TVSquad

This is one of my favorite comedies of the past ten years, and I no idea that it actually starred not one but two cast members from Lost. More on that after the jump.

Married to the Kellys was a sitcom that ran on Friday nights on ABC during the 2003-04 season, part of their TGIF comedy lineup. But I think this show stood out as something for adults more than kids. It starred Breckin Meyer as a New York City writer who publishes his first novel and decides to keep his promise to his wife and move (he thought she meant move from the Village to the Upper West Side, not "America"). Now, this is where the usual big city guy vs. Kansas jokes come into play, but that's just half of the show.

The wife's mom and dad are so nice they seem like they're out of Leave it to Beaver (though they have their interesting sides too), and her sister holds a grudge against the writer because he's a success at being a writer and she's still an English teacher in her hometown. Her relationship with him is sort of like the relationship Buddy and Mel had on The Dick Van Dyke Show, the insults flying fast and furious. Her hubby is a laid-back guy who she controls, and he aches to cut loose once in a while. The family is rounded out by Uncle Dave, a rough and tough blue collar guy who doesn't trust the guy he calls "New York," and Lewis, the weird, shy teen brother-in-law who collects bugs in his bedroom.

All this seems wackier than the show really was. There was a really nice heart to this show among the loopy characters and one-liners. Tom the writer was certainly a fish out of water, but he had his own ways to charm the small town citizens (usually). His wife Nancy was played by Kiele Sanchez, who you probably remember as the ill-fated Nikki on Lost. Her dad on this show? Sam Anderson, who plays Bernard on Lost! Everything on TV is related sooner or later (Mom was played by the great Nancy Lenehan).

I really miss this show. What started out as one of those sitcoms you knew was going to be short-lived on ABC turned out to be...well, one of those shows that was short-lived. And that's a shame. The cast worked really together, the writing was a couple of notches above what you'd expect from a TGIF sitcom, and it was actually a show where you could see the characters growing over the 22 episodes that it ran. It had the perfect balance of snark and heart that all the best sitcoms have.

Below is a scene from the show, as Tom joins in on family game night.

Here's another, at the dinner table.