YOUR FAVORITE MTV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

Samantha Who? Brings Sitcom Romance Back to TV

Samantha Who? is the only one of this fall's batch of sitcoms to achieve ratings and critical success. Following the WGA strike, it returned in its old slot following Dancing with the Stars. The new episodes have been building on last fall's strong start, and the escalation of Sam's will-they-or-won't-they romance with Todd has been a welcome ongoing plot.

The early episodes of the season revolved around the comedy to be found in Sam's amnesia situation: learning to cook again (or rather, learning that she can't cook), learning to drive, recovering a memory of being adopted which turned out to be a memory of playing the lead in Annie (my personal favorite). Lately, however, Samantha Who? has been following the lead of other successful sitcoms by turning itself into a romantic comedy. Samantha and Todd are no Sam and Diane or Ross and Rachel yet, but they're bringing back an element of sitcoms that we haven't seen much of for awhile. Sam's stand-off with Todd's new girlfriend, Chloe was particularly hilarious, as she tried to tap into the old "Bad Sam" to get them to break up.

Even though Sam is our protagonist and we're rooting for her, I kind of have to sympathize with Todd, too. Here he was, dating this bitchy woman, and then right after he finally breaks up with her, she gets hit by a car and wakes up from her coma totally different (and completely neurotic). He's just trying to move on with his life. At least he gets to live in her awesome apartment.

In last week's episode, the latest development was Sam's budding romance with her billionaire boss, which led Todd to show up at her parents house and kiss her. The best part of the whole thing is that Todd found out about the relationship because Sam's mom sold a photo of them to a tabloid. The supporting characters, especially Jean Smart as Sam's mom and Melissa McCarthy as her friend Dena, continue to be excellent.

Tonight's episode will involve Sam trying to get back at Todd for kissing her and bolting, as well as a continuation of her relationship with one of her bosses. Meanwhile, her other boss is interested in Dena.

* * *

Amy Kane spends as much quality time with her television as possible, when she's not busy at her day job as a cube dweller.

Latest News