The funniest show you're probably not watching - "Mike & Molly"

CBS has really impressed me over the years with their ability to find just the right comedies that resonate with audiences.  Over the years they've given us "Murphy Brown," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "King of Queens," "Two and a Half Men," "The Big Bang Theory" and they've done it again with the wildly funny "Mike & Molly" (which airs on Monday nights at 9:30pm).

Set in Chicago, "Mike & Molly" follows the blossoming relationship of police officer Mike (the dryly funny Billy Gardell) and school teacher Molly (the hilarious Melissa McCarthy) who first meet at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.  The two have struggled with their weight for years and have learned to laugh about it.  Their insecurities are what bond them to each other and is what endears them to the audience watching the relationship develop.  What I love about this show is that they show the couple's vulnerabilities without mocking them.  You truly feel like you are laughing with them and not at them as society tends to do with those overweight.

What is also really funny about this show is the supporting cast.  They include Mike's wisecracking partner Carl (the always funny Reno Wilson), who offers "expert" relationship advice, which is hard to take serious since he still lives at home with his mother; Molly's perenially drunk mother Joyce and over-sexed and dim-witted sister Victoria (the expertly cast Swoosie Kurtz and Katy Mixon, respectively).  Rounding out the cast is African waiter Samuel (Nyambi Nyambi) who works at the restaurant that Mike and Carl frequent (he has the best comedic one liners heard on television in a long time).

I must admit that I started watching "Mike & Molly" to show my support in the hopes that people could see persons of larger size as respectable human beings and not circus side shows.  I didn't know what to expect and how this show would deliver, and I have to say that I'm really pleased with what I have seen thus far.  I highly recommend it and hope that others will love it as much as I do.  Fingers crossed that CBS will see what a gem this show is and keep it on the air for years to come. 

So, that's TarazTake for today, what are your thoughts?