The writers fail to follow through with Bob Hearts Abishola‘s intriguing premise. What could have been a commentary on life in America as a Nigerian immigrant ends up as a typical culture clash sitcom. You can insert any two cultures and the show would be the same.
Bob Hearts Abishola follows Bob (Billy Gardell), a businessman, who falls in love with Abishola (Folalce Olowofoyeky). Abishola is a nurse at the hospital where Bob is a patient, having recently suffered a heart attack. From there, Bob develops a crush on Abishola and attempts to woo her through really nice socks. These socks prove to be a bridge that helps win over Abishola’s family. Clearly, this is a relatively light-hearted story.
While no one expects realism from a sitcom, the show follows the standard formula so strictly that it fails to bring anything new to the table. Every show that has two cultures meet starts with some problem, a person who wouldn’t ordinarily enter this person life waltzing in to save the day, and one of these people falls in love with the other, so the entire premise follows the lovesick character chasing the other until they fall in love. We’ve seen it with I Dream of Jeannie, The Nanny, and a million other sitcoms that all blend together in television’s vast history.
There’s also the fact that the entire discussion on race is handled with a few throwaway jokes. In a world where there are shows like Black-ish and Pose pushing boundaries and confronting prejudices, a broad slapstick take on race relations feels out of place. Although, a heartfelt discussion on the challenges Abishola and Bob will face may be too much to ask from a Chuck Lorre sitcom.
