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Chuck Lorre‘s latest CBS series is a rom-com, yes. But it is first and foremost something more important.
Debuting Monday, Sept. 23 at 8:30/7:30c (leading out of The Neighborhood), Bob Hearts Abishola is described on CBS’ press site as “a love story about a middle-aged compression sock businessman from Detroit (Mike & Molly’s Billy Gardell) who unexpectedly falls for his cardiac nurse, a Nigerian immigrant (Transparent‘s Folake Olowofoyeku), while recovering from a heart attack.” And while that clearly sets the stage for a Will They/Won’t They scenario (a la Leonard/Penny?), “The story I want to tell is about the greatness of first-generation immigrants,” Lorre said on Thursday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
“Immigrants make America great” is the new show’s premise, Lorre continued, moments before producing and donning a custom “IMAG” hat. “People come here and work their asses off. That’s a story worth telling…. We’re all the children/grandchildren/great grandchildren of immigrants.”
That said, and even though Bob’s clumsy attempted courtship of Abishola “will take a very long time to play out,” Lorre asserted, “It’s not a political show, there’s no reason to view it as politics. It’s about people.”
Bob Hearts Abishola takes more than a few cues from producer/writer Gina Yashere, who also recurs as a character named Kemi. Yashere shared at TCA that her parents are Nigerians who immigrated to England, where she was later born. And though her parents hailed from well-to-do backgrounds, “that didn’t matter” as they sought a new life in a new country. “They had to start from scratch and work their way up,” all in the name of creating opportunities for their children
As such, especially when depicting Abishola and her home life (Barry Henley, Shola Adewusi and Travis Wolfe Jr. play her family), “A lot of the stories are in the show are basically from my life,” Yashere added.
Didn’t know this was his show. Can’t wait.
The hat seems to be a jab at Trump’s MAGA hat, but I don’t get the connection. Trump never suggested that immigrants weren’t a great part of American culture. So while they’re saying that the show isn’t political, they’re trying to score internet outrage points by wearing that hat. Strange strategy, but I guess nobody would have been talking about the show otherwise, so it worked.
This is the worst troll attempt I’ve seen yet around these parts. You can do better.
What trolling? The man is claiming that the series isn’t political (in order to avoid turning half of the audience away) while wearing a hat that is begging for Twitter uproar (because he wants someone to write an article about his hat). Yet it makes no sense. It is a horrible attempt at gaining attention for a show that will be canceled a week after it premieres either way.
If there is trolling to be done here, it’s by Lorre… he is just doing it really badly.
Lol. Get real. CBS will not be cancelling a Chuck Lorre comedy after one week no matter how much you complain.
+150 TVLine Power User points (no cash value)
Question: how many people in this comments section are actually talking about the show?
Might last more than a week, but it won’t last more than whatever has already been ordered.
Lol, ….. and your not a troll?? right? ffs shut up Dik
Chuck Lorre produces some great sitcoms, but it is so annoying how he tries to put his political rant on…. His new IMAG hat is really cool, except he forgot the word that SHOULD preceed IMAG and that’s “LEGAL” EVERY president that came before President Trump spoke of needing to find ways to stop the flow of undocumented coming in. Even other countries, not just the U. S. has to verify / vet people.
Mega liberal Lorre makes the same mistake many other liberals make about Trump and Immigration. Trump talks about ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION! I doubt Abishola is an illegal immigrant. I mean how can she get her nursing license if she doesn’t have a green card or wasn’t naturalized US citizen?
More liberal fear mongering.
You might have a point if he wasn’t trying to block certain groups whom he deems not good enough from coming here. Also for the millionth time, it is not illegal to seek asylum. Ironic for one so against it he managed to hire quite a few for his business…Hypocrisy at its finest.
Seeking asylum should be illegal. Lets just let everyone in and invite them to live with you. We want them to come in the right way, not through the backdoor like every damn one of them is doing.
As a Native American, I find the “IMAG” slogan as offensive as “MAGA.” Isn’t this like saying that our native culture has not contributed to what America is? Please ask Mr. Lorre to comment on his dis of Native heritage.
Nobody doesn’t think immigrants don’t make America great. There is a difference between those who went through the lawful process to get here and those who broke the law to get here. Unless you advocate completely open borders, which to put it kindly is naive, then you must support some sort of lawful immigration process. People from other countries should not be encouraged to break our laws by sneaking across the border, and those that break those laws should not be rewarded with citizenship. This doesn’t mean we hate immigrants.
Tell that to the people chanting “Send her back!” at rallies about a woman who came here as a child and is a legal citizen of the U.S. Tell that to the people who’ve come here via visas (a perfectly legal means of coming here) who are being negatively affected by Trump’s zero tolerance anti-immigration policies. If anyone honestly believes that Trump and his supporters aren’t harassing people who have used legal means to get here, that is the height of naivety. The racist, xenophobic rhetoric coming from them speaks volumes about how they really feel.
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The fact is that there are plenty of valid reasons why some people do not, or cannot, go through the legal channels to come here. Most of the people doing so are not violent, not dangerous. All they want is to get somewhere safe and try and make a better life for themselves. They should not be penalized for that, and people desperately need to learn to be more understanding of and sympathetic to them .There are far better, more humane and compassionate ways to deal with people who don’t use legal means to get here. This administration’s “policies” to deal with the issue are abhorrent and disturbing, and it’s scary that some out there support them.
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I’d also add that it’s laughable to hear the Trump administration and their supporters going on and on about how immigrants need to follow the laws considering a) how many people in the Trump administration are currently under criminal investigation/have been arrested/are going to jail, and b) how many of Trump’s supporters continue to defend and support this administration despite all the criminal activity surrounding them. If they want immigrants to follow and respect the laws of our country, maybe they should, y’know, try doing the same.
Garbage.
You should not be able to get to the front of the line based on your skin color or religion or orientation.
This is one of the most fun filled commedies in recent time. I always rush home to make sure on Mondays so that i could watch the program. My co workers love the show. A very educational program on Arts and Cultural. It is a very fantastic indeed. I commend the crew for a fine job. Bobs calmness, Abishola smartness and Abishola’s family and Bob siblings are too funny. I love the program.