I’m always a little jealous of people who rally around low-rated, low-wattage TV shows that ultimately manage to claw their way back for one more round. For instance, I absolutely loathe Scrubs, but damn if you fans out there aren’t some lucky ducks with your eighth season and all. Be proud of yourselves! Every time I latch on to an overlooked series–Once and Again, Swingtown, The Comeback–I get my heart broken. Which is why today’s news that HBO’s Big Love has been renewed for a fourth season made me so giddy.
Big Love is an oddity in HBO’s primetime lineup. It’s not a flashy, headline-grabbing cultural phenom like Sex and the City or The Sopranos, but it’s also not a cerebral, limited-appeal oddity like Tell Me You Love Me or (urp!) John from Cincinnati. Emmy voters always ignore it, and its viewership is steady if unimpressive. But who cares? It is, in my opinion, the best one-hour drama on TV. Earlier this week, The New York Times‘ Stanley Fish wrote a great think piece about how wonderfully Big Love has confounded expectations–after all, a series about Mormon polygamists initially screams ATTENTION-GRABBING, SENSATIONAL MESS! But Fish notes that the Henricksons, the family at the center of the series, are normal, likable, and worthy of our support. Then he makes, um, a Waltons comparison.
I wasn’t a Waltons watcher (though I did see Richard Thomas at Disneyland once–big up to John-Boy!), but Fish does seem to be on the right track. At a time when quietly compelling, quality family dramas are all but extinct from the TV landscape, Big Love carries on the tradition beautifully. So let’s raise a glass of caffeine-free soda to the folks at Big Love, and congratulate them on another year of braided hair, creepy compound leaders and ever-expanding broods. And if you’re a fan, let’s talk about the current season. Which storylines are you loving? Should Ana join the Henrickson household? And which one of the compound’s batty sister-wives do you love the most: Adaleen, Lois, or Wanda? Me, I’m on Team Adaleen.
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Thank you HBO! Big Love is one of the best shows on TV. Every week seems to get better and more dramatic.
I LOVE this show!! I’ve been watching the past couple of seasons, and am totally addicted. EW please do a TV watch!! I do like Ana and hope she joins the fam, and that Nikki realizes her dad truly is a psycho. There are so many worthy subplots in every episode, it never gets boring. More Big Love!
TEAM LOIS!!!! Grace Zabriskie better get an Emmy nomination because Lois is my favorite character on television. Her scenes with Bruce Dern this year have been outstanding.
Big Love is far and away the best show on television. The writing, the suspence, the character development are all unreal! As for the plotline this season, I think Ana is doomed. There’s no way she’s going to give up her independence for that lifestyle – but I can’t wait to see it go down!!!
Polygamists ARE NOT Mormon. There is no such thing as a Mormon Polygamist. People who practice polygamy are excommunicated from the Mormon church.
This is a great show that is overlooked and some probably dismiss because of it being about polygamy. Bill is a better man than me because he can handle 3 wives (possibly a 4th soon) and it only took one wife to drive me crazy.
HBO has shown us once again why they have the best series on television. They choose substance over numbers and I’m grateful that they do. Any other show like Six Feet Under, which I believe is one of the greatest shows to ever be broadcast, would have been canceled in the first 3 seasons. The networks need to take a page from HBO.
I’m looking forward to many more antics from Nicki and Adaleen.
I agree – team Lois. Adaleen isn’t really nuts in the way of Lois and Wanda.
Lois and Wanda! I love me some crazies…
Also, HBO renewed Big Love because they realized it was their only good show on TV right now and that Showtime had overtook them as the choice premium channel for good juicy television…
I just started watching Big Love a few weeks ago and was instantly hooked. I watched the first 2 seasons on DVD in about a week and a half, so I could be ready when It came back on this season. Really, one of the best show on TV. We cancelled HBO a few years ago, in protest of their giving “Carnivale” the boot without letting the show tie up loose ends. I took something special to make me want to subscribe again. Anybody else think Nicki is going to end up testifying against Roman?
