George Lopez returns, once-estranged daughter in tow, with a textbook family sitcom that has a surprising theme: how to get along with someone you love.
This time, we learn about the family that should have been more like us. The new show (premiering on FOX Sept. 22) is about an extended family, all adults except for the grown-up daughter. It’s also about how hard it is to be a good father to an outcast one, especially with no sense of boundaries in common: no idea about personal limits or who’s boss. And it’s about how even those who are the best dad in the world eventually lose it when their child misbehaves.
“All in all it’s a story about the search for yourself, for acceptance, for love, for being part of a family,” the show’s creator and star Lopez said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s this whole search for self, and for acceptance for who you are. The idea of family is really a big part of this show. I think every human heart wants something that makes them feel loved.”
That said, it’s a story that feels more like a play than a sitcom, and a character who could be a stand-in for many of us: the hard-nosed, emotionally stunted dad.
Let’s see how well Family Guy has managed to adapt from one showbiz lesson to the next.
The most successful sitcom
There are many lessons in sitcom, all of them learned the hard way.
“Sour grapes” would make an excellent tagline for The Simpsons’ second season.
“Fare well, Mom,” would be a fitting send-off for The Honeymooners.
“The point is to be a little scared” is the heart of The Honeymooners.
“You are not allowed to speak,” would be the mantra of The George Lopez Show.
This past season, however, there is a new lesson: “Don’t get emotional.”
The lesson’s lessons came into play last season when the show took a look at its father-son relationships. The story line wasn’t a true flashback or flashback-like. It was a more-realistic look at what it means to be a divorced father.
George Lopez, left, with his son Gabriel in the season premiere of the family drama that was cancelled after a year on the