Pivoting Review: If She Could See Us Now (Season 1 Episode 1)

With its series premiere, Pivoting Season 1 Episode 1, “If She Could See Us Now,” presents three leads—Jodie, Sarah, and Amy—who are relatable enough to help a show that isn’t terribly original still be engaging.

Jodie feels neglected by her growing kids and seemingly deadbeat husband, Sarah’s wife has left her and she’s at her wits end working as a doctor, and Amy, who has two young children and an excellent husband, has little idea how to set her career aside to be a mom.

We open at a funeral in the immediate aftermath of the death of a fourth friend, Colleen. By all accounts, Colleen had things together more than any of her friends, and her unexpected passing is a bombshell for ladies already just managing to get by.

For Jodie, this means seeking appreciation where she can find it and that means through her personal trainer, Matt. We can be all but guaranteed that if this show has any longevity, we’ll see Jodie ditch Dan for Matt in a hopefully appropriate amount of time.

While Jodie’s attempts to show off do land her in a very awkward hospital visit, I’m not sure they count as a major life change just yet. We get a bit more of that in Amy trying to take care of her own kids, which quickly veers into the “young child poop joke” field of comedy.

The rather cringe-y slapstick is handled about as well as it can be. Thankfully, there’s much more potential with just how inept Amy is in general, at least at being a mom. (She does appear far more competent at hosting a cooking show I hope we get to see soon.)

The bit about her rarely being around her kids when they aren’t asleep takes things almost too far, but I’ll take it for what it is. After all, how many bumbling dads do we see sitcoms laugh about? Those characteristics should be no worse in a mom, and Amy has nowhere to go but up.

If you really want to see someone upending their life, though, you can turn to Jodie, who walks away from a long career as a doctor offscreen and announces to her friends that she’s instead taken a position bagging groceries.

Now, this could easily be the plot of its own show and I’m not sure a half-hour comedy can juggle that and two other main characters, so there are decent odds this decision doesn’t last. For now, Sarah’s convinced her life is about to get much easier—to which all in retail say “Oh, honey.”

Of course, as a doctor, Sarah has better reason that most to see a job in the service industry as a step towards something less stressful and all-consuming, but I am looking forward to the kind of hard look into hourly employment that shows like Superstore have offered.

There are plenty of moments both sweet and bittersweet sprinkled throughout, all of which are expected given a pilot that hinges on a death. They’re also all things we’ve seen a lot of before on TV, as are most of the jokes, despite a few laugh-out-loud moments.

It’s a series that relies heavily on the talent and charm of its leading actresses, who thus far are doing a stellar job of carrying that weight on their shoulders. We still don’t have enough female-centered shows, and this one does manage to skewer at least one stereotype.

At its core, Pivoting is a cute and silly show with as much room for growth as its leads have before them. It deserves a chance in this world that can make it hard for a new series to survive. I hope it gets enough of one that we can see such growth play out.

 

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Pivoting will all in a regular slot on Thursdays at 9:30/8:30c on Fox.

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