I love this show. It is my favorite thing to watch. It is wonderfully written and so much happens in one episode. The characters are great and so are the actors. I love how it shows we still share common values despite our different religious beliefs. I hope HBO continues to renew Big Love for a long long time.
Big Love is about polygamists. Not Mormons. People who think that Mormons are polygamists do NOT know what they are talking about. I am a Mormon and shows like this that perpetuate that stereotype make my life harder. Much harder. I’m tired of getting asked how many wives my husband has! And people are serious when they ask. So annoying and this show does not help in any way.
team Lois because she’s the most crazy of the three right now.
thank you for the info nicholas. when do we get big love down under in australia?
I for one, am curious about what Sarah plans to do about her pregnancy
I love Lois, but I find Adaleen soooo interesting. She would have totally been like a cut-throat lawyer or high powered exec if she had grown up anywhere else. She has that killer instinct and she is smart.
This show is outstanding. I even got my boyfriend hooked haha. There are only a handful of shows I look forward to and this makes my Sunday nights…as well as Flight of the Conchords.
All this talk of Big Love, and no love for my favortie storyline: Sarah’s pregnant?!?!?!? I absolutely love Sarah and Ben’s relationship. It’s the only one that doesn’t feel at all forced. And I’m curious to see how this goes. Since they just went to prom, I have to believe that school is almost over. How is she going to do this? Is she going to keep this a secret?
I like Ana, but I’m not sure if she’ll fit in the family. Nicki is so hard to please, and they need a unanimous vote to bring in another wife, don’t they?
And where the heck was Alby this week? He has to know it was Adaleen who sent the guy to meet him at the truck stop, right?
Why isn’t there a TV Watch for this show? EW, get on it!!
per the Mormons are not polygamists people, I actually think Big Love does a good job of differentiating the two. Most of the people around the Henricksons are Mormon, and they obviously do not condone the polygamy thing. In fact, they are primarily the people the Henricksons are trying to hide their lifestyle from. I get that maybe people who have heard of the show but don’t actually watch it might think that it’s about Mormon polygamists, but for anyone who has seen the show, that’s not the case. And I’m on Team Wanda!
Some friends and I get together every Sunday night for dinner and BIG LOVE (the show, not the activity!) It’s one of the highlights of my week. I’m not really a fan of Ana, so I’m hoping she doesn’t join the family. I, too, like the crazies — so Lois and Wanda are always interesting and unpredictable! Thanks, HBO, for giving us more to look forward to with the show. And thanks, EW, for posting about it!
Big Love is better than any show HBO has ever had, with the possible exception of The Wire. It’s dramatic without being *melo*dramatic, and relatable without being staid. And I’m on Team Wanda, all the way.
Hey EW: if you think so highly of the show then what happened to its TV Watch summaries? You guys have dumped a lot of shows from your TV Watches… why?
Love this show.
I can’t wait to see Rhonda get her comeuppance.
Alby’s got the face of a psycho…(not the actor, the character)
Long live Big Love!
And btw.. The Wire was the best series ever on HBO. It is remains almost absolutly ignored by most media outlets. Now that is a freakin’ shame.
I enjoy Nickie because she’s a complex character obviously still experiencing the effects of a warped childhood. Adalene is interesting too, because she’s become powerful and influential despite being in a community where women are the property of their husbands and despite being the lowly fifth wife.
I think Bill is all about rationalization. He rationalizes all his desires as the will of a Greater Power. When he is attracted to his wife’s nurse (Nickie) or his babysitter (Margie) or the waitress at the coffee shop (Anna), it can’t be lust because he’s above that sort of thing, it’s got to be a calling from God. When he goes into the gambling business, he’s not profiteering from other people’s vices, instead God is showing him a way to provide for his family.
I agree..can we get a TV Watch on this show? Love it!
I agree… where’s the TV Watch for Big Love and Nip/Tuck? I always looked forward to them.
Big Love is my favorite show on right now (well, besides Lost…) This season has been amazing so far. Love Ana, but where would she live??
Big Love is my favorite show on right now (well, besides Lost…) This season has been amazing so far. Love Ana, but where would she live??