The truth shall set you free.
Note: The Real O'Neals premieres this Wednesday at 8:30/7:30c with two back-to-back episodes on ABC. While this review mainly focuses on the premiere, it also includes my general impression of the first four episodes the network provided.
In the second episode of The Real O'Neals, the O'Neal family's only daughter Shannon says that a "Catholic mother pretending her son isn't gay" is about as cliché as making a volcano for her school science fair project. Which is really what ABC's new comedy series boils down to. In terms of bringing anything new to the table, The Real O'Neals is scarce, but it improves over the course of the first four episodes, as we get a better sense of what this show could be in the long run.
Unlike other Irish-American family sitcoms like The McCarthys or Grounded for Life, The Real O'Neals falls more in line with its topical brethren Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat, but instead of tackling race it takes aim at the Catholic church. However, despite the outrage and protests from several conservative groups, the show is actually pretty tame, and even faith-affirming at times. If anything, The Real O'Neals may be too soft on its devout family unit, but the characters and situations are plenty charming, and there is some merit in that.
The series follows a close-knit Chicago family who, in the eyes of their peers, are about as perfect as they come. That is until each of the family member's personal secrets becomes too much for them and they all come clean in front of the entire church community. As it turns out, parents Eileen (Martha Plimpton) and Pat (Jay R. Ferguson) are getting a divorce; their oldest son Jimmy (Matt Shively) is anorexic; their brainy daughter Shannon (Bebe Wood) is a scheming thief; and their youngest son Kenny (Noah Galvin) has the biggest bomb to drop of them all: he's gay.
Not surprisingly, the story is told from Kenny's point of view as he offers thoughts and observations about living as a gay kid in a Catholic family and school. The show itself is loosely based on EP Dan Savage's own personal experiences growing up in Chicago, and as such can feel a little dated. (It took me a few minutes to realize it wasn't a period piece, à la Fresh Off the Boat.) Still, the performances here are strong, and Shively in particular has a great job in the lead role. His timing and deliveries are actually some of the best on the show.
Similarly, the rest of the O'Neal family is solid. Plimpton plays a perfect judgmental mother, like a young Doris Roberts on Everybody Loves Raymond, and Ferguson assumes the role of a pushover patriarch. Meanwhile, Galvin and Wood have their own funny moments as Kenny's siblings, especially in later episodes. Although, weirdly, their anorexic and thieving storylines are quickly done away with at the start of the second episode and are never brought up again.
Honestly, the pilot is just okay, so I'm glad ABC decided to pair it with the next installment, "The Real Papaya," which I think is the stronger episode of the two. (Three and four are better still.) Granted, the series is never gut-bustingly funny, and you can tell it's still trying to find its groove. The first few episodes try a little bit of everything, from zany flashbacks to Scrubs-esque fantasies (one of which includes an imaginary Jimmy Kimmel). Overall, The Real O'Neals is enjoyable, if not as pointed as it could be.
The Verdict
ABC's new comedy The Real O'Neals isn't as biting or controversial as conservative protestors would have you believe, but it works perfectly fine as a typical family sitcom. And despite its obvious tropes and conventions, the series features great performances from the cast, as well as some amusing moments throughout the first four episodes.
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