With humble beginnings in reserving comedy gigs and placing out comedy specials on YouTube, Leanne Morgan steadily climbed her approach onto Netflix, the place she launched her stand-up particular Leanne Morgan: I am Each Lady in 2023. This 12 months, she tried her hand at appearing, starring in You are Cordially Invited alongside Reece Witherspoon and Will Ferrell. Now, she is making her debut because the lead of her self-titled Netflix sitcom Leanne, through which she additionally serves as an government producer and co-writer.
Like her comedy particular, Leanne finds a down-to-earth, heat kind of humor that appears like we’re sitting with a buddy over espresso and Jello salads. However that is additionally mixed with a basic comedy framework as Morgan has teamed up with sitcom grasp Chuck Lorre, identified for The Huge Bang Principle and Two and a Half Males, to deliver this present to life. When the present begins, it takes a second for the collaborators to search out their stride collectively, however quickly sufficient, Morgan’s titular character earns each our coronary heart and our laughs
Leanne is in menopause, has grandchildren, and believes she is just too previous to begin her life another time, however is compelled to when her husband of 33 years, Invoice (Ryan Stiles), leaves her for one more lady. As her life is turned the other way up (through electronic mail, no much less), Leanne depends on the assist of her sister and greatest buddy, Carol (Kristen Johnston), who additionally has her personal share of divorces. Collectively, they navigate courting for the primary time in a very long time, coping with household prejudices and pressures, and the gossip round a suburban space. They discover hope and love in probably the most surprising locations, coming throughout weird eventualities and hilarious interactions, proving that “it’s by no means too late to rewrite your story.”
With eight episodes of the sixteen offered for evaluation, the present takes a while to realize momentum. The primary couple of episodes, devoted to establishing exposition, are just a little sluggish and clunky, with some strains coming off a bit extra inflexible than anticipated. Nonetheless, the characters and story finally discovered their little groove, flowing easily thereafter. When you make it via that first awkward part, the pacing picks up and the interactions between characters are far more compelling.
Because the solid expands, every new relationship can also be pretty dynamic and presents enjoyable quips. We meet Leanne’s “pleasure and pleasure” son (Graham Rogers) and “work in progress” daughter (Hannah Pilkes), who flit out and in of the episodes with their very own cheeky subplots. Leanne’s mother and father, portrayed by Celia Weston and Blake Clark, additionally deliver a pleasant layer of riffing off on intergenerational humor. Tom Daly additionally joins the solid, offering a extra grounded counterpart to the chaos in the home. Many of the solid have first rate chemistry with one another, giving the present its healthful sitcom really feel as you regularly put money into the characters and their predicaments.
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The premise might remind you of one other 2000s’ sitcom known as Reba, named after the titular character who can also be a lady later in life attempting to navigate household, buddies, and courting after a divorce. Regardless of their similarities, Leanne provides us a recent tackle the idea, the place its lead is extra free-spirited and in addition much less involved with cash on account of her share within the divorce, resulting in extra home and suburban-related escapades. However the key similarity of giving a second wind to a lady who, in conventional societal views, is taken into account “previous her prime” and even not helpful to the neighborhood anymore, is honored fantastically in Leanne, because the characters deal with these concepts in a mix of light-hearted and saddening moments.
Since Morgan has a historical past in stand-up, there’s already an expectation that the present’s comedy shall be sturdy, and she or he delivers. Morgan’s dialogue and supply have the identical model as her comedy particular, and in regard to jokes, it is precisely what we’d like from her. Nonetheless, she remains to be discovering her footing as an actor, with among the non-comedy sections not fairly exhibiting the identical talent. But, the sitcom medium positively fits Morgan’s model, and she or he nonetheless provides a commendable debut efficiency as a lead, the place she slowly grows into the function. Whereas Morgan takes the comedy in her stride, different solid members typically earn weaker elements of the script or cannot fairly match Morgan’s panache, making the joke land barely off-kilter. However between random midnight automotive rides along with your unlicensed father-in-law and doing kegel workout routines along with your neighbor watching, Leanne nonetheless has sufficient laughs unfold throughout the solid.
Nonetheless, a lot of the comedy and the center come from Leanne and Carol’s relationship, as they face their household and buddies as a united entrance whereas counting on every us in additional sobering moments. Morgan and Johnston bounce off one another with sarcastic banter and sisterly ribbing, a bit jarring at first, however their quirks shortly develop on you. Like every good sitcom, Leanne combines goofiness and sincerity to present a platform to girls who wrestle to consider they will have a second lease on life: awkward at first, however comforting and humorous because it grows.
Leanne
Leanne takes its time however builds to a hilarious, heartwarming second-life journey.
- Launch Date
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July 31, 2025
- Community
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Netflix
- As soon as the present hits its stride, the comedy, script, and tempo are immersive.
- Morgan and Johnston have compelling chemistry as sisters, and their relationship is the center of the present.
- The sitcom delves into hopeful and comforting themes.
- The present is stiff at first, and could also be arduous to initially put money into.
- Among the comedy feels uneven, whereas occasional jokes are awkward and really feel compelled.