By Jonathan Kaner ’18

Everybody microwave your popcorn and recline in your seats—ABC’s “American Housewife” has been renewed for a second season following the premiere last October.
“I was really thrilled to see that my town was being represented in a national TV program,” Noah Greenberg ’18 said. “The fact that they are adding a new season gets me really pumped.”
“American Housewife” chronicles the daily life of Katie Otto, played by Katy Mixon, a mother who tries to stand out among the arrogant, wealthy housewives in the town of Westport. “What made ‘American Housewife’ quite funny was the casting,” Zarah Ahmad ’19 said. “I hope ABC will use the same actors in the next season.”
After its inaugural season, ‘American Housewife’ received mixed reviews by the general public. The show rated a 7.4/10 on IMDb, and received a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes. Nonetheless, ABC aired 23 episodes in its first season, and has already renewed it for its next.
Some people in Westport saw the show as a way to degrade the town. One of those people was Max Sussman ’18, who “had high hopes for the show and was excited to see Westport as the scenery,” he said. “However, I was disappointed with the content show and stopped watching early on.”
Although the show initially received poor reviews, ABC has been trying to create a comedy block, and the pairing of “American Housewife” and “The Middle” proved to be effective. According to Variety.com, the series has is averaging a 1.5 rating and 5.3 million viewers for its first season, putting it just below other popular ABC shows like “Speechless”, “Black-ish” and “The Middle.”
“I felt as though the show was comparable to ABC’s other big shows,” Greenberg said. “Not only did it make me laugh countless times, but it was pretty entertaining to watch plot-wise as well.”
The series was not able to grab the network’s popular Wednesday comedy block, but has held onto its Tuesday block at 9:30 pm. The new season will begin in October, along with the other renewed ABC shows, and will run throughout the winter until May.
“Even though this was just the show’s first season, I can definitely see it as one of ABC’s top comedies in the future,” Ahmad said.