Hot in Cleveland

Next week Hot in Cleveland, TV Land's first original series, premieres a very special episode entitled "Love is All Around."  Although the program already has an incredible list of guest stars and recurring characters, this particular episode is notable as it features the ladies reuniting from The Mary Tyler Moore Show for the first time in over 30 years.  Viewers young and old will enjoy '90's-style sitcom zaniness paired with a healthy dose of television nostalgia.

Hot in Cleveland began with Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli, One Day at a Time), Joy (Jane Leeves, Frasier), and Victoria (Wendie Malick, Just Shoot Me!) all boarding a plane en route to Paris.  When the plane has to make an emergency landing in Cleveland, the trio fall in love with their surroundings and lease a home together.  Unbeknownst to them at the time, caretaker Elka (Betty White, The Golden Girls) has no intention of leaving her longtime residence and continues to live there.
 
"Love is All Around" revolves around the ladies' annual birth-dates celebration in which they set one another up on blind dates at the local bar.  All of the ladies are excited, except for Elka who has other things on her mind.  Elka, along with her friend Mamie Sue (Georgia Engel), wants to get together with their old bowling team (named GLOB - Gorgeous Ladies of Bowling) as it has been 50 years since they won their championship.  As you’ve probably guessed the other members include actresses Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, and Cloris Leachman.  As if that weren’t enough star power to keep you interested, Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family and the always tan George Hamilton guest star as well.

Teaming up four talented actresses who are already sitcom veterans is the real appeal of Hot in Cleveland.  The laughs are continual and the show benefits from a live studio audience especially when it comes to special reactions for guest stars.  Even at the age of 91, White continues to steal practically every scene she is in.  The Mary Tyler Moore Show reunion is typical sitcom fare, but it plays off as a pretty significant event and a rare occurrence considering the cast involved.  Everyone plays their old roles perfectly except for Moore who seems to have had some botched plastic surgery within the past couple of years.  It doesn’t ruin the show or anything, but I’d be lying if I said her strange appearance wasn’t a bit of a distraction.  This episode contains several little tributes to The Mary Tyler Moore Show that I’m not about to spoil, so pay close attention if you’re a television addict like myself.  These sorts of reunions don’t happen often on television – don’t miss it!

Be sure to check out the “Love is All Around” episode of Hot in Cleveland airing Wednesday, September 4th at 10 PM ET/9 PM CT, only on TV Land!