Life in Pieces Is Not Just the Name of My Latest Meltdown

I recall a few summers ago scrolling through Netflix, seeing the title card for Life in Pieces and proceeding to scroll past it. I was recovering from the hectic semester I had just finished and I was in need of something to watch (sure I could have finished one of the numerous series in my unfinished pile, but there's nothing like a fresh obsession). After days of accidentally rewatching Parks and Rec and passing over this show I decided it was time to at least see what it was about (I cannot remember exactly what the Netflix synopsis was, but I’m pretty sure it was something vague and did not do the show any justice). After seeing the series was about 23-25 minutes I decided it was a low risk investment. If I hated it I could bow out in about an hour (yes, I know I just said the episodes were under 30 minutes, but I have a 2 episode minimum* when embarking on new television adventures). Well, before I knew it 2 episodes turned into 4, 4 turned into 6, and the next thing I knew I was halfway through the series (at the time there was only one season available to watch, now the series has just finished airing it’s fourth and final season). 

*there are some exceptions to this two episode minimum

CBS

In the simplest terms Life in Pieces is a comedy about a family told through short stories featuring different family members. The episodes consist of four stories and each of those stories contains a different branch of the family or different pairing of family members. Sometimes all of the stories are interconnected and build to a final story that includes all of the family members, other times the stories are a bit more disconnected. Life in Pieces gives me the vibes of Parenthood, but without so much heartache and sadness (I loved Parenthood, but I cried on many occasions). Life in Pieces ~might~ make you cry, but probably for a different reason. It’s hilarious. The jokes land most of the time for me and sometimes I find myself remembering bits of the episodes and laughing about them randomly. That is one of the measures of a good comedy for me. If something in the wild can spark a memory from the show and I have to actively try to contain my smile and laughter as to not look like I’ve lost it, it’s got the makings of a good comedy in my eyes. 

After I quickly finished that first season on Netflix I was ready for more. I needed to know if there was already more or if there would be more. I saw that she show had in fact been renewed by CBS for another season and I was happy, but sad because I had to wait. Well, I waited so long I forgot. When I finally remembered, there had already been like 10 episodes, so once again had to play the waiting game and wait for it to hit streaming. Some time in the future I was perusing Hulu and there it was, Life in Pieces. I was confused because as I said earlier, I first saw the show on Netflix, but I didn’t ask any questions I picked up right where I left off and was once again wrapped up in the Short’s shenanigans. 

The characters just felt so real and although I couldn’t actually relate I still felt a sense of connection to these characters. The family consists of a mother (Joan - a therapist) and father (John - retired army pilot) that have three children, Matt, Greg (married), and Heather (married). Heather has two daughters and a son of her own and the series opens with Greg welcoming his first born into the world. Greg’s wife, Jen is a personal favorite of mine. She kind of keeps the show grounded and snaps everyone back to reality with her outlook on family. Not everyone’s family is as close knit as the Shorts so she finds their constant presence weird and a bit much at times, but in their absence she realizes that she loves them and that family really can make the small moments feel like huge moments. Heather’s youngest daughter, Sofia is also a gem and Giselle Eisenberg, the actress that plays her, deserves some attention. Sofia is smart and funny and wise beyond her years while still maintaining childhood innocence. One moment she is giving a profound outlook on life, like when said it was okay to not be the best as long as you’re not the worst. The next moment you may find her trying to flush a Cheeto bag down the toilet to win a trash contest. Life in Pieces balances the ridiculousness of flushing Cheetos bags with very real moments, like an inability to conceive children naturally. They also aren’t Short on the heartwarming and sometimes catastrophic moments that come with family and the holidays.

CBS

Life in Pieces can be compared to Modern Family in the sense that both are family comedies and they both aired on network television; however, these shows do have their differences. In all honesty Life in Pieces may have been CBS’s response to the success of Modern Family, but I believe they spiced it up enough to call it their own. When I say “spiced it up” I just mean in terms of storytelling and the characteristics of the characters because Life in Pieces definitely lacked diversity, which may have been the reason that a lot of people did not know about it. It wasn’t pushing boundaries so sadly, it wasn’t reaching certain demographics. 

If you like joy and can get past the lack of diversity (sometimes people just have White families) I highly suggest checking out Life in Pieces available for streaming on Hulu. 

–T

**As I was writing this I realized that the story of the Short family is told through short stories.