ABC/Bob D'AmicoTrophy Wife is not a consolation prize.
ABC's charming sitcom about a new modern family, starring Malin Akerman, Bradley Whitford and Marcia Gay Harden, is the most underrated show on TV, making us laugh until we cry and unexpectedly cry without resorting to storylines and moments that have more cheese than a box of Velveeta. It's got heart and humor in equal measure.
And at a recent press screening, the cast and creators Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, along with several other executive producers, teased what viewers can expect from the rest of season one, including an homage to Scandal, a big wedding and more. Here are five reasons why you should be tuning into Trophy Wife...
1. It's Handled: A Scandal parody, Trophy Wife-style? Yes, please! Of the episode set to air in April, Halpern teased, "Diane [Harden] has a bit of a failure, which as we know if very unlike her, and she winds up sort of binge-watching a lot of Scandal episodes and channels her Olivia Pope."
With the help of Kate (Akerman), Diane will be "taking down the conspiracy in the PTA," executive producer Lee Eisenberg previewed. "[It's] very high stakes." But will the women wear white coats?!
2. The Final Rose: Taking full advantage of their ABC connections, The Bachelor host Chris Harrison makes a hilarious guest appearance in the March 4 episode.
"This is embarrassing. I'm a huge fan of The Bachelor...I host a weekly Bachelor viewing party at my house," Eisbenberg admitted of how the guest appearance came to be. "So Chris Harrison came to my house for a behind-the-scenes thing to show all that watch The Bachelor and so then we called him. He was completely down and it was great."
Akerman added, "My real mom was on set that day. Oh man, she's a trip. She walked up to Chris...going, 'Hi, what about an older Bachelorette?'"
3. Fun Guest Stars: Outside of the ABC family, Florence Henderson and Megan Mullally will also guest star in March outings that feature a very special celebration for Pete and Kate, which leads us to...
4. Wedding Celebration: In a "fun" two-parter, we'll get flashbacks to Pete's first two weddings. "Kate discovers Pete's old wedding tapes of his marriages to Diane and Jackie in the garage and realizes that they eloped and she does kind of want the wedding," Haskins teased. "That turns into a whole saga."
"The wedding episodes were fun for me," Whitford said of getting to see Pete's chemistry with each of his former wives, as people often ask him, "'How were you with Jackie?' At one point, we thought maybe she had a head injury after the marriage."
5. The Funniest Kid on TV: Arguably the biggest breakout star of the TV season? Albert Tsai, who plays fan favorite Bert, second wife Jackie's (Michaela Watkins) adopted Asian-American son.
And the role was tweaked after Tsai blew the creative team away with his auction, as executive producer Gene Stupinsky revealed, "Originally, he wasn't adopted, but Albert came in and we were like, 'Okay.' Like, 'What, how did this drop into our laps?!' So we changed the character to fit Albert." And it's easy to see why in the March 4 episode, "Happy Bert Day," which centers on Bert's extravagant birthday celebration and is basically an ode to Bert (and Albert).
Trophy Wife airs Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.
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