Streaming Sunday - Raising Hope

Each fall networks hurl their new shows at us en masse. We then begin the scramble to find out which shows have promise (Outsourced, Running Wilde) and those that are in desperate need of cancellation (Lone Star, The Gates). This week we'll feature Fox's new show Raising Hope.



Created by Greg Garcia who was the mastermind behind My Name is Earl and Yes Dear, Raising Hope is a hilarious family-comedy based on one young man's trials and tribulations of raising an infant alone. He put into this situation in a ridiculous series of actions that could only exist in a television comedy.

Jimmy, played by virtually unknown Lucas Neff, meets a girl running down a street one night in need of help. He assists her, then sleeps with her, only to find out the following morning that she is a wanted murderer. His family turns her in and eight months later he's contacted by her in jail telling him that he's about to be a father. Turns out the mother is up for the electric chair in a month and Jimmy must now take and raise his daughter Princess Beyoncé.

There are only two actors on the cast that I recognize, naturally you notice Cloris Leachman as Maw Maw, but the other took me a minute to realize who she was. Playing Jimmy's mother, Virginia Chance, Martha Plimpton caught my eye. Not too long after seeing her on screen did I peg her as Stef Steinbrenner in the 1985 film The Goonies. 

You can watch the three latest episodes plus the Pilot from the Hulu widget below. However the best show this season, Say Cheese, is only available for two more days so watch the Pilot first and then enjoy Fox's newest sitcom: Raising Hope.