Mike and Molly is a CBS television sitcom created by Mark Roberts. It debuted on September 20, 2010, and ran for six seasons, airing 127 episodes. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the eponymous Mike and Molly, a couple who fall in love in a Chicago Overeaters Anonymous group. The sixth season, consisting of 13 episodes, premiered in January 2016. In January 2016, CBS announced that Mike & Molly would end with six seasons, opting not to renew the series for a seventh season as its licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Television expired. The series came to an end in May 2016. Let’s take a look at the movie’s plot and cast.
The plot of Mike and Molly:
Mike Biggs, a Chicago police officer, and Molly Flynn, an elementary school teacher, meet at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and begin a casual relationship that grows more serious throughout the first season. Mike first lives in a one-bedroom apartment and frequently visits his cantankerous, divorced mother, Peggy. Molly and her sister, Victoria, live in their widowed mother, Joyce’s, Chicago home. Joyce’s boyfriend and later husband, Vince, soon join the Flynn family. Mike and his best friend Carl, a Chicago police officer, frequently eat breakfast at Abe’s Diner, where they befriend Samuel, their Senegalese waiter. The series follows Mike and Molly’s relationship through various stages, from couplehood to engagement to marriage, all while dealing with their complicated family members and friends.
Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy:
Billy Gardell, who played Mike on the show, went on to star in the film Undrafted after appearing in 127 episodes. He also had roles on shows such as New Girl and Angie Tribeca. In 2017, he played Colonel Tom Parker in Sun Records, his first lead role after Molly and Mike. Billy has a new leadership role in the sitcom TV series Bob Hearts Abishola as of 2021. Patty Knight married Bill Gardell. William III is the couple’s son. Bill hinted in 2011 that he might have to retire once his son reaches the age of adolescence, in addition to watching with him. Melissa McCarthy played Molly in the sitcom for more than 120 episodes. She worked as an actress, screenwriter, and producer for several films after the show, including The Boss.
Reno Wilson and Katy Mixon:
Reno Wilson portrayed Officer Carlton McMillan in 127 episodes of the show. In 2019, he played Louis Armstrong in the drama film Bolden. Wilson was a regular in the crime comedy-drama television series Good Girls in 2018. However, after four seasons, the show ended in 2021. Katy Mixon played Victoria Flynn in all 127 episodes of the show. Her first role after Mike and Molly was in the neo-western crime drama Hell and High Water, for which she received a Critics’ Choice Movie Award nomination for Best Acting Ensemble. In addition, the actress portrayed Katie Otto in the sitcom American Housewife for 96 episodes till its cancellation in 2021.
Swoosie Kurtz and Nyambi Nyambi:
Swoosie Kurtz also popped up in all 127 episodes of Mike and Molly as Joyce Flynn-Moranto, Molly and Victoria’s mother. Between 2017 and 2020, she played Beverly Burns in the television sitcom Man with a Plan. Swoosie landed a leading role as Sheila in the sitcom television series Call Me Kat in 2021. For 118 episodes, Nyambi Nyambi played Babatunde, aka Samuel. Mike and Molly was his break in the acting world. Following the show, he joined The Good Fight as a law firm investigator, eventually becoming a series regular in season two. The Fight is in its fifth season, with the sixth season set to begin in 2022.
Louis Mustillo and Rondi Reed:
For 112 episodes of Mike and Molly, Louis Mustillo portrayed Vincent “Vince” Moranto. He didn’t get involved in many projects after the show. However, he played Humphrey in the TV show, Strange Angel. He played Lenny in Season 11, Episode 14 of the police procedural drama television series Blue Bloods in 2021. For 84 episodes of Mike and Molly, Rondi Reed played Mike’s mother, Margaret “Peggy” Biggs. In 2016, she was cast as Edith Schiff in the period drama television series Masters of Sex. Reed continued to work on roles in several TV shows, which would include Jolene in Season 8, Episode 18 of the 2021 television sitcom Mom.
If you’ve seen a lot of sitcoms, you’ll notice that it’s rare to find one that guarantees a laugh at the end of every episode. Mike and Molly was that sitcom that had everyone laughing for all 127 episodes. The writing made it a fantastic, non-stop laughing experience. But such a feat would not have been possible without the help of the talented Mike and Molly cast. Mike and Molly ran for six seasons from 2010 to 2016. Despite the show not dominating primetime, it became a pop culture phenomenon stuffed with the never-ending argument about weight and weight loss. Irrespectively, Mike and Molly’s cast was well-developed, and each contributed a funny and memorable character to the sitcom.
