Entertainment
This Shocking 4-Part Sitcom Has Aged So Poorly It Deserves To Be Called Out
There are a lot of television shows that simply could not be made today. Even though they may have been super popular at the time they aired, we’ve (hopefully) evolved as a society. Many of the themes that seemed acceptable then just wouldn’t be today. Looking back on sitcoms like Three’s Company and Bosom Buddies, they now feel troubling with obvious themes of homophobia and transphobia. Some shows have characters that perpetuate tired tropes, such as the annoying, nagging wife, featured in series like Everybody Loves Raymond and Married… With Children. There’s one more example of a sitcom that could never be produced in today’s climate, and it’s pretty shocking that we once thought it had an acceptable premise.
What Is ‘My Boys’ About?
My Boys was a TBS sitcom that aired on the cable network from 2006 to 2010. The four-season show centers around PJ Franklin (Jordana Spiro), a female sportswriter for the Chicago Sun-Times, who is desperately trying to find love. The problem is that PJ is just “one of the boys,” and loves sports, playing poker, and drinking beer. She can be brutally honest and a bit blunt, qualities that turn off her potential suitors. PJ is surrounded by guys, and these lovable doofuses are like family to her. She does have one best friend who’s a woman. Stephanie Layne (Kellee Stewart) does her best to advise PJ on dating, but she can’t quite work her magic enough to help PJ find Mr. Right. Viewers seemed to enjoy watching PJ and her best buds, but TBS eventually decided to cancel the show after 49 episodes, leading to My Boys becoming a forgotten sitcom of the early 2000s.
‘My Boys’ Could Never Be Made Today
There are some episodes of classic sitcoms that feel a little cringey upon rewatching (like Monica in a fat-suit on Friends), but the entire premise of My Boys wouldn’t sit right with today’s audiences. PJ is a successful woman who’s working at her dream job. But the whole gist of the show is that she’s too boyish to find a boyfriend. The series spends way too much time focusing on PJ needing to land a man than any other aspect of her life. Instead of capitalizing on PJ’s unique personality, the series instead plays for laughs that she’s too masculine. The writing could have focused on PJ as a fully well-rounded person, but instead zeroes in on how weird she is to be surrounded by men. Even PJ’s best friend wants to change her, and is constantly giving her advice on how to act more feminine. The male characters aren’t really written any better though, since they’re portraying common stereotypes of commitment-phobic playboys and harried husbands. Basically, these characters could be dropped into any sitcom from this time period and feel right at home.
It’s not that there aren’t some redeeming qualities in the series. It does have a fantastic cast, with Jim Gaffigan, Reid Scott, and Jamie Kaler as part of PJ’s gang. Other notable actors like Nia Vardalos, Kyle Howard, Johnny Galecki, and Rachael Harris all pop up over the course of four seasons. There are plenty of silly laughs and a sweet theme of found family. It’s clear that My Boys was trying to capture the magic of a group of supportive pals, found in the uber-popular Friends. But the series would be impossible to make in the present day because of how outdated the premise is. High-quality writing in television shows today doesn’t show women changing themselves just to land a man, and most successful shows are celebrating women who are thriving in their careers. PJ would be a wonderful female protagonist in a show written in 2026, but she definitely wouldn’t be portrayed as flawed or less-than. Of course, even a sitcom today would depict the trials of dating, but PJ wouldn’t be denigrated as a mere tomboy who’s far less interesting than her male friends.
Spiro would go on to an impressive career, with roles in The Mob Doctor, Blindspot, and Ozark, and Gaffigan is a major comedy star now, so it’s not like My Boys didn’t have some importance. The sitcom is still fun to watch, mainly because we can see how far we’ve come as a society in the last 20 years. Viewing the series is like a nostalgic trip to several decades past, but it’s also easy to see that there’s no way this forgotten show would have been greenlit today.
My Boys is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
My Boys
- Release Date
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2006 – 2010-00-00
- Network
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TBS
- Directors
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Barnet Kellman, Arlene Sanford, David Trainer, Arvin Brown, Fred Savage, Matthew Diamond
- Writers
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Cindy Caponera
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Eddie McClintock
Uncredited
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Jordana Spiro
Bobby Newman
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