Recently, when I want to unwind after a long day, I put on a few episodes of American Housewife. To be honest, I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I do, but it’s truly amazing. It’s lighthearted and funny, and the cast meshes well with each other. For those who don’t know, the series centers around Katie Otto, a middle-class mother who navigates living in the wealthy suburbs of Westport, Connecticut, with her family. She deals with different and relevant cultural topics such as health, class, and the relationships she has with certain people in her life.
I’m a few seasons in, and I can’t help but notice that each member of the Otto family is an anti-trope of your usual sitcom character. If you gender-swapped the cast, I probably wouldn’t like the show at all. I would be bored, and I would think it’s like every other TV show about families. But American Housewife is different, and I’ll tell you why.
The Unapologetic Mom
Katy Mixon Greer, known for her role in Mike & Molly, plays her character Katie as chaotic and impulsive. She often makes bad decisions that benefit herself or one of her loved ones, and she doesn’t think or care about the consequences. The average viewer likely finds her to be annoying and a “bad parent”, and while I do too sometimes, I still think it’s refreshing to see the mom be the one who runs around creating problems for the other characters.
The Sympathetic Dad
Diedrich Bader plays Greg, and he is primarily known for playing Rex in Napoleon Dynamite (Or Bill in Veep, if you’re me). While Katie makes the messes, Greg is the one who cleans them up. His patience for these kinds of situations also extends towards his children. It’s very rare, even nowadays, to come across a sitcom dad who thinks logically before doing anything literally, but that’s what Greg does. He’s kind of like the opposite of Phil Dunphy from Modern Family.
The Airheaded Oldest Daughter
Zombies star Meg Donnelly plays Taylor, who isn’t very smart, but she’s spirited. While the “dumb daughter” motif has been done often, I would argue that Taylor is still a reverse stereotype because her plotlines are usually ones given to male characters. Namely, she has a career-altering injury that leads her to pivot from sports. She also doesn’t realize her own selfishness sometimes due to how spacey she can be.
The Materialistic Son
Daniel DiMaggio is mainly known for playing Oliver, whose one goal in life is to get rich even though the Otto family isn’t. He loves expensive clothes, technology, and the amount of privileges that come with having money. His best friend Cooper belongs to one of the richest families in Westport, and I can’t help but wonder if Oliver would even like Cooper if he wasn’t so fortunate. Oliver is also obsessed with his image, and he will openly admit that his family embarrasses him. I feel like you don’t see this very often in male characters, at least to this degree.
The Differently-Wired Youngest Daughter
For the first four seasons, Anna-Kat is played by Once Upon A Time in Hollywood’s Julia Butters. Anna-Kat is the reason the Ottos are in Westport, as she was diagnosed with OCD and Katie and Greg wanted to move to a school that would treat her better. You rarely see elementary-aged female characters that openly deal with a mental disorder. Also, she has a blatant fixation on death and the macabre, and she will say and do things that are off-putting to anyone outside her family. These are the kind of traits that are given to characters like young Sheldon Cooper, so it’s nice to see a girl with those traits for a change.
The Verdict
I would just like to say that this is my opinion (or theory), and I strongly believe in it. Sitcom writers often follow the common and safe methods, but American Housewife doesn’t, which is what makes it so fascinating to me. If you’re looking for your next comfort show, definitely give this show a try, you might even notice more details than I did.