Round Two: Trophy Wife

Trophy Wife: Season 1, Episode 2 “Cold File” (C-)

I wanted to like this show, and I did enjoy its pilot, but I think that episode two demonstrates that this premise is paper-thin. It’s obvious that Kate wouldn’t feel like a parent because all of her kids have other moms who are actually old enough to have given birth to them, and her behavior is irresponsible all the time. I understand that it’s meant to be funny, but it’s just not. Keeping Bert up all night by letting him watch TV and drink coffee in the morning were terrible choices, and I continue to find Bert to be obnoxious and excessively precocious. The other children, however, are somewhat more bearable. While Michaela Watkins’ second wife Jackie just spends all of her time getting drunk and giving Kate advice, Marcia Gay Harden’s Diane is much more calculating. Eventually, it felt like beating a dead horse, but her commitment to making her kids paranoid with different references to salsa was moderately entertaining. It’s strange enough that Harden took a TV role on a show like this, but at least she’s putting in the requisite effort to make her character worthwhile. Bradley Whitford is coasting a bit more, relaxing and having fun getting excited about the shower police. We didn’t see Natalie Morales’ Meg at all this episode, which is fine since the character is unworthy of the actress. I’m not sure I’ll stick around for episode three and beyond, since this show seems to be on a rapid decline and headed nowhere positive.