Call Me Kat Review: Gym (Season 1 Episode 6)

Kat tries a little too hard to get a local honor on Call Me Kat Season 1 Episode 6, “Gym.”

Consideration for the newspaper’s 20 Under 40 list sends Kat to the gym. She overdoes it working out, and hilarity ensues.

While Mayim Bialik nails the physical comedy, this is the first episode where Kat goes from charmingly quirky to over the top gimmicky.

If she’s a little different and sometimes finds herself in absurd situations, that’s sitcom 101. It’s when the show follows the same formula every week that it becomes too predictable.

Now that we’re on Episode 6, the show should be moving past introductions into establishing the tone and feel. In Call Me Kat’s case, we need more than slapstick comedy to stay invested. We’d like to see new sides to Kat’s life.

Despite the story supposedly being about her trying to get on the list to help her business, it ends up being all about her awkwardly Katting all over the place, to the point where she throws up in front of the reporter interviewing her.

Frankly, we and Bialik deserve better.

By now, we are well aware that Kat is awkward.

What we haven’t seen her do is be a genius. That’s an element of her personality that would be interesting to explore. Or perhaps we can see her dealing with the humorous side of grief.

Bialik can play anything, so there’s no excuse for her to still be such a one-note character.

On a positive note, it seems like Kat and Max are back to being cool, fun-loving friends. Other than one minor cutaway, there is no Kat pining for Max, and that’s a major improvement.

I have previously discussed wanting to know more about Randi, and this episode gives us a little more insight into her.

Randi has always been open about not looking for a commitment, so when Daniel mentions their wedding on the third date (which is way too soon), she automatically cools things down.

We get to see a slightly vulnerable side of Randi, as her instincts tell her to break up with Daniel, but her feelings let her give him another chance.

The more the show highlights the people in Kat’s life, the more invested we become in her.

Yes, I am talking about Carter.

I understand that not everyone gets to be central to every episode, but Carter just delivers jokes, then walks out of the scene.

We’ve watched him with his son, and heard him talk about his ex, so we know there’s more to him than one-liners.

As far as we know, he’s Kat’s only business owner friend in the neighborhood. Surely, that’s worth exploring? Bialik and Julian Gant make a fun comedy team.

The sweetest moment of the episode comes when Phil had to improvise for storytime and uses his own story of his father finally accepting him. It’s nice to learn how he became the hilarious, loving baker we adore.

All the layers Leslie Jordan put into Phil’s personality has made him the breakout character of Call Me Kat. Getting to know him has made us care about every aspect of his life.

Honestly, Phil is getting the character evolution that Kat should have.

With only a few episodes left in Call Me Kat’s first season, it’s time for the show to make its final push toward getting a second season. One of the ways it can do that is with more balanced character development and a little less over the top slapstick comedy.

And if I haven’t mentioned it, the fourth wall breaks and cutaways are magic.

—

What did you think of this episode of Call Me Kat? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Call Me Kat airs Thursdays at 9/8c on FOX.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Tell-Tale TV’s Top 30 TV Shows of 2020