Cyclone Rewind: ‘Your Family or Mine’

Dalton Gackle

New to TBS is “Your Family or Mine,” a sitcom based on a couple switching visiting each other’s in-laws.

Not many shows touch on the subject of in-laws. “Modern Family” would be a notable exception.

The first episode features the husband’s parents. Oliver, the husband played by Kyle Howard, has an overbearing and disapproving mother, Louis, who is played by JoBeth Williams. She thinks her two sons are married to women who are beneath them, thereby disapproving of Oliver’s wife, who is played by Kat Foster, Kelli.

The father, played by Richard Dreyfuss, on the other hand, is not concerned with his wife’s antics.

The first episode followed Oliver and Kelli as they make a trip to drop off a babysitter camera for Oliver’s parents to watch — yes, watch the babysitter watching the kids — before heading to a massage parlor for a date night.

However, between Ricky’s antics and the potential porno playing out on the sitter-cam, the date night gets delayed.

The show is intelligently written and is humorous throughout. The show did not slow or lag and it was not overly cliché, aside from the disapproving mother character.

The show is written by Greg Malins, who also writes the episodes for “Ground Floor,” another witty comedy on TBS featuring a younger cast.

“Your Family or Mine,” rather, centers around a 30-something couple dealing with the craziness of kids and in-laws.

Other than Dreyfuss, who is known for his more dramatic film roles, the main cast is lesser known, though experienced, television actors and actresses.

The leads, Howard and Williams, did both appear as recurring characters on “Royal Pains,” however.

If the show can keep up its off-beat stories and funny dialogue, it should be a success. One episode has left me waiting for the next.

4/5