Review: CBS's New Sitcom 'The McCarthys' Takes On Beantown

Rachel Smith ‘16 / Entertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Boston has a new team to root for with the CBS sitcom The McCarthys. Based in Beantown, this family brings their own wicked awesome accents and some laughs to get through at least a first season. The pilot reads like most pilots, has some rough patches but you get a feel for the characters.
The McCarthy’s consist of parents, Arthur and Marjorie and their four kids, Sean, Gerard, Jackie and focal point of the episode, Ronnie. The late John Ritter’s son, Tyler Ritter, plays Ronnie. He has a striking resemblance to his famous father and for his big TV debut he plays the McCarthy’s youngest, gay son. The pilot kicks off with the idea that Ronnie is going to move to Providence, RI for a new job.

If you know anything about Boston born and bred family’s, you know they hate the Yankees and the state of Rhode Island. New Englanders will like this show for the fact that they touch upon a lot of Boston fads. The father is an obnoxious basketball coach who taught his kids to be great athletes. This idea comes up a lot in the pilot.
The mother is overbearing and made her kids stay close when they moved out, a very common, Boston-mother thing to do. The brothers have thick Boston accents that are used mostly to insult one another and argue over who’s a better assistant coach for their father’s team. Jackie is the only daughter so she was taught to be one of the boys. For some reason she is disliked by her mother. Maybe that will be explained later but for the pilot it just seems like a cheap joke.

Ronnie doesn’t watch sports and is best friends with his mother so he doesn’t fit with his siblings exactly but the moral of the pilot episode is that they all love each other…how original. As in many a pilot, the jokes are obvious but a few are well timed and set up the plot for the rest of the season. It will take some time to connect with the characters of this show. Ronnie is instantly lovable and his siblings have there moments, Sean is the funniest and is played by local Boston comedian Jimmy Dunn. Some may be offended by the father’s comments but most people would find him painfully funny.
The issue is the mother. To all Laurie Metcalf fans, first, why are you Laurie Metcalf fans? Second, it is hard to say but she is the weakest link of the cast. She is the only one without a Boston accent and her delivery of jokes doesn’t feel right. They could have cast a better mother but perhaps the writers will give her more to work with as the season progresses. For the pilot episode, she will be the hardest to get attached to.
Overall it seems that The McCarthy’s will get through their ordered episodes and may be CBS’s newest hit sitcom now that Two and a Half Men is on it’s way out. If you’re from New England or Boston specifically, you will enjoy this show. If you’re from anywhere else, it could still be your new favorite mindless comedy. See what you think!