthy, Billy Gardell and Reno Wilson airs on CBS Mondays at 9:30 pm ET.
Mike and Billy
Mike Biggs is an overweight police officer from Chicago who has no problem joking about his weight. He constantly battles a diet that always seems to get the best of him - but he never gives up despite his struggle. He genuinely wants to lose weight and change himself for the better. That becomes more apparent when he becomes smitten with Molly Flynn, whom he meets at an Overeaters Anonymous group.
The man behind officer Biggs, William "Billy" Gardell has appeared in several feature films, including Bad Santa with Billy Bob Thornton and You, Me and Dupree with Owen Wilson. He has also made recurring appearances in several television series, including My Name Is Earl, The King of Queens, Desperate Housewives, Bones, Monk and Yes, Dear.
Molly and Melissa
Molly Flynn is a fourth grade teacher who also struggles with weight loss. She tries her best to control her eating, while still having a good sense of humor about her weight. Although her family loves her (in their own dysfunctional way), they would rather see Molly just give up, accept her weight, and find love.
Melissa McCarthy, who won an Emmy for best actress in a comedy for her portrayal of Molly Flynn-Biggs in Mike & Molly, is best known for her raunchy breakout role in Bridesmaids. The 2011 comedy earned the actress a number of award nominations including an Academy Award nomination and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Longtime fans have been following McCarthy since her days as Sookie St. James on The WB television series Gilmore Girls. The actress played the loveable and scatterbrained best friend of Lorelai Gilmore from 2000-2007.
Friends and Family
Most sitcoms that revolve around two characters often fall short because their supporting cast isn't up to par with the leads. That is not the case for Mike & Molly. The half-hour comedy would not be the same without the couples' friends and family. As their relationship grows, Mike and Molly must deal with comments, jokes and criticism from a number of well-meaning friends and family members.
Mike's mother, the always-sarcastic Peggy Biggs (Rondi Reed), is very controlling when it comes to her son - who begins the series caving to his mother's demands. She also treats her dog "Jim" more like a son than a pet.
Then there's Molly's wine-loving mother Joyce (Swoosie Kurtz), who doesn’t realize how her actions affect her daughter. That aside, she really does care about Molly. The same goes for Molly's dimwitted, party-girl sister Victoria (Katy Mixon). Officer Carl McMillian (Reno Wilson), Mike's partner and best friend has no problem offering advice to his friend although he struggles in his own relationships and often feels sorry for himself.
Samuel (Nyambi Nyambi), the waiter at a diner where Mike and Carl frequent does not sympathize with Mike's weight loss struggle because he doesn’t understand dieting. Rounding out the supporting cast are Carl's Grandmother Rosetta and Joyce's on and off boyfriend turned husband Vince, who both offer unsolicited advice to Mike and Molly.
The Chuck Lorre Factor
CBS once again bet on television's most successful comedy producer Chuck Lorre when they picked up Mike & Molly. Rightfully so, since Lorre is the driving force behind two of the network's biggest comedy series: Two And A Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. One can't help but wonder if Lorre found inspiration from another overweight couple featured on a show he used to work on - Roseanne and Dan Conner.
Mike & Molly returns with Season 3, Episode 11 “Fish for Breakfast” on January 14, 2013. In the meantime, you can always visit cbs.com to catch up on recent episodes.
