Last night, I was lucky enough to attend a taping of the new CBS comedy, Mike & Molly starring Melissa McCarthy (Gilmore Girls, Samantha Who?), Billy Gardell (My Name is Earl), Swoosie Kurtz (Pushing Daisies), Katy Mixon (Four Christmases), Reno Wilson (The Cosby Show), and Nyambi Nyambi (Law & Order).

MIKE & MOLLY is a comedy about a working class Chicago couple who find love at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. Officer Mike Biggs is a good-hearted cop who sincerely wants to lose weight. Mike’s partner, Officer Carl McMillan, is a thin, fast-talking wise-guy who, despite his teasing, encourages Mike on his road to slimness and romance. While speaking at an O.A. meeting, Mike meets Molly Flynn, an instantly likeable fourth-grade teacher with a good sense of humor about her curves. For Molly, focusing on smart choices isn’t easy while living with her sexy older sister, Victoria, and their mother, Joyce, both of whom flaunt their effortless figures while indulging their healthy appetites right in front of her. Mike also faces temptation at the diner he and Carl frequent, where they’ve become friends with a Senegalese waiter, Samuel, to whom dieting is a foreign concept. Mike and Molly found each other in the most unexpected of places. Now, they’re about to find out where their quest for companionship will take them.

Mike & Molly is executive produced by Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory), Mark Roberts (Two and a Half Men), and Don Foster (Dharma and Greg) and is directed by James Burrows (Will & Grace, Friends).

The episode that was being filmed was apparently the third episode written by show creator, Mark Rogers. The title is unknown, though you will absolutely love the episode. The taping was scheduled to begin at 6:30pm, I arrived to get in line around 4:30pm, and left the studio in the latter half of the 9’o clock hour. I enjoyed myself much more than I had anticipated, so I will definitely be watching this show this fall.

Once at the studio, I waited in line for less than a half hour before audience members began to be escorted onto stage 24. Everyone went through 2 security check points, which is great for safety but goodness, I don’t even go through 2 security checks at the airport. Anyway, it seems that Friends and Full House are just two of the many television shows that have graced Stage 24 at some point in time, so that is pretty cool. I sat in the second seat of the second row in the larger left seating section. There are 4 sections, 2 small sections at either side. There are about 18 television monitors for the audience in three rows…so you can imagine that this audience held much more than at the Melissa & Joey taping that I recently went to.

Our warm up guy for the evening was actually the same warm up guy who I saw the three times that I went to Minute to Win It tapings over the summer. His name escapes me, probably because my excitement over his material does as well. If you’ve seen this guy once, you’ve basically seen the same act that he does every time for warming up an audience. He has a similar routine each time, so I knew what I was in for. I’m not saying that his routine is bad but I am saying that I get bored easily.

Anyway, the Pilot was screened and what a hysterical and highly entertaining piece it was. I honestly was on the fence about watching this show, but after watching the Pilot and seeing another incredible episode shoot, I am happy to say that I will be watching Mike & Molly each and every week. So after the Pilot was screened, the cast came out to say hello and often waved to the audience throughout the entire taping. This taping felt more like an interactive play than just watching the cast and crew work, so it was a lot of fun. Mark, Chuck, and James (when his game face wasn’t on) had smiles on their faces the entire time when they looked out at the audience and heard our reactions to each punch line. The cast definitely fed off of our energy and sometimes, Reno and Billy held out their scenes to make them even funnier. There were an abundant amount of blooper moments just in this one taping, almost enough for one regularly timed blooper reel. There wasn’t an abundance of variation in the lines between takes, but I can only imagine that a number of those outrageous punch lines throughout the season will make it on the DVD blooper reel.

As for the entire cast…When Melissa McCarthy shoots with Swoosie Kurtz and Katy Mixon…Kurtz and Mixon steal the scenes as Joyce and Victoria, Molly’s mother and sister. Kurtz has a way with the delivery of her lines and Mixon has the best facial expressions ever. And when Billy Gardell shoots with Reno Wilson, Wilson steals the scenes as Carl, Bill’s work partner and friend. The supporting cast seems to out shine the leads from the comedic standpoint when interacting with the leads but when the leads are working together alone, McCarthy & Gardell’s comedic and romantic chemistry captivate the audience in such a romantic way that I feel I haven’t seen on television in a long time. The rest of the cast is just as captivating; Nyambi Nyambi as Samuel, Mike & Carl’s usual waiter at the local diner, guest star Louis Mustillo as Vince, a potential date for Molly, and co-stars, Burl Moseley as Ndugo and Mike Siegel as Marty. The casting for this show is phenomenal. The writing is phenomenal. This show has heart. It takes me back to the 90s half hour comedies and reminds me of a more mature version of TGIF. I absolutely love everything about this show and am looking forward to what is to come for the rest of the season and series.

The only thing that I was not thrilled with as far as the taping goes is the blocking of the set throughout filming, thanks to black screens/curtains. If the cast and crew were shooting a scene in the bar, the other parts of the set (house living room, house kitchen, local diner, and church basement) were covered by black curtains. So my view was partial to none when there was shooting at the bar and church basement, which were on the opposite end of where I sat. Also, audience members received pizza and mini water bottles but this ordeal was quite rushed when it didn’t need to be. Aside from that, this was such a fun taping to attend!

Two scenes were pre-taped and two scenes were shot on a green screen, well it was actually a black screen in this case. The first of the latter scenes portrayed Mike & Carl driving around, talking about Mike being stood up. The other scene takes place on a different night, as Mike, Carl, & Samuel are in a cab heading to Molly’s house. Both of the pre-taped scenes were exterior scenes. A few pick ups and a voice over was completed as well before the episode wrapped. After the episode wrapped, we cheered on the cast and crew for the curtain call and many audience members exited while a few others hung out in the front for Melissa and Billy to sign autographs. Again, I can’t express how sweet the cast and crew were to the audience. This is a fabulous cast and crew who have put on a wonderful show that I hope stays on for years to come.

Mike & Molly films in front of a live audience at Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, CA.

Mike & Molly premieres Monday, September 20, 2010 at 9:30/8:30c on CBS.