By Roberto Leal
ABC’s new sitcom, Home Economics, which premiered April 7, tells the story of the Hayworth’s three siblings dealing with life in the San Francisco Bay Area while existing on three very different economic planes. Topher Grace (Spiderman 3, That 70s Show) plays Tom Hayworth, a once best-selling, successful author whose last book laid a commercial egg and now finds himself in dire financial straits. Caitlin McGee (Grey’s Anatomy, I’m Dying Up Here) is Sarah Haworth, recently unemployed and feeling a little desperate. Jimmy Tatro (American Vandal, 22 Jump Street) is Connor Hayworth Connor is the little brother who made a killing in the stock market and has just bought a house that once belonged to Matt Damon.
A Real Look at “Class on TV”?
Variety touted Home Economics, created by John Aboud and Michael Colton whose previous collaborations include Penguins of Madagascar and The Fake News with Ted Nelms, as “a real look at class on TV.” But is it?
America historically and mythically has always considered itself a classless society. One of the critical elements in The American Dream is we are all Middle Class. However, outrageous income inequality has been the bane of America since the Founding Fathers and has gotten steadily worse over the decades. Just ask the folks who work for Jeff Bezos, whose recent effort to form a union in Alabama in his Amazon warehouses went down in flames. Or consider the Latino immigrants who languish in squalid poultry processing plants up to their knees in chicken shit so Donald Trump can have his bucket of KFC.
The British are much better at looking at class on TV. After all, they invented “class” and wrote the rules. Their Parliament is tellingly, set up with a House of Lords and a House of Commons. British TV shows like Upstairs, Downstairs, and Dowton Abbey, dramatically reveal the separate lives of the privileged, landed gentry and those poor souls doomed to serve them.
The problem with Home Economics is, its meditation on the class struggle is encased in a PC cocoon. Home Economics is set in the San Francisco Bay Area, the most expensive place to live in California and home to “socialist” liberals like Nancy Pelosi.
Sarah Hayworth is in a same-sex marriage with a beautiful, black woman, Denise, played by Sasheer Zamata (Beyonce as a Mommy, I Feel Pretty). Sarah has recently lost her job, but Denise is still working. Sure, they are struggling, but unlike many truly struggling, working-class people, they are hardly one paycheck away from living on the streets.
Tom, the author, had a string of financially successful books. We see them on a bookshelf in the opening credits. So where did all that money go? Las Vegas? Drugs? Tom is also married to a woman of color, Marina (Karla Souza). Marina is a Mexican American, an ex-corporate lawyer who is now living la vida loca as a happy homemaker and mom to three kids. Marina probably made more money as a corporate lawyer than hubby Tom ever did banging out books on his laptop. Baby brother Connor is, as Marina wryly puts it, “a cartoon duck swimming in a pool of gold coins.”
The opening episode makes it clear, Connor is more than willing to lend his tapped-out hermanos a few pesos to help them out of their money woes. So, where is the “class struggle”? Tom and Sarah may be walking on a tenuous financial tightrope, but Connor is a willing and convenient safety net. Tom and Sarah’s only “struggle” is getting up the courage to ask Connor for a loan.
Home Economics is less a “new look at class on TV” but rather a tried-and-true formulaic look at the complicated comedy-dynamics of sibling rivalry.
Speaking of Karla
Home Economics is an ensemble comedy structured much like a classic Hollywood Screwball Comedy. The dialog is fast and furious. The jokes, quips, acid rejoinders, and murmured asides pile up non-stop one after another. In this crowded room environment, it is difficult for one character to get a word in edgewise, much less a joke. But Karla Souza’s character, Marina, manages to get in some good zingers that highlight her comedic skills.
Marina brings a cynical, world-weary edgy attitude to the story. As a former, high-powered corporate lawyer, Marina is not exactly satisfied with the drudgery of domestic life: raising three kids, washing and eternally folding clothes, nursing her husband’s bruised literary ego., and having to deal with her husband’s dysfunctional family circus.
In one scene in Connor’s new home, it becomes apparent there is no physical trace or evidence of Connor’s wife Emily anywhere. Marina, who has been drinking steadily since arriving to the house observes: “Connor killed Emily…sorry, I’ve had a lot of wine.”
Souza’s acting prowess is plain to see in her impressive acting resume which includes co-starring opposite Viola Davis in the long-running ABC drama, How to Get Away with Murder, and starred in Everybody Loves Somebody, written and directed by Catalina Aguilar Mastretta; and appearing in the The Sleepover for Netflix.
Her acting chops were honed studing in London at the Central School of Speech Drama and studying in Russia with acting coach Anatoly Smilianski. She received the CCP Award for most promising actress in London.
Additionally, Souza starred in three of Mexico’s top grossing films of all time: ¿Que Culpa Tiene El Nino? , Instructions Not Included, and Nosotros Los Nobles. After presenting a showcase in New York, Souza subsequently began receiving offers for leading roles in Mexico City.
The Quinn Factor
During his long, fabulous career, the great Anthony Quinn successfully and authentically played characters of every ethnicity. Quinn was utterly believable as Zorba, the Greek, Paul Gauguin, the French painter, and Adda Abu Tavi, the Arab in Lawrence of Arabia. Those kinds of wide-ranging, international roles will be possible for Karla Souza.
Souza has the looks and persona that would allow her to get off a plane in any capital in Europe, and she would be welcomed “home” with open arms. Although a proud native Mexican, Souza’s facial features are closer to the Iberian Peninsula than the Gulf of Mexico. Like the Mighty Quinn, Souza should be given the latitude to portray characters in many genres, from many continents in both English and Spanish.
Karla Souza is a talented actress with a wide range, who will be in great demand in Hollywood, Mexico, and beyond. The ABC comedy, Home Economics, could prove the springboard for that great leap forward.
Cast: Topher Grace, Karla Souza, Chloe Jo Rount, Shiloh Bearman, Jimmy Tatro, JeCobi Swain, Caitlin McGee, Jordyn Curet, and Sasheer Zamata
Home Economics premiered April 7 and nown airs Wednesday on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT
Featured Photo: ABC/Temma Hankin