Leanne

Rated TV-14 • Netflix

Netflix’s Leanne is purportedly inspired by stand-up comedian Leanne Morgan, but for the most part it misses what makes Morgan’s comedy so endearing: God, grace, and goodness.

Sitcom king Chuck Lorre reportedly sold Morgan on the show by flying to East Tennessee and pitching on her porch while holding her grandbaby on his lap. Lorre is the creative force behind Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and its prequel Young Sheldon. His previous shows contain a stable of characters obsessed with sex, and they don’t always portray people of faith in a flattering light.

I didn’t expect Leanne to be a Christian show—Morgan doesn’t advertise herself as a Christian comedian—but I know faith is a big part of her comedic story. She also talks about her loving marriage, challenging but loyal adult children, middle-aged female angst, and menopausal roller coasters.

So, what does Leanne, the TV show, give us? At the outset, the main character’s husband of 33 years runs off with a younger woman. Leanne is recovering from her shock in the church fellowship hall, and a female church busybody (is there any other kind?) fishes about how Leanne’s husband is doing.

Leanne’s twice-divorced sister tells her to “get out there,” which means trolling for men in a club with the clear implication she might get lucky and take one home. The writers play that as a joke, and Leanne ends up showing potential dates pictures of her grandkids on a smartphone.

Leanne’s elderly father confesses his own past philandering (with the church organist!) to scoundrel husband Bill, suggesting these flings shouldn’t necessarily end the marriage. By Episode 4, sorry-not-sorry cheater Bill begs Leanne to take him back, but—shocker—the younger other woman shows up and announces to the whole room she is pregnant.

The main character’s values—indeed, her faith—never seem to matter when it matters. She dodges the possibility of sex with a new date because she’s not ready to share “all this” (her late 50s female body), not because it’s wrong. No one in her TV family seems to share her beliefs, and the other “Christians” in the show are either hypocrites or punch lines.

The show’s writers don’t seem to get the real Leanne Morgan, who captivates audiences coast to coast. Her comedy carries the same hilarious spirit that’s selling out venues for Nate Bargatze, Jim Gaffigan, and Henry Cho—all believers who laugh at the human condition and themselves because they know we’re flawed, yet forgiven, and empowered through Christ to live above our basest instincts.

Lorre’s writers understand that most human drama and comedy come from our foibles. What they don’t get is where Morgan’s joy comes from.

They should have found the character and story arc they needed in Morgan’s stand-up routine. How about writing a husband like the real Chuck Morgan, who sticks by Leanne for 33-plus years, or a church that provides strength and community rather than a den of judgy snipes?

In Season 2, maybe a post-divorce redemption arc won’t come from a settlement, a bar, or a new guy’s bedroom but from the bedrock of Leanne Morgan’s imperfect yet faithful, funny life. As a fan, I’m still hoping for more Leanne in Leanne.