With stories about new mothers, moving, and first dates with broken people, though, it’s not clear that “Interruptus” is interested in this idea, one conveyed in the pilot as one of the show’s defining factors.
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It’s not fair to expect Life in Pieces to completely abandon the conventions of its genre (particularly the whole “lily-white cast” issue) but what Life isn’t doing is offering us anything beyond that, trying to shape itself as a reaffirming, broad comedy rather than something that challenges the way we think about family construction, and how to handle entering the next phase of your family’s life. When “Interruptus” does find itself, it’s in the small moments: John and Matt pouring tequila in his engine to start his car, Matt and Colleen’s second date, or when Tyler panics over the single ADD pill he’s been hiding underneath his bed. Watching Heather and Tim make jokes about ex-convicts trying to stay out of trouble is anything but funny, while I think everyone would agree that the “caught my elderly parents doing it” story isn’t really the most rewarding material, either. It’ the kind of overt material that really undersells a show like this, about how the flaws and shortcomings of family members are ultimately what brings them together. In those spaces, much more interesting stories could rest, yet “Interruptus” is stuck in that weird place between “pilot” and “series,” where everyone has to explicitly state their personality type and life desires.
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“Interruptus” is full of these moments, opening with a montage basically dedicated to exposition (the “family therapy” session Joan initiates after Matt sees her and John having sex in the living room) and ending with a wildly uninspired take on the “too much crap on top of the family van” joke.
Where it ran into trouble is the same place this episode does: when Life in Pieces embraces its upper-class, white stereotypes, it becomes a much less engaging watch. The parts of the pilot that were the most intriguing were when Life in Pieces offered breaks from convention: a funeral party that was a birthday celebration, a first date where both people are a mess, parents who exhibit complete emotional honesty with each other. Yes, there’s something to Life in Pieces, but it appears it may already be losing its sense of balance. There’s a certain safety to the second episode that’s a little unsettling, as well as an odd dedication to dropping exposition in wherever possible. The second episode of Life in Piecesfeels like a show already in conflict with itself, oscillating back and forth between hilarious relationship vignettes and schmaltzy family comedy throughout the entirety of “Interruptus Date Breast Movin’.” More importantly, however, Life in Pieces feels like a show stuck between creative ideas and network notes.
